The reunion was announced on Richard Ashcroft's website

According to a statement on lead singer Richard Ashcroft's website, the 90s band were back recording together in a London studio last week.

Ashcroft and his fellow bandmates Nick McCabe, Simon Jones and Pete Salisbury will return after the summer to finish an album and perform six concerts.

The band said they were "getting back together for the joy of the music".

Formed in 1993, The Verve achieved their greatest success with the 1997 album Urban Hymns.

At the peak of their fame, Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher described them as "one of the most important bands in history".

'World's best singer'

Despite the success of such singles as Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don't Work, however, the quartet disbanded two years later.

Ashcroft has since released three solo albums: Alone with Everybody, Human Conditions and 2006's Keys to the World.

He also performed with Coldplay at 2005's Live 8 concert in London's Hyde Park, where he was introduced as "the best singer in the world".

Earlier this year the 35-year-old dismissed talk of a reunion, saying: "You're more likely to get all four Beatles on stage".