Synopsis

The video continues directly from the closing moments of "Bitter Sweet Symphony," with The Verve walking together through London in the same formation and clothes. They turn a corner and encounter a vending machine labeled "Feelings," linking the clip to the band's earlier song "Life's an Ocean." The focus then shifts indoors, where the group performs in a dim, partly black-and-white setting. The mournful atmosphere closes on a burning piece of wood marked "Urban Hymns" drifting across water.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed at the London flat of Hut Recordings boss Dave Boyd.

• Its opening functions as a visual continuation of "Bitter Sweet Symphony," connecting two of The Verve's most recognizable videos.

• The "Feelings" vending machine references the lyric in "Life's an Ocean," from the 1995 album "A Northern Soul." The same prop had also appeared in the artwork for that album.

• The original idea was reportedly to film the band in a maze, representing a loss of direction. The finished video instead uses the band's walk through London and the enclosed performance scenes to create a more restrained version of that idea.

• "The Drugs Don't Work" was released as a single on September 1, 1997, and reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom.

• Its release came one day after the death of Princess Diana, an event that contributed to the song's unusually somber resonance in Britain at the time.

• The final image of burning wood marked "Urban Hymns" ties the video directly to the album it helped promote.