Richard Ashcroft a limited number of appearances in 2003, Ashcroft was absent from the music business for about two years. He later explained this in 2006, stating that "[e]veryone got it into their heads over the last few years that I was in my ivory tower like Lennon, baking bread all day. The fact of the matter was that I was bringing up kids". Ashcroft began playing gigs again in mid-2005, and, on 2 July at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, Coldplay invited him to perform with them during their set. They performed The Verve's hit "Bitter Sweet Symphony", after
Gareth Wigan agency with Richard Gregson, Gregson & Wigan. Among his clients was the British playwright Giles Cooper whose story, "Unman, Wittering and Zigo" originally written for radio, was the first film Wigan produced, directed by John Mackenzie and starring David Hemmings. Gregson and Wigan was sold to EMI in 1970 and Gareth Wigan subsequently moved to Los Angeles. Over the course of a 40-year career, Wigan rose from talent agent, to producer to studio head. Film credits include "Star Wars", "Alien", "The Turning Point", "Chariots of Fire", "The Right Stuff", "Bram Stoker’s Dracula", "Kick-Ass" and others. He held numerous positions including