Competition now closed

Thanks to everyone who participated. There were lots of submissions so in a few days I should have everything together to announce the winners.

The Snakeskin record

Has anyone ever heard of the Snakeskin record by Verve? Probably not. Apparently, only five copies were handed out, one for each band member and one to David Halliwell of Hut/Virgin. Dave Halliwell has now passed his copy to Brian Cannon who has it up on Ebay. Its going for skywards of £5750 already.

Here's a brief history about the apparent Snakeskin record that no one knew about. It doesn't really say much about the actual song other than it was recorded in 1992.

So rare is this record that even most hardcore Verve collectors are unaware of it's existence. They were given to the band members, Richard, Nick, Simon & Pete, and manager Dave Halliwell.

The track "Snakeskin" was inspired by the Rolling Stones "Cocksucker Blues." "Cocksucker Blues" was the title of a song Mick Jagger wrote to be the Stones' final single for Decca Records, as per their contract. Its context and language was chosen specifically to anger Decca executives. The track was refused by Decca and only released later on a West German compilation in 1983.

This recording was made at Richard Branson's Manor Studios in Oxfordshire during the 'She's A Superstar' sessions in 1992. The five records were given to The Verve (or Verve as they were known then) as a christmas present from Hut Records in 1992. The 7" is a one sided pressing and the labels on both sides are entirely blank.

The sleeve has a cut out on one side and a pseudo psychedelic colour photocopy of all band members on the reverse. The record has been played on a couple of occasions, it is, however, in near mint condition with only superficial surface marks. The sleeve has no tears or creases, there are some storage marks. The photocopy of the band members is uniform to all five copies and is unmarked on this edition.

The run out groove on the playing side has the inscriptions 'Snakeskin.1.A.' and 'Generally buzzing about christmas '92'. The flip side is devoid of grooves. Comes complete with letter from Dave Halliwell outlining the records history and authenticity.

Richard Ashcroft biography giveaway

The Verve Live is pleased to announce a week long competition to win a copy of Richard Ashcroft's recent biography titled The Verve, Burning Money, and The Keys to the World. The book was released in August and is published by the Independent Music Press in the United Kingdom. For more details on how to win, please follow this link.

• Update: The link once above is now broken. This post is kept here for archival purposes.

"Rather Be" EP on iTunes Canada

The Canadian iTunes store has recently listed the "Rather Be" EP for pre-order. It includes:

1) Rather Be (Edit)
2) All Night Long
3) Major Force
4) Love Is Noise (Tom Middleton Remix)

Virtual World forum

Parts of the forum have been opened for public viewing, namely the Verve and Richard Ashcroft 'universal' and 'live' boards. Visit the forum for more detailed discussion on recent news and register to view links, pictures, and private sections.

'Rather Be' update

According to the iLikeMusic website, the new b-sides "All Night Long" and "Major Force" will be available through digital bundle, along with a remix of "Love is Noise." A new live track is also rumored.

"Rather Be" is the second single to be taken from Verve's recent number one album 'Forth' and follows their first single "Love is Noise," which was released in August this year.

"Rather Be" is once again self-produced, and will be released on two limited edition 7" singles, CD, and as a digital download. The new single is out November 17.