The Drugs Don't Work
| "The Drugs Don't Work" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by the Verve | ||||
| from the album Urban Hymns | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 1 September 1997 | |||
| Studio | Olympic, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:05 | |||
| Label | Hut | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Richard Ashcroft | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| The Verve singles chronology | ||||
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| 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. 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".