What Is Richard Ashcroft's Net Worth?
Richard Ashcroft is an English musician, singer, and songwriter with a net worth of $4 million. Richard Ashcroft is known for being the lead singer of the rock band The Verve. The Verve formed in 1990 and released their debut studio album, "A Storm in Heaven," in 1993. The band's third album, 1997's "Urban Hymns," was certified 10x Platinum and reached #1 in the UK, New Zealand, and Sweden, propelled by the single "Bitter Sweet Symphony," which reached #2 in the UK and charted in 10 countries. The band also had success with the singles "The Drugs Don't Work," "Lucky Man," and "Love Is Noise." The Verve won two Brit Awards in 1998 and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999. They broke up in 1999, reunited in 2007, and then broke up again in 2009. Ashcroft has been described by Chris Martin of Coldplay as "the best singer in the world." His debut solo studio album "Alone with Everybody" was released in 2000 and hit #1 in the UK, eventually going Platinum. His best-known singles as a solo artist include "A Song for the Lovers" and "Break the Night with Colour."
Rolling Stones Royalties
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" samples an orchestral cover of the 1965 Rolling Stones song "The Last Time," which was written and arranged by David Whitaker. Note that the sampled music is NOT part of the original Rolling Stones song in any way. The Verve successfully cleared the rights to the sample, but they did not seek publishing rights from the Stones. Upon the release of the song, Richard Ashcroft was contacted by Stones manager Alan Klein, whose company ABKCO Records held the copyright to "The Last Song." Klein successfully arranged for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to receive 100% credit and songwriting royalties for the song.
Twenty years later, in May 2019, it was announced that Jagger and Richards agreed unconditionally to hand over songwriting credit and publishing rights to Richard Ashcroft. Ashcroft's managers appealed directly to the Stones frontmen. The victory will likely result in hundreds of thousands in annual income for Ashcroft if not more!
Early Life
Richard Ashcroft was born on September 11, 1971, in Wigan, Lancashire, England. He is the only son of Frank and Louise Ashcroft, though he has two younger sisters. His father worked as an office worker, while his mother was a hairdresser. When Richard was 11 years old, his father died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage. His mother later married Ashcroft's stepfather, who belonged to the Rosicrucians, a spiritual and esoteric movement. Richard attended Up Holland High School in West Lancashire along with future bandmates Simon Jones, Peter Salisbury, and Simon Tong. He then attended Winstanley College, where he met Nick McCabe. Initially, he was very interested in becoming a professional soccer player but eventually turned his focus to music.
The Verve
In 1990, Ashcroft formed The Verve with Nick McCabe, Simon Jones, and Peter Salisbury. The band signed to Hut Records and became part of the Britpop movement. In 1995, the band split up, and Richard began working on music for his solo album. However, in 1997, he changed his mind and asked McCabe to return to the band, along with Simon Tong. They reformed The Verve and released the album "Urban Hymns," which became a huge success. Ashcroft specifically was the focus of the band's success and was given the Ivor Novello Award for his songwriting. However, the pressures of touring and tensions within the band led McCabe to leave in mid-1998. The band announced they were breaking up in April of 1999. Later, in 2007, Ashcroft made peace with his former bandmates, and The Verve announced a reunion. They played gigs and festivals throughout 2008 before breaking up again in 2008.
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Solo Career
During the breakup of The Verve, Ashcroft focused on his solo career. He released his first solo single in April 2000 entitled "A Song for the Lovers." It peaked at #3 on the UK charts. He followed the track up with the single "Money to Burn," which peaked at #17. In June of that year, he released the album "Alone with Everybody." The album reached the top spot on the charts and went on to achieve platinum status in the UK.
Richard began working on his second album, "Human Conditions," in 2002. The lead single, "Check the Meaning," was released in October and peaked at #11 on the UK charts. He released the album later that month. The response to the album was generally positive, though not as good as his first solo album. Richard made a few live appearances in 2003 but was otherwise absent from the live music scene for a couple of years as he was devoted to raising his family at the time.
Ashcroft began playing gigs again in 2005 and performed with Coldplay during Live 8, the benefit concert in Hyde Park. He later signed to Parlophone and released his third solo album, "Keys to the World," in 2006. He also supported Coldplay on their "Twisted Logic" tour through North America and the UK. He announced a solo tour through the UK in May of 2006.
In 2010, Ashcroft announced the formation of a new band, RPA & The United Nations of Sound. They released a video for their first single, "Are You Ready?" in January 2010, followed by a release of a limited edition vinyl in the UK in April. The band toured Europe in the first half of June and then played some summer festivals. They released their debut album, "United Nations of Sound," in July 2010. The album was released in the United States in March of 2011.
In 2016, Ashcroft released his fifth album, "These People," after around six years of absence from the music industry. It received largely positive reviews from critics, and he embarked on a UK and Europe tour in mid-2016, followed by some dates in North America and Latin America. Two years later, Richard released his sixth solo album, "Natural Rebel." It debuted at #4 on the UK album charts. In October 2021, Ashcroft released another album, "Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1," which features acoustic versions of Ashcroft's songs with The Verve and from his solo career.
Personal Life
In 1995, Ashcroft married Kate Radley, a former member of Spiritualized. A year went by before their marriage was made public. They had their first son, Sonny, in 2000, followed by their second son, Cassius, in 2004. The family lives in Taynton in Gloucestershire and Richmond in London.
Ashcroft is a Manchester United fan and regularly attends matches. He is good friends with other musicians, like Noel and Liam Gallagher from Oasis and Chris Martin from Coldplay. The Gallagher brothers have expressed great respect for Ashcroft over the years and dedicated the track "Cast No Shadow" to him in 1995. Richard has provided backing vocals on some Oasis tracks.
