Credit: Alamy

Watch Richard Ashcroft recreate The Verve’s ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ video for Sky Sports

Mon 17 July 2023 6:42, UK

Richard Ashcroft has recreated his iconic strut from the video to The Verve‘s 1997 hit single ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’.

The new promotional spot is for Sky Sports’ coverage of Formula One racing. Ashcroft filmed the recreation a few days before the British Grand Prix 2023.

The original video featured Ashcroft and his bandmates in The Verve walking down a busy sidewalk in Hoxton, London. For the new version, he is now alone, making his way around the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire.

The promo isn’t a direct one-to-one recreation of the original ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ video. For one, Ashcroft recorded a brand-new version of the track, on which he changes up some of the lyrical phrasing of the original song. In the video, Ashcroft also sports an acoustic guitar throughout his walking travels.

It probably goes without saying that there are far more cutaways to racecars and pitstops than there were in the original ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ video as well. Still, the general feeling is the same between the two videos.

Ashcroft had the songwriting credits and royalties from ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ returned to him in 2019 after a protracted legal battle with ABKCO Records and its founder, former Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein. Following Klein’s death in 2009, Ashcroft convinced his son Jody, along with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, to hand over the rights to the song.

Check out the new promo for Sky Sports’ F1 coverage, plus the original ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ video, down below.