The Verve

United Kingdom, 1990–2009

English band from Wigan, formed in 1990. Richard Ashcroft's writing and Nick McCabe's effects-heavy guitar combined krautrock repetition with psychedelia, most successfully on Urban Hymns and 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'.

MusicRoots documents 6 artists who influenced The Verve and 1 artist The Verve influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced The Verve?

• Can — Krautrock was the defining influence that set The Verve apart from their shoegaze peers — Ashcroft's love of Can's hypnotic repetition drove A Storm in Heaven's exploratory grooves.
• Pink Floyd — Pink Floyd's atmospherics are the acknowledged backbone of A Storm in Heaven; McCabe had Floyd 'forced on' him young, and Floyd sat among the band's shared touchstones.
• The Rolling Stones — The Stones' swagger and rhythmic drive fed The Verve — most famously the orchestral sample of 'The Last Time' that built 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' (1997).
• The Beatles — The Beatles' melodic structures were part of the classic-rock foundation The Verve built on, and among the band's shared touchstones.
• Led Zeppelin — Nick McCabe cited Led Zeppelin among the classic rock 'forced on' him young — part of the heavy-textured guitar vocabulary he brought to The Verve.
• Joy Division — McCabe named Joy Division an early influence — the post-punk atmosphere beneath The Verve's psychedelic space.

Which artists did The Verve influence?

• Embrace — The Verve's string-swept, expansive rock is a clear model for Embrace's soaring ballads.