The Drugs Don't Work

"The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by English rock band the Verve. The song was written by Richard Ashcroft and is featured on their third studio album Urban Hymns. It was released on 1 September 1997 as the second single from the album, debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart. The beginning of the video shows the band walking down the street, following on from the end of "Bitter Sweet Symphony".[1]

"The Drugs Don't Work"
Single by The Verve
from the album Urban Hymns
B-side
  • Demo
  • "The Crab"
Released1 September 1997
Recorded1997
StudioOlympic, London
GenrePsychedelic rock, Britpop
Length5:05
LabelHut
Songwriter(s)Richard Ashcroft
Producer(s)
The Verve singles chronology
"Bitter Sweet Symphony"
(1997)		 "The Drugs Don't Work"
(1997)		 "Lucky Man"
(1997)
Music video
"The Drugs Don't Work" on YouTube

Ranked number seven on Channel 4's list of the 100 Greatest #1 Singles, the sombre nature of the song unintentionally captured the spirit of the nation as it was released the day after Princess Diana died.[2] In October 2011, NME placed "The Drugs Don't Work" at number 78 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[3]

Background and recording

Lead singer Richard Ashcroft wrote the song in early 1995. He briefly mentioned it in an interview at the time, relating it to his drug usage: "There's a new track I've just written ... It goes 'the drugs don't work, they just make me worse, and I know I'll see your face again'. That's how I'm feeling at the moment. They make me worse, man. But I still take 'em. Out of boredom and frustration you turn to something else to escape."[4]

Ashcroft also performed the song when the band was touring in support of A Northern Soul.[5][6] The song was eventually recorded for Urban Hymns. The album's producer, Chris Potter later referred to it as both the best song and best vocal he had ever recorded.[7]

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Andy Baybutt. The video begins with several references to The Verve's earlier work. The band appears in the same formation and clothes as they did at the end of the video for "Bitter Sweet Symphony". The cover of the machine on the front of the album No Come Down also appears briefly. The band turns around a corner and walks over to a vending machine called "Feelings". This refers to the song "Life's an Ocean" from their second album, A Northern Soul, where Ashcroft sings, "I was buying some feelings from a vending machine" (the same vending machine is also seen on the back of that album). The rest of the video shows, partially in black and white, the band playing the song indoors. The video ends with a piece of burning wood, with the words 'Urban Hymns' written on it, floating on water. The original concept for the video was to have the band filmed in a maze to illustrate "loss of direction".

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Cover versions
  • The song was covered by Ben Harper on his live album Live from Mars.
  • It has been covered by Skin.
  • James Walsh (Starsailor) also covered it.
  • In Australia, it was covered by Grinspoon for youth radio station Triple J's Like a Version CD.
  • Adam Gontier released a version of the song.
  • A Eurohouse cover of the song was performed by Devorah, a short-lived covers project, along with "Bitter Sweet Symphony".
  • It was covered by Australian pop vocalist/entertainer Kate Ceberano on her live album Kate Ceberano and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
  • In 2009, Taiwanese rock singer Faith Yang recorded the song as a part of her album Self-Selected of English-language covers.
  • Terra Naomi performed an acoustic cover of the song on YouTube in August 2008.
  • Howie Day covered the song for a promotional EP for his debut album, Australia.

References
  1. "The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony". Parlophone. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  2. "100 Greatest ... (The 100 Greatest Number One Singles)". ITN Source. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  3. "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". Nme.Com. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  4. "SELECT JUNE 1995". Musicsaves.org. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. Archived 28 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Virgin Radio Montreal". Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  7. "Chris Potter". Special.the-raft.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  8. The Drugs Don't Work (UK CD1 liner notes). The Verve. Hut Records. 1997. HUT DG88, 7243 8 94536 2 1.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. The Drugs Don't Work (UK cassette single sleeve). The Verve. Hut Records. 1997. HUT C88.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. The Drugs Don't Work (UK CD2 liner notes). The Verve. Hut Records. 1997. HUT DX88, 7243 8 94537 2 0.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. The Drugs Don't Work (UK 7-inch jukebox single vinyl disc). The Verve. Hut Records. 1997. HUTLH 88, 7243 8 94536 7 6.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. The Drugs Don't Work (UK 12-inch single sleeve). The Verve. Hut Records. 1997. HUTT88.CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. The Drugs Don't Work (Australian limited CD single liner notes). The Verve. Hut Records. 1997. 8949382, 7243 8 94938 2 5.CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. "Australian-charts.com – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  15. "Ultratop.be – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 38. 20 September 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  17. "The Verve: The Drugs Don't Work" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  18. "Lescharts.com – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  19. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  20. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (9.10 '97 – 16.10. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 10 October 1997. p. 22. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  21. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Drugs Don't Work". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  23. "Charts.nz – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  24. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work". VG-lista. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  25. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  26. "Swedishcharts.com – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  27. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  28. "Årslista Singlar, 1997" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  29. "Top 100 Singles 1997". Music Week. 17 January 1998. p. 27.
  30. "British single certifications – The Verve – The Drugs Don't Work". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
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