Richard Ashcroft

When English singer/songwriter Richard Ashcroft was a child, he was referred to by teachers as, "the cancer of the class." Not the atypical bright student that his professors wanted him to be, Ashcroft graduated from school and instead of putting his degree to use, decided to form a band - calling it The Verve. This group managed to become hugely successful in England (in the US, not so much), managing to get clumped together with that country's infatuation with mid 90s Britpop. Though The Verve broke up in 1999, Ashcroft still soldiers on and plays his solo material, which sounds predictably similar to his work with his old band, to eager audiences around the world.