Richard Ashcroft was born on 11 September 1971, in England. He is a singer and a songwriter. Ashcroft is particularly famous for such hits as “A Song for The Lovers”, “Break the Night with Colors”, and “Check the Meaning”.
Richard was the only son of office manager Frank and hairdresser Margaret. When Ashcroft was 11, his father died from a stroke. Ashcroft attended Up Holland High School together with his future band members. Then he enrolled at Winstanley College, where he met Nick McCabe.
When Richard was young, he was interested in soccer and even played for a local team. For some time, he wanted to become a professional soccer player. But as he grew older, he realized that music was more important in his life.
In 1990, Ashcroft formed The Verve (initially called Verve) together with McCabe, Simon Jones, and Peter Salisbury. The band signed a deal with Hut Records and became famous for liking psychedelic music and drugs. They also enjoyed the Britpop style. In 1995, The Verve disbanded and Ashcroft wrote several songs, which he planned to include in his first solo album. However, by 1997, he changed his mind, reunited The Verve, and invited a new keyboardist Simon Tong. The same year, the reunited band released a very successful album Urban Hymns. Ashcroft was the driving force behind the group. He received an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting. In 1999, McCabe left the band and The Verve disbanded once more.
