At the 1998 Brit Awards, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for Best British Single. The accompanying music video features Ashcroft walking down the busy pavement of Hoxton Street in Hoxton, East London, oblivious to his surroundings and refusing to change his stride or direction throughout. Īcclaimed in music publications, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was named Rolling Stone and NME Single of the Year for 1997 and is considered one of the defining songs of the Britpop era. In April 2019, Jagger and Richards ceded their rights to the song to the Verve's songwriter Richard Ashcroft. As a result, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were added to the songwriting credits, and all royalties from the song went to former Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein. It is based on a sample from the Andrew Loog Oldham orchestral cover of the Rolling Stones' song " The Last Time" and involved some legal controversy surrounding a plagiarism charge.
The song was released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings and Virgin Records as the first single from the album, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart and remaining in the chart for three months. " Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song recorded by English rock band the Verve as the lead track on their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997).