The Drugs Don't Work


"The Drugs Don't Work" is a song by the English rock band the Verve, written by Richard Ashcroft and is featured on their third album, Urban Hymns. 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".
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. In October 2011, NME placed “The Drugs Don't Work” at number 78 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

Background and recording

Lead singer Richard Ashcroft wrote the song in early 1995. He briefly mentioned it in an interview at the time, relating it to his drug usage: "There's a new track I've just written... It goes 'the drugs don't work, they just make me worse, and I know I'll see your face again'. That's how I'm feeling at the moment. They make me worse, man. But I still take 'em. Out of boredom and frustration you turn to something else to escape."
Ashcroft also performed the song when the band was touring in support of A Northern Soul. The song was eventually recorded for Urban Hymns. The album's producer, Chris Potter later referred to it as both the best song and best vocal he had ever recorded.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Andy Baybutt. The video begins with several references to The Verve's earlier work. The band appears in the same formation and clothes as they did at the end of the video for "Bitter Sweet Symphony". The cover of the machine on the front of the album No Come Down also appears briefly. The band turns around a corner and walks over to a vending machine called "Feelings". This refers to the song "Life's an Ocean" from their second album, A Northern Soul, where Ashcroft sings, "I was buying some feelings from a vending machine". The rest of the video shows, partially in black and white, the band playing the song indoors. The video ends with a piece of burning wood, with the words 'Urban Hymns' written on it, floating on water. The original concept for the video was to have the band filmed in a maze to illustrate "loss of direction".

Cover versions

  1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  2. "Three Steps"
  3. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  2. "Bitter Sweet Symphony"
  3. "The Crab"
  4. "Stamped"
  1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  2. "Three Steps"
  1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  2. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  2. "Three Steps"
  3. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  4. "The Crab"
  1. "The Drugs Don't Work"

    Australian version

  1. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  2. "Three Steps"
  3. "The Drugs Don't Work"
  4. "Bitter Sweet Symphony"

    Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications