The Drugs Don't Work

"The Drugs Don't Work"
Single by the Verve
from the album Urban Hymns
B-side
  • "Three Steps"
  • "The Drugs Don't Work" (original demo)
  • "The Crab"
  • "Stamped"
Released1 September 1997 (1997-09-01)[1]
StudioOlympic, London
Genre
Length5:05
LabelHut
Songwriter(s)Richard Ashcroft
Producer(s)
The Verve singles chronology
"Bitter Sweet Symphony"
(1997) 		"The Drugs Don't Work"
(1997) 		"Lucky Man"
(1997)
Music video
"The Drugs Don't Work" on YouTube

"The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by English rock band the Verve. The song was written by Richard Ashcroft and is featured on their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It was released on 1 September 1997 as the second single from the album, debuting at number one on the UK singles chart. The beginning of the video shows the band walking down the street, following on from the end of "Bitter Sweet Symphony".[4]

Ranked number seven on Channel 4's list of the "100 Greatest #1 Singles", the sombre nature of the song unintentionally captured the spirit of the nation as it was released the day after Princess Diana died.[5] In October 2011, NME placed "The Drugs Don't Work" at number 78 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[6]

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 30 August 1997. p. 35. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  2. ^ Stiernberg, Bonnie (11 June 2014). "The 50 Best Britpop Songs". Paste. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  3. ^ Berman, Stuart (2 September 2017). "The Verve: Urban Hymns Album Review". Pitchfork.
  4. ^ "The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony". Parlophone. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2020.[dead YouTube link]
  5. ^ "100 Greatest ... (The 100 Greatest Number One Singles)". ITN Source. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  6. ^ "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". NME. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.