Nick McCabe and Simon Jones launch The Black Ships this summer

The Verve guitarist Nick McCabe and bassist Simon Jones are to make their live debut as The Black Ships in London this June. The band will play London's King's College Students Union on June 2.

The Black Ships, who formed in 2009, also count drummer Mig Schillace and violinist Davide Rossi in their line up. Rossi, though never formally in The Verve, played on their 2008 album Forth and featured in the band's live line up frequently after that.

Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 15, at 9am (GMT). To check the availability of The Black Ships tickets, go to NME Tickets, or call 0871 230 1094 (UK).

Join The Black Ships mailing list here: http://theblackships.com/signup/.

• Source: NME
• Update 6/16/2018: The Black Ships links above are now broken. Small corrections made.

Boston, New York City, and Sirius XM

Richard Ashcroft's performance at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in Boston on March 24 is now available on the Jim Bean website for a limited time only.

Also, on Friday, April 1, Richard Ashcroft was interviewed by Kristine Stone for The Spectrum on Sirius XM. He interviewed and also performed some songs, two of which were posted last week. The interview portion is now available here.

Last, check out this review of Richard Ashcroft's gig at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City.

Verve rarities for sale

Looking for some (very rare) Verve memorabilia? If you have some extra cash, head on over to the Amazon Marketplace.

• Voyager 1 original blue-vinyl edition for $175.00. Seller in Illinois, USA. Link here. 

• Make It 'Til Monday (Live from Glastonbury 1993) in clear 7" Flexi-Disc for $55.99. Seller in California. Link here.

Richard Ashcroft on His 10-Day Album

Richard Ashcroft's hair hasn't changed since he appeared in the "Bittersweet Symphony" music video that premiered in 1997—an amazing feat for any 40-year-old man. He doesn't seem to have aged at all, actually, since his appearances in magazines 14 years ago.

Ashcroft, the former lead singer/songwriter for The Verve, was in New York to perform in the US for the first time in three years. Promoting his first solo album in four years, Ashcroft performed at the Bowery Ballroom and was accompanied by The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On a very wet and rainy Monday, we caught up with him for breakfast at the Crosby Street Hotel, shot a few portraits, and discussed his perspective on the music business and the production of his latest record.

Richard Ashcroft "Are You Ready?" Live on SiriusXM

• Kudos: verve1995

Richard Ashcroft "Space and Time" Live on SiriusXM