The Drugs Don't Work

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Drugs Don't Work"
Single by The Verve
from the album Urban Hymns
Released	1 September 1997
Format	CD, 12"
Genre	Britpop, Rock
Length	5:05
Label	Hut
Producer(s)	Youth, Chris Potter, The Verve
Chart positions
#1 (UK Singles Chart)
The Verve singles chronology
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997)	"The Drugs Don't Work" (1997)	"Lucky Man" (1997)

"The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by the Britpop band The Verve and is featured on their third album, Urban Hymns. It was released on 1 September 1997 as the second single from the album, charting at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's most successful single in the UK. Composer Richard Ashcroft wrote the song in response to the death of his father to cancer [1] and is also thought to be influenced by his relationship with his wife. The chorus, and title line, 'The Drugs Don't work, they just make you worse' has double meaning; the drugs being given to his father not working and seemingly making him worse, and the undesired effect of drugs being taken to block out the pain of losing your father.

The song has also been covered by Ben Harper on his live album Live from Mars, and has also been covered by Skin. In Australia it was also covered by Grinspoon for youth radio station Triple J's Like A Version CD.

The lyrics of the original demo varied from the eventual album track, with the main line changing from "They just make me worse" to "They just make you worse".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Music video

The music video for the song starts where the video for Bitter Sweet Symphony ends. The band turn around a corner and walk into a vending machine called 'Feelings'. This is a reference to the song 'Life's An Ocean' from The Verve's second album A Northern Soul where Ashcroft sings "I was buying some feelings/from a vending machine". That particular vending machine is also seen on the back of the album A Northern Soul. The rest of the video shows the band playing the song, partially in black and white.

[edit] Track listings

• CD1 HUTDG88

1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
2. "Three Steps"
3. "The Drugs Don't Work" (demo)

• CD2 HUTDX88

1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
2. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (James Lavelle Remix)
3. "The Crab"
4. "Stamped"

• 12" HUT88

1. "The Drugs Don't Work" (radio edit)
2. "The Drugs Don't Work" (demo version)
3. "Three Steps"
4. "The Crab"

The Verve
Nick McCabe | Richard Ashcroft | Simon Jones | Peter Salisbury | Simon Tong
Discography
Studio albums: A Storm in Heaven | A Northern Soul | Urban Hymns
EPs: Verve EP | Five by Five
Compilations: No Come Down | This is Music: The Singles 92-98
Singles: "All in the Mind" | "She's a Superstar" | "Gravity Grave" | "Blue" | "Slide Away" | "This Is Music" | "On Your Own" | "History" | "Bitter Sweet Symphony" | "The Drugs Don't Work" | "Lucky Man" | "Sonnet"
Tours: Gravity Grave Tour | Urban Hymns Tour
Related articles
Britpop | Hut Records | Chris Potter | The Shining | Cathy Davey | Gorillaz | B.J. Cole | Bernard Butler

Preceded by "Men In Black" by Will Smith

UK Singles Chart Number 1 single September 7, 1997 for 1 week

Succeeded by "Candle In The Wind '97 / Something About The Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John