Lush (band)
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| Lush | |
|---|---|
 Lush, early 1990s
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| Background information | |
| Origin | England |
| Genre(s) | Shoegazing, Dream pop, Britpop |
| Years active | 1988–1996 |
| Associated acts | Sing-Sing, Lillies |
| Members | |
| Miki Berenyi Emma Anderson Phil King Chris Acland |
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| Former members | |
| Meriel Barham Steve Rippon |
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Lush were an English shoegazing band, formed in 1988 and disbanded in 1996.
Contents |
[edit] History
The original band members were Steve Rippon, Emma Anderson, Meriel Barham, Chris Acland and Miki Berenyi. Barham left almost immediately, alledgedly because the rest of the band accused her of spending too much time with her boyfriend. She eventually joined fellow 4AD label mates, Pale Saints. (The song 'Etherial' is said to be about this.) In 1989 the band signed to 4AD Records and released Scar, a 6-track mini-album. Critical praise for Scar and a wildly popular live show established Lush as one of the most written about groups of the early 1990s U.K. indie scene. Not long after, the British music 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 EP Mad Love, produced by Robin Guthrie, and single "Sweetness and Light" (produced by Tim Friese-Greene) were released. All three releases were eventually combined into the Gala album which was produced mainly for the US and Japanese markets.
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 guitar effects. 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, produced by Mike Hedges and mixed by Alan Moulder, was released in 1994 and featured a more stripped-down 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 up-beat 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, in a duet with Miki Berenyi on "Ciao!"
In 1996, drummer Chris Acland hanged himself in his parents' house allegedly due to depression. Another account states he was having financial problems, although there is no known factual evidence to back this up. In 1997, 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 senior sub-editor at a major magazine publisher. In 1998 Emma Anderson formed a new group, Sing-Sing with singer Lisa O'Neill. Sing-Sing released two full-length albums but in January 2008, announced they were disbanding. Emma Anderson currently resides in Brighton, UK and works at a booking agency. Phil King plays bass for The Jesus and Mary Chain and works at the same company as Miki (though not on the same publication).
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. "De-Luxe" is featured as a playable track in the popular music video game Rock Band 2. "Undertow" was used in a Levi's commercial and in one of the trailers to the movie Crash. "Light From a Dead Star" was used in the trailer for Solaris.
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" bore similarities to the Lush cover of the Rubinoos song.
[edit] Discography
All releases by 4AD Records, catalogue numbers in brackets.
[edit] Studio albums
| Release Date | Title | Format | Code | UK Albums Chart[1] | U.S. Billboard 200 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1992 | Spooky | LP/CD/Double-10" | GAD 2002 | 7 | – |
| June 1994 | Split | LP/CD | GAD 4011 | 19 | 195 |
| March 1996 | Lovelife | LP/CD | GAD 6004 | 8 | 189 |
[edit] Compilations
| Release Date | Title | Format | Release | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1990 | Gala | LP/CD | CAD 0017 | |
| 1994 | Cookie | CD | Japanese | |
| 1997 | Topolino | CD | Japanese/Canadian | 276862 |
| 2001 | Ciao! The Best of Lush | CD | GAD 2K22CD |
[edit] Singles and EPs
| Release Date | Title | Format | Code | UK Singles Chart[1] | U.S. Modern Rock |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1989 | Scar EP | LP/CD | JAD 911 | – | – |
| March 1990 | Mad Love EP | 12"/CD | BAD 0003 | 55 | – |
| October 1990 | "Sweetness and Light" | 7"/12"/CD | BAD 0013 | 47 | 4 |
| March 1991 | "De-Luxe" | Radio Promo | not for sale | – | 14 |
| March 1991 | Black Spring EP | 7"/12"/CD | BAD 1016 | 43 | – |
| January 1992 | For Love EP | 10"/12"/CD | BAD 2001 | 35 | 9 |
| 1992 | "Superblast" | CD | ¹ | – | – |
| 1992 | "Nothing Natural" | Radio Promo CD | not for sale | – | 22 |
| June 1994 | "Hypocrite" | 7"/12"/CD | BAD 4008 | 52 | – |
| June 1994 | "Desire Lines" | 7"/12"/CD | BAD 4010 | 60 | – |
| January 1996 | "Single Girl" | 7"/2*CD 2 | BAD 6001 | 21 | – |
| March 1996 | "Ladykillers" | 7"/2*CD 2 | BAD 6002 | 22 | 18 |
| July 1996 | "500 (Shake Baby Shake)" | 7"/2*CD 2 | BAD 6009 | 21 | – |
¹ Japanese release
2 The two CD releases for Single Girl, Ladykillers and 500 had different bonus tracks on them.
[edit] 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 27 June 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)
- "Undertow (The Spooky Mix)" appears on the Doom Generation soundtrack (1995, CD, Warner Bros / Wea B000002MAG)
- "All This Useless Beauty", an Elvis Costello cover, appears on the Elvis Costello & The Attractions maxi-single for "You Bowed Down" (1996, CD, Warner Bros. Records)
- "I Have the Moon" appears on the Nowhere soundtrack (1997, CD, Polygram Records B000001ERO)
- "Sweetness & Light (The Orange Squash Mix)" remixed by My Bloody Valentine appears on the Splendor soundtrack (1999, CD, Astralwerks ASW6282-2)
- Lush's song "De-Luxe" is a playable track in the video games, Rock Band 2 and Rock Band Unplugged.
[edit] Band images
 Miki Berenyi |
 Emma Anderson |
 Phil King |
 Chris Acland |
 Live in Rennes (France), April 1990 |
 Miki Berenyi, April 1990, Rennes (France) |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 333/4. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
[edit] External Links
- Lush-Page at 4AD
- LushRemembered.org - Biography, discography and tour-archive
- Extensive discography with album covers
- Lush discography at MusicBrainz
- Lush-Biography at VH1