The return of Richard Ashcroft: The king of cool

And of the best hair ever ...

If you know me well, you know that all I’ve wanted in life is to have the hair of Richard Ashcroft. Though I’m pretty sure at this stage in life, the opportunity has passed me by.

It’s time to celebrate this British legend. The Gallagher brothers picked him as Oasis’ opener for the most anticipated tour of the last 10 years, and I take that as a sign that I need to dive deep into The Verve and Richard Ashcroft once again.

It’s not that I’m shallow, but I did enjoy the eras when rockstars looked like rockstars. The Strokes, Guns ‘N Roses, Oasis — the list goes on. Part of that swagger is what helped make bands iconic and not one-hit wonders (along with the songs, of course). Give a listen to the playlist below and tell me The Verve didn’t have some epic songs.

Most people are familiar with The Verve via “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” but there is so much more to them and their 1997 masterpiece Urban Hymns.

Just give a listen to “Bitter Sweet,” “Sonnet,” “The Drugs Don’t Work,” “Space and Time,” and more. The lyrics still hit as hard today as they did 10 years ago. Some albums age so gracefully like fine wine, and some don’t. The Verve’s music, and even some solo Ashcroft tracks, still sound so good today.

“Sonnet” must be making its rounds again, as it’s featured on the John Lewis Christmas Advert 2024. I’m assuming that it’s part of the pop culture zeitgeist, as it’s also featured on my release radar on Spotify. It did help me to revisit and realize what an incredibly catchy song it is with such swagger.

Richard seemingly has a slew of gigs popping up all over, including the highly anticipated Oasis tour. He’s got some headlining shows in 2025, along with shows with Lenny Kravitz and more.

Check out Richard’s recent Royal Albert Hall performance to remind yourself just how good this guy is, and it doesn’t hurt that he still has the best head of hair in the business.

Liam and Noel must know something, and it’s definitely helping to restore my faith in rock ‘n’ roll a bit with the recent frenzy about the tour. Call me an Anglophile, but Brits just seem to do it better sometimes.

Let us know what you think.

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