"All in the Mind" is a song by the English rock band Verve. It was released as the band's debut single on 9 March 1992. They had formed while at college in Wigan, making their live debut in August 1990. With the addition of manager Dave Halliwell, the members went on the dole to make the band workable. A demo tape was made and heard by Virgin Records staff member Miles Leonard, who organised a show for them in London in July 1991. Dave Boyd, who also worked at the label, signed them to Hut Records in September 1991.
Verve recorded "All in the Mind", alongside its B-sides "One Way to Go" and "Man Called Sun", at Impact Studios, a converted barn in Canterbury, Kent. Engineer Paul Schroeder, known for his work with the Stone Roses, served as producer, while Steve Elswood acted as engineer. The members were tripping on acid the entire time, which frontman Richard Ashcroft saw as a poor decision in hindsight. "All in the Mind" was compared to the sound of Happy Mondays, while taking influence from Echo & the Bunnymen.
"All in the Mind" was met with generally favourable reviews, while some critics also praised the B-sides. It topped the Independent Singles Charts in the UK. The artwork was shot in Mesnes Park in Wigan and conceptualised by designer Brian Cannon. Before the single was issued, Verve supported the Smashing Pumpkins on their UK tour; after its release, Verve supported Ride. Around this time, they earned the front page of Melody Maker, and through comments in NME, Ashcroft earned the moniker of "Mad Richard". Further shows with Ride and Spiritualized followed.
Background While attending higher education with his school friends Peter Salisbury and Simon Jones, Richard Ashcroft wanted to form a band.Baker 2008, p. 18 Around this time, Ashcroft heard Nick McCabe playing in a practice room at Winstanley College in Wigan, Greater Manchester.Baker 2008, p. 19 Jones and Salisbury had been in separate acts, which made Ashcroft desperate to form his own. After his mother bought him a guitar, Ashcroft started a band with McCabe and a friend as the bassist,Baker 2008, p. 20 named the Butterfly Effect, which was then changed to Raingarden. Since Ashcroft resided in Wigan with Jones, he asked him and Salisbury if they wanted to join.Baker 2008, p. 22 Practice sessions followed, with them trying to find their own sound while avoiding the emerging Madchester movement, spearheaded by the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.Baker 2008, pp. 21, 22 While not having a band name, they made their live debut on 15 August 1990 at the Honeysuckle Pub in Poolstock.Egan 1998, p. 22 Despite only having two songs in their repertoire, friend and attendee Dave Halliwell offered to be their manager.Baker 2008, p. 23
They settled on the name Verve prior to a Manchester show in early 1991.Egan 1998, pp. 22, 23 At the persuasion of Ashcroft, the rest of Verve quit their jobs and accompanied him on the dole in an effort to make the band workable. They subsequently spent most of their time jamming in Wigan, securing frequent shows in the town, and recording a demo while in the house of Jones' parents. At this stage, the Madchester movement had reached an endpoint. Ashcroft said A&R representatives stopped seeking acts in the northern part of England. During this time, Boyd started working at Virgin Records with Miles Leonard, the latter of whom left his job at Chrysalis Records. Leonard had told the head of A&R at that label about checking out Verve, whom he heard through their demo. After being told no, he went to Virgin, who let him travel to see the band in Manchester.Baker 2008, p. 26 Leonard arranged for the band to play a show for the whole A&R department of Virgin in London in July 1991; after this, they signed a publishing deal with Virgin Music.Duffy 1993, p. 79 Boyd was moved by the performance that he signed them,Baker 2008, p. 27 which happened in September 1991.Egan 1998, p. 27
Recording Verve joined the roster of independent label Hut Records, which had a contract with Virgin, which consisted of bands from the Madchester scene and other acts that had little support. Their next show in London saw them support Whirlpool in December 1991;Clarke 1998, p. 18 despite not sounding similar to them, Verve were tagged as part of the shoegaze scene.Baker 2008, p. 28 As Verve had no immediate shows, they opted to record "All in the Mind" at Impact Studios. The space was a converted barn located in Canterbury, Kent, with engineer Paul Schroeder serving as producer. Leonard said they wanted to avoid using a popular producer in an attempt at retaining their rawness,Baker 2008, pp. 29–30 and he picked him with the notion that he would not be overbearing. Schroeder had previously collaborated with John Leckie on the Stone Roses' self-titled debut album (1989); Steve Elswood acted as engineer for the sessions.
The members of Verve were annoyed that they were unable to replicate the sound they had in their heads. Ashcroft attributed this to the members tripping on acid the whole time; Egan remarked that this decision created "predictably ghastly results". Ashcroft said the drugs were a poor decision: "We had some acid and thought what we’d done was brilliant and, of course, when we listened back it was terrible."Egan 1998, p. 34 They ultimately recorded "All in the Mind", "Man Called Sun", and "One Way to Go".Baker 2008, p. 30 "Man Called Sun" was re-recorded after a similar acid-influenced version had been made the day prior. Throughout recording, Egan said it shifted from an upbeat track to an extended, slow-moving type song. Leonard retrospectively said the sessions saw the members develop their unique personalities, such as McCabe wanting to continually improve whatever they were working on, as he could hear a better rendition in his head.
