lush¹

Lush
Background information
Origin	England
Genre(s)	Shoegazing, Dream pop, Britpop
Years active	1988–1996
Associated acts	Sing-Sing
Members
Miki Berenyi (vocals/guitar) Emma Anderson (guitar/vocals) Phil King (bass guitar) Chris Acland (drums)
Former members
Meriel Barham (Vocals) Steve Rippon (bass guitar)

Lush were an English shoegazing band, formed in 1988.

Band History

Lush, early 1990s

The original band members were Steve Rippon, Emma Anderson, Meriel Barham, Chris Acland and Miki Berenyi. Barham left almost immediately, eventually joining fellow 4AD label mates, Pale Saints. Robin Guthrie helped the band sign to 4AD Records and released Scar, an EP, in 1989. Critical praise for Scar and a wildly popular live show established Lush as one of the best-selling bands of the early 90s U.K. indie scene. At the same time the British musical press tagged them with the title of 'shoegazers', a label that has developed into a whole genre of its own, i.e. 'shoegazing' (sometimes referred to as 'The Scene That Celebrates Itself'). The following year, the EPs Mad Love, produced by Robin Guthrie, and Sweetness and Light were released. All three EPs were eventually combined into the Gala album.

Lush's first LP made up of completely new material was Spooky in 1992. Again produced by Guthrie, Spooky featured a sound very similar to Guthrie's band Cocteau Twins, with walls of sound and a great deal of flanging. Reviews were mixed and critics of the album hold that Guthrie's production brought the sound away from the band's original creative vision. Rippon left the band at this stage in order to concentrate on writing, though his book Cold Turkey Sandwich—a fictionalized chronicle of his time touring—was rejected by publishers. He was replaced by Phil King. Also in 1992, Lush toured America as part of the Lollapalooza festival.

Split was released in 1994 and featured a more jagged sound. Split was not as successful as Spooky, however. 1996's Lovelife, the band's final album, became the biggest seller of their career as it was released on the heels of the Britpop craze, possibly due to a more minimal production style than their earlier releases. Lovelife included the hit singles "Ladykillers" and "Single Girl," and also featured a guest appearance by Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, duetting with Miki Berenyi on "Ciao!"

In 1996, drummer Chris Acland hanged himself in his parents' house allegedly due to depression. In 1998 the three remaining members of Lush announced their decision to disband. Miki Berenyi, devastated by Acland's death, removed herself from public life and eventually went to work as an editorial assistant for the BBC. Emma Anderson has since formed a new band, Sing-Sing, which has released two full-length albums to date.

The song "Sweetness and Light" was used in a commercial by Volkswagen, and the song "Ladykillers" was part of the soundtrack for EA Sports' NCAA Football 06 video game. "Undertow" was used in a Levi's commercial and in one of the trailers to the movie Crash (1996).

In a bizarre footnote to their career, Lush's version of The Rubinoos song, "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," (retitled "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" for Lush's authorized version) was cited in a 2007 lawsuit filed by the Rubinoos against Avril Lavigne, whose song "Girlfriend" allegedly bears remarkable similarities to the Lush cover of the Rubinoos song.

Discography

All releases by 4AD Records, catalogue numbers in brackets.

Singles and EPs

¹ Japanese release

Studio albums

Compilations

• Gala (Dec 1990, LP/CD, CAD 0017)
• Cookie (1994, CD, Japanese release)
• Topolino (1997, CD, Japanese/Canadian release, 276862)
• Ciao! The Best of Lush (2001, CD, GAD 2K22CD)

Other appearances

• "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" appears on Alvin Lives (In Leeds) Anti Poll Tax Trax (1990, CD, Midnight Music CLANG 4CD)
• A live version of "Starlust" recorded on the NME Stage, Glastonbury on June 27, 1992 appears on In a Field of Their Own (1992, CD)
• "Tiny Smiles" appears on Volume Two (1991, CD)
• A demo version of "Desire Lines" appears on The 13 Year Itch (1993, CD, 4AD Cat. No. SHUFFLE)
• An alternative version of "The Childcatcher" appears on All Virgos Are Mad (1994, CD, 4AD Cat. No. 45789)
• A demo version of "Tinkerbell" appears on Volume Ten (1994, CD, RTM/Pinnacle 10VCD10)
• "Sweetness & Light (The Orange Squash Mix)" remixed by My Bloody Valentine appears on the Splendor soundtrack (1999, CD, Astralwerks ASW6282-2)

Band images

Miki Berenyi	Emma Anderson	Phil King	Chris Acland
Live in Rennes (France), April 1990	Miki Berenyi	Miki Berenyi, April 1990, Rennes(France)

Donate to Wikimedia