The Verve — 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' Music Video, Hoxton Street, London

The Verve's music video for 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' (1997) was filmed on Hoxton Street in east London and features singer Richard Ashcroft walking in a straight line down the pavement, refusing to deviate for anyone or anything in his path. Directed by Walter Stern, the video follows Ashcroft in a single continuous tracking shot as he bumps into pedestrians, walks through people, and maintains his course with an expression of almost trance-like determination. The simplicity of the concept — one man, one street, no compromise — made it one of the most iconic music videos of the 1990s.

Hoxton Street in 1997 was still a scrappy, unfashionable east London street — a world away from the gentrified neighbourhood it would later become. Ashcroft's walk through its pedestrians, past its shops and market stalls, captured something about the Britpop era's swagger and self-belief. The video's concept has been imitated and parodied countless times since, but the original retains its power — partly because of Ashcroft's physical commitment to the role, and partly because the song itself, with its sweeping orchestral sample, provides a soundtrack of unstoppable forward momentum.

Hoxton Street runs through the heart of what is now one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in London. The street has changed considerably since 1997 — coffee shops and galleries have replaced many of the older businesses — but the basic layout visible in the video is recognisable. The video won the award for Best Video at the 1998 Brit Awards.