Rolling Stone's Man Hits Out At Verve

Legendary Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham has hit out at The Verve, who famously used a Rolling Stones sample in their 1997 hit 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'.

The band sampled a section of the Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra's version of the Rolling Stones hit 'The Last Time'. In a new interview, the former manager joked about the ensuing court case.

"They (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards) have the watch and I have a pretty presentable watch strap. That's my little piece."

It's worth pointing out that 'The Last Time' was itself based on a gospel record by The Staple Singers. The court case however, focussed on the orchestral version of the main riff, which was 'invented' by Brian Jones - the riff however, is similar to many blues songs.

Although The Verve negotiated the rights to the sample in advance, it was argued in court that the band used "too much" of it. Loog Oldham is clearly still in confrontational mood, stating that "as for Richard Ashcroft, well, I don't know how an artist can be severely damaged by that experience. Songwriters have learned to call songs their children, and he thinks he wrote something. He didn't. I hope he's got over it. It takes a while."