Composition Baker said "All in the Mind" had a "rock 'n' roll swagger allied to a weird dreamlike quality." He commented that the guitar sound heard in it was drawn out into a sinister drone; the song's breakdown section was compared to one heard on a dance recording. In contrast to a few years later, at the height of Britpop, newer acts were citing 1960s bands as influences. Baker wrote that Verve composed the song to be "so obviously retro [that it] was pretty much unthinkable [in 1991]." It was compared to the work of Happy Mondays; Clarke noted influences from Echo & the Bunnymen, alongside 1960s acts like the Byrds and the Rolling Stones. He wrote that its appeal resided in Ashcroft's cocky nature as a vocalist.
Baker said the bass part in "One Way to Go" evoked the work of the Cure, albeit with a tired, lethargic chorus from Ashcroft.Baker 2008, pp. 30–31 "Man Called Sun" evoked "Planet Caravan" (1970) by Black Sabbath, as well as the overall style of the Doors.Clarke 1998, p. 19 It showcases Jones' bass-playing abilities. Baker wrote that the tempo slows down akin to the work of Pink Floyd, while Ashcroft's "spacily detached" voice is found to be "drifting over Nick’s chiming guitar", recalling the sound of the Orb. He said that while it "appears to be going nowhere", the song "has its own ominous power which is reinforced by the ringing bell towards the end."Baker 2008, p. 31
Artwork
Ashcroft met designer Brian Cannon while at a party in Wigan during his college period.Baker 2008, pp. 31–32 He was interested in Cannon's work at the time; two years later, when Verve got signed, the pair reconnected at a petrol station. Ashcroft told him to contact Halliwell as they wanted to collaborate with him. Virgin Records planned to use a design company based in London that they had previously employed, until Ashcroft proposed Cannon's services.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 4:20–35 Up to this point, Cannon had minimal exposure, having done sleeves for Manchester rap groups Kiss AMC and Ruthless Rap Assassins.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 1:32–7, 4:35–8 Cannon went to Ashcroft's flat in Orrell, Wigan, to have a meeting with the rest of the band in December 1991.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 4:45–55, 8:32–9 He then travelled to London two days later to show his ideas to Virgin in an attempt to convince them.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 4:40–7, 9:14–22
The concept for the front cover was created after Cannon had been given a lyric sheet and recording of "All in the Mind" by Ashcroft, with the latter telling him the type of mood he was looking for. Baker said Cannon based the artwork for "All in the Mind" on a "surreal, warped version of the strange life they were living at the time." It shows members of the band on household furniture against the backdrop of Mesnes Park, located in Wigan. Cannon said this area was picked as it was a location that he and the band members knew from their childhood.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 5:22–9 Beforehand, he had researched the park, took some test images, and created mock-ups of the sleeves.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 13:23–44 The park photo shoot happened in January 1992,Microdot 2022, event occurs at 8:51–5 over the course of three-to-four hours.Baker 2008, p. 39 Cannon commented, "I just thought, 'You need some kind of bizarre vision for this kind of music' [...] the music was always the inspiration. Otherwise you're cheating the band and the public."Baker 2008, p. 32
Photographer Michael Spencer Jones took the front cover image, which he compared to a photo shoot in the vein of Cecil B. DeMille. He originally took it in colour but felt it did not have the right atmosphere, prompting him to shoot it using infrared, which made it look akin to a scene by painter Hieronymus Bosch. Baker said the artwork was fitting to the song, as the track came across as an amalgamation of the band's influences.Baker 2008, p. 33 Fiona Huston contributed photography to the rear side of the sleeve. Individuals included on the front cover artwork include: Cannon's mother and father at the furthest end of the photo; his friend Steve Mack in the centre; Leonard, who is dressed as a speargun fisherman, stood on a flower pot; to the left is the band the Bed Event, who included future Verve DJ Wayne Griggs; Cannon's sister below the Bed Event; Halliwell, who is wearing a postman outfit, in reference to his father's job; and a man known as Rob in preacher attire, speaking to a crowd.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 10:02–6, 11:10–3, 11:22–40, 11:45–53, 12:03–5, 12:12–20 The majority of the furniture seen belonged to Ashcroft, while a lamp and plants were taken from Cannon's flat.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 12:29–30 Cannon remarked that while they had secured a license to use the park for a shoot, the location was not closed off, resulting in some unknown individuals being featured on the cover.Microdot 2022, event occurs at 12:42–50
Release and touring