Synopsis

The Verve perform "Sonnet" in a stark, surreal setting dominated by a large car park and a Russian-language "Exit" sign. Richard Ashcroft sits alone in a chair as the camera presents him against a succession of changing backgrounds, creating a disorienting contrast with the song's gentle, reflective mood. The visual approach remains deliberately restrained until the closing moments, when the other members of The Verve appear together, turning the isolated performance into a full-band statement.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in July 1997, several months before "Sonnet" was released as a single in the United Kingdom on March 2, 1998.

• The Russian "Exit" sign is one of the video's most noticeable visual details, adding to its deliberately detached and slightly surreal atmosphere.

• "Sonnet" was the final single released from the highly successful *Urban Hymns* album.

• The Verve were reportedly reluctant to issue another single from *Urban Hymns*. The eventual release was packaged as four 12-inch records, with the tracks distributed across the set, making it ineligible for normal chart recognition.

• The limited-edition package was restricted to 5,000 copies and was designed to fit into a cardboard mailer alongside reissues of the previous three singles.

• Unlike the band's famous "Bitter Sweet Symphony" video, the "Sonnet" promo avoids a recognizable city-street narrative and instead relies on repetition, close-up framing, and changing surroundings.