The Verve had their first (and last) number one single with The Drugs Don’t Work, the second of four hit ballads from their 1997 album Urban Hymns.

This song came into my mind as soon as I read about the Ukrainian footballer Mykhailo Mudryk being suspended after failing a drug test.

Mudryk is (in)famous for being arguably the most expensive flop in English football history; a year ago Chelsea paid £90 million for his services.

Since then he has been… how can I put this?… useless.

The highlight of his Chelsea career came against Arsenal, who dodged a bullet after spending most of last January trying to sign him before he was swayed by the riches on offer in West London, when he crossed so inaccurately that the ball accidentally sailed over the keeper’s head into the goal.

So when I read that he had been taking performance-enhancing drugs (allegedly), I could understand why he might seek help. Not that Richard Ashcroft had that sort of thing in mind.

He wrote his melancholy ballad about his own drug experiences, saying at the time: “They make me worse, man. But I still take ’em. Out of boredom and frustration you turn to something else to escape.”

Having said that, I remember being convinced there was a deeper back story involving a loved one dying of a debilitating disease and the helplessness he felt watching them slip away.

Never mind that it wasn’t – a look at the YouTube comments shows that that’s very much been the experience of many of those with whom the song has resonated. And that’s much more important.

It was one of the four hit singles from The Verve’s 1997 album Urban Hymns, and the only one to top the charts, following Bitter Sweet Symphony and preceding Lucky Man and Sonnet.