"Lucky Man" is a song by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simo ...

. It was written by singer

Richard Ashcroft Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...

. The song was released as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the band's third studio album, ''

Urban Hymns ''Urban Hymns'' is the third studio album by English alternative rock band the Verve, released on 29 September 1997 on Hut Records. It earned nearly unanimous critical praise upon its release, and went on to become the band's best-selling rel ...

'' (1997). It was released on 24 November 1997, charting at number seven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was also the band's second top 20 hit on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States, climbing to number 16. In Canada, "Lucky Man" peaked at number 25 on the ''RPM'' Top Singles chart. It also reached the top 40 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Background

In an interview on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, singer Richard Ashcroft said the song was "inspired by my relationship with my wife, and that sense of when you're beyond the sort of peacock dance that you have early on in a relationship. And you're getting down to the raw nature of yourselves."

Release

"Lucky Man" was released in the United Kingdom on 24 November 1997 across four formats: two

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

s, a 7-inch vinyl single, and a

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was first introduced in 1980. History The debu ...

. An earlier single from the band, "

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

", is included as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

on CD1 of the UK release. The final B-side on CD2, "Happiness More or Less", is a remix of the title track made by guitarist

Nick McCabe Nicholas John McCabe (born 14 July 1971) is an English musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Verve. Early life McCabe is the son of a bus driver father and a social worker mother and has two older brothers, Alan and Paul. When asked ...

after another B-side was needed for the release. All of the guitar and most of the vocal parts were taken out, leaving the drums, bass and strings. Another B-side on CD2, "MSG", is an alternate version of "

Bitter Sweet Symphony "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by the English rock band the Verve, from their third studio album, ''Urban Hymns'' (1997). It was produced by Youth and released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings and Virgin Records as the album's lead single. ...

" that features the percussion and bass line from that song, with psychedelic soundscapes added. In the United States, "Lucky Man" was serviced to

alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

on 7 April 1998.

Reception

U2's

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

listed the song as one of six songs released between 1986–2006 that he wished he'd written.

Music videos

The UK version of the video was directed by Andy Baybutt and sees the band in th
Thames Reach development
adjacent to th
Thames Wharf complex
directly opposite the

Harrods Furniture Depository The Harrods Furniture Depository buildings flank the south bank of the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, London, built on the site of an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for the larger items that could not be taken into ...

. This is situated near

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in post code W6 9HA. Richard Ashcroft sings the song whilst playing an acoustic guitar; the rest of the band look on. The Thames Wharf Complex was designed by Sir Richard Rogers. The US version was shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, featuring the band in an apartment and then travelling to a mountain top.

Track listings

UK CD1 and cassette single # "Lucky Man" # "Never Wanna See You Cry" # "History" UK CD2 and Australian CD single # "Lucky Man" # "MSG" # "The Longest Day" # "Lucky Man (Happiness More or Less)" UK 12-inch single :A1. "Lucky Man" :A2. "Never Wanna See You Cry" :B1. "MSG" :B2. "Longest Day" Australian and New Zealand VHS single # "Lucky Man" # "Bitter Sweet Symphony" # "Lucky Man" (UK version)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucky Man (The Verve Song) Songs about luck 1997 singles 1997 songs Hut Records singles Song recordings produced by Chris Potter (record producer) Songs written by Richard Ashcroft The Verve songs