Bitter Sweet Symphony royalties returned to Ashcroft

In April 2019, the Rolling Stones agreed to return the royalties and songwriting credits for “Bitter Sweet Symphony” to Ashcroft. Ashcroft announced the agreement in May, when he received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors . He said it was a “kind and magnanimous” move, and said: “I never had a personal beef with the Stones. They’ve always been the greatest rock and roll band in the world. It’s been a fantastic development. It’s life-affirming in a way.”