As The Verve US tour opens tonight, new guitarist - veteran pedal-stell player BJ Cole - gives us a view inside the band...
THE VERVE are set to unveil a radically different sound at tonight's opening date of their US tour.
Central to the new sound is BJ Cole, the veteran pedal-steel guitar player the band have drafted in to replace guitarist Nick McCabe after he absented himself from all Verve live dates.
Just before leaving London for Chicago with the rest of The Verve, BJ Cole told NME that the versions of 'Bitter Sweet Symphony', 'The Drugs Don't Work' and 'Sonnet' he's rehearsed with the band bear little relation to the original studio versions recorded with McCabe.
"When I went into the rehearsal I had no idea that I was replacing somebody," Cole said. "So I just did what I do. Now that I know I'm replacing Nick, I've listened to the record more intensely in terms of his parts but I hope it won't change my original ideas."
Cole put his induction into the touring band down to "a hunch on Richard Ashcroft's part". "It's not the most obvious way of replacing Nick but they seemed to like it. I was communicating primarily with Richard and Simon (Tong) during the rehearsals. They were very communicative and enthusiastic about what I was bringing to the band."
Cole rehearsed for two days with the band in London and in Chicago last weekend prior to The Verve opening their US tour at the Aragon Ballroom tonight (Tuesday, July 28). Cole has previously played on albums by Spiritualized, Elton John and Beck and is currently recording an album with Luke Vibert.
He said he actually had no idea that McCabe had pulled out of the band's live dates when he received a call from The Verve's management asking him to rehearse with them.
"I went into the rehearsal without any general knowledge of what had gone on in the band. But I didn't get a feeling that they are gonna pack up after this tour. In fact, they wrote a song while we were rehearsing. I don't think it has a title, but it's quite heavy, it's quite hard."
Cole said that he will be playing on about three-quarters of the band's set. He says together they've rehearsed versions of 'Bitter Sweet Symphony', 'Space And Time', 'The Drugs Don't Work', 'Sonnet', 'Lucky Man', 'One Day' and 'Velvet Morning'. "Obviously, they're all anthemic and they all really suit the steel guitar," he said. "I know it's a lateral approach but when you think about it it does make sense."
Cole said Richard Ashcroft didn't discuss McCabe's situation with him. "Now I know why. He just doesn't know. My feeling is if I can contribute something that gives them new hope in the sound without Nick then obviously they're going to have an ongoing view about the band. It seems to all stem from Richard saying the band doesn't exist without Nick. Now it's one of those things where somebody says something apocryphal like that then all of a sudden it becomes a reality. I don't know if he's actually analysed whether that is true. Their mood was very positive."
28 June 1998
15 June 1998
The Verve - Is this the end?
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The Verve - is it over? NME's behind the scenes report into the internal turmoil of the hottest band in Britain in 1998...
The Verve's future is in doubt after last week's announcement that Nick McCabe will not be playing live in the UK with the group at their V98 and Slane Castle gigs in August.
The founder member guitarist will also be absent from the band's US tour which begins in Chicago on July 28 winds up in Seattle three weeks later (August 17). The statement follows weeks of speculation about the group's future, much of it triggered by the band's walk-out from their German tour in June (officially because bassist Simon Jones contracted a viral infection) and the subsequent cancellation of a further six European festivals over the following four weeks. In some cases, European promoters were informed of the band's cancellation only hours after being assured they would be fit enough to play.
Rumours sprang up to the effect that the band's management was keeping the members apart because of arguments within the group. One tale, subsequently denied by The Verve's press representatives, suggested that a fist-fight had occurred between McCabe and Jones. A statement issued last week by the band's press representatives was ambiguous regarding The Verve's future.
It read: "Nick McCabe, lead guitarist with The Verve, will not be touring with the band for the rest of this year. The remaining members of the band - Simon Jones, Richard Ashcroft, Pete Salisbury and Simon Tong - will fulfil The Verve's touring commitments as a four-piece: the dates include two headlining appearances at next month's V98 festival. McCabe's decision has been forced by the increasing stress of touring."
The statement went on to say that Jones would be rejoining the band in the coming week to rehearse with them for the US dates. The US, V98 dates and Slane Castle were described as "the only dates the band are scheduled to play this year". There was no mention in the statement of whether McCabe would continue to record with the band or would tour with them in the future. Nor was there any indication in the statement as to the nature of "the increasing stress of touring" or whether the band would continue as The Verve after the US tour. Ashcroft has said on many occasions that The Verve can't function as a band without McCabe.
The confirmation of McCabe's absence casts a pall over what was to be the year The Verve cemented their position above Oasis as Britain's current number one band. Their 'Urban Hymns' album sold five million copies, their Wigan Haigh Hall show on May 24 sold out its 33,000 tickets even before any support acts were announced and their two V98 appearances have also been the fastest-selling in the festival's history. The band picked up three Brit Awards in January and four awards at the NME Brats the same month. An Ivor Novello Award for best songwriter followed for Ashcroft in May.
The band's progress on the road to success America has been steady if somewhat slower than expected. They played a 12-date coast-to-coast tour of 1,000-capacity venues last October and November and were one of the most eagerly anticipated of the British acts to play last month's Tibetan Freedom Festival before Jones' illness forced their last-minute withdrawal.
The Verve's future is in doubt after last week's announcement that Nick McCabe will not be playing live in the UK with the group at their V98 and Slane Castle gigs in August.
The founder member guitarist will also be absent from the band's US tour which begins in Chicago on July 28 winds up in Seattle three weeks later (August 17). The statement follows weeks of speculation about the group's future, much of it triggered by the band's walk-out from their German tour in June (officially because bassist Simon Jones contracted a viral infection) and the subsequent cancellation of a further six European festivals over the following four weeks. In some cases, European promoters were informed of the band's cancellation only hours after being assured they would be fit enough to play.
Rumours sprang up to the effect that the band's management was keeping the members apart because of arguments within the group. One tale, subsequently denied by The Verve's press representatives, suggested that a fist-fight had occurred between McCabe and Jones. A statement issued last week by the band's press representatives was ambiguous regarding The Verve's future.
It read: "Nick McCabe, lead guitarist with The Verve, will not be touring with the band for the rest of this year. The remaining members of the band - Simon Jones, Richard Ashcroft, Pete Salisbury and Simon Tong - will fulfil The Verve's touring commitments as a four-piece: the dates include two headlining appearances at next month's V98 festival. McCabe's decision has been forced by the increasing stress of touring."
The statement went on to say that Jones would be rejoining the band in the coming week to rehearse with them for the US dates. The US, V98 dates and Slane Castle were described as "the only dates the band are scheduled to play this year". There was no mention in the statement of whether McCabe would continue to record with the band or would tour with them in the future. Nor was there any indication in the statement as to the nature of "the increasing stress of touring" or whether the band would continue as The Verve after the US tour. Ashcroft has said on many occasions that The Verve can't function as a band without McCabe.
The confirmation of McCabe's absence casts a pall over what was to be the year The Verve cemented their position above Oasis as Britain's current number one band. Their 'Urban Hymns' album sold five million copies, their Wigan Haigh Hall show on May 24 sold out its 33,000 tickets even before any support acts were announced and their two V98 appearances have also been the fastest-selling in the festival's history. The band picked up three Brit Awards in January and four awards at the NME Brats the same month. An Ivor Novello Award for best songwriter followed for Ashcroft in May.
The band's progress on the road to success America has been steady if somewhat slower than expected. They played a 12-date coast-to-coast tour of 1,000-capacity venues last October and November and were one of the most eagerly anticipated of the British acts to play last month's Tibetan Freedom Festival before Jones' illness forced their last-minute withdrawal.
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