The Verve The Verve The Verve were an English rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound with their debut LP "A Storm in Heaven", by the mid-1990s the band had released several EPs and three albums. It also endured name and line-up changes, break-ups, health problems, drug abuse and various lawsuits. The band's commercial breakthrough was the 1997 album "Urban Hymns", one of the best-selling albums in UK Chart history. The
Michael Ashcroft 2012, entitling him to use the post-nominal letters "PC" for life. On 31 March 2015, the day after the prorogation of Parliament ahead of the 2015 general election, he announced his resignation from the House of Lords with immediate effect, stating he would continue in politics. Michael Ashcroft Michael Anthony P. Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is the 95th richest person in the UK, as ranked by the "Sunday Times" Rich List 2017,