Verve, the original name of The Verve, were an English rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1990, having met at Winstanley Sixth Form College. The band's initial line-up comprised vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury, whilst Simon Tong later became a member as a second guitarist and keyboard player.

Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space rock, by the mid-1990s they had released several EPs and two acclaimed records.