Originally, The Verve had negotiated a licence to use a
sample from the Oldham recording, but it was successfully argued that the Verve had used 'too much' of the sample.
[5] Despite having original lyrics, the music of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is partially based on the Oldham track, which led to a lawsuit with
ABKCO Records,
Allen Klein's company that owns the rights to the Rolling Stones material of the 1960s. The matter was eventually
settled, with copyright of the song reverting to ABKCO and songwriting credits to
Jagger and Richards.
"We were told it was going to be a 50/50 split, and then they saw how well the record was doing," says band member
Simon Jones. "They rung up and said 'we want 100 per cent or take it out of the shops', you don't have much choice."
[6]
After losing the composer credits to the song, Richard Ashcroft commented, "This is the best song Jagger and Richards have written in 20 years."
[7]
...
In a Cash For Questions interview with Q magazine published in January 1999, Keith Richards was asked if he thought it was harsh taking all The Verve's royalties from "Bitter Sweet Symphony" to which he replied, "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If The Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money."
