About Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He formed the alternative rock band the Verve in 1990 and served as the sole songwriter, lead singer and rhythm guitarist throughout the band's lifetime. In 2000, Ashcroft embarked on a solo career, releasing six UK top-three solo albums, including Alone with Everybody, Keys to the World and These People. The sudden death of his father from a brain haemorrhage in 1982, when Ashcroft was just 11, became a pivotal and traumatic turning point. Recorded at Sawmills Studios, the sessions were largely improvisational; Ashcroft would edit usable fragments from sprawling jams to structure them into cohesive songs. Reflecting on this period, Ashcroft admitted the group was frequently under the influence of LSD during the recording process, which contributed to the album's expansive, psychedelic atmosphere. However, the intense recording sessions at Loco Studios exacerbated creative differences between Ashcroft and McCabe.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.