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
Mark Ashcroft to 1996 as a member of the academic staff of St Paul's College, Kapsabet, one of the theological colleges of the Anglican Church of Kenya; he was a tutor between 1986 and 1989, and its principal between 1990 and 1996. In 1996, Ashcroft returned to England. He was rector of Christ Church, Harpurhey from 1996 to 2009, and also area dean of North Manchester from 2000 to 2006. In 2004, he was made an honorary canon of Manchester Cathedral. In 2009, he was appointed the Archdeacon of Manchester. On 22 June 2016, it was announced that Ashcroft would become the