Richard Ashcroft is set to return with a new single on Friday (19.02.21).

The 49-year-old rocker took to his social media pages to tease his first new music since his 2018 LP 'Natural Rebel'.

Ashcroft shared a barcode with a picture of the former Verve star seen faintly through it.

Underneath, it reads: "New Single 00:01 19/02/2021."

The 'A Song for the Lovers' singer's close pal Liam Gallagher expressed his delight at Ashcroft's comeback.

He commented underneath the post on Twitter: "C’mon you know."

Last year, Ashcroft revealed he was working on a acoustic 'greatest hits' collection.

The 'Drugs Don't Work' hitmaker spilled that he was busy recording a collection of stripped-back versions of "some of the best tunes" from his career.

He said: "Yeah, at the moment I'm set to start on an acoustic set of some of the best tunes... and stripping them back and laying them bare basically, so that will be my next thing.

"I'm excited about that... I'll be recording, I'm carrying on, moving on.

"So that will be my next record and from there when that comes out, that mythical night in my mind will take place."

However, he didn't reveal whether the record, which is yet to get a release date, will feature any material from The Verve's back catalogue, or whether it will be focused on his solo career.

Meanwhile, although the live music scene is in a difficult place at the moment amid the coronavirus pandemic, he has previously explained he has no plans to stop making music anytime soon.

He said previously: "It's only physically that will stop me adding that desire to explore music to my fans and enjoy this gift I've been given.

"I'm aware that just as many people who like me, don't like me and once you're comfortable with that you're never going to please the whole world musically. That's just the yin and yang and the balance of life."

The 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' star added that he feels more confident in his own talents later in his career.

He insisted: "I love performing live. My voice is better, I have a much stronger voice now than I had, I sound like a child back then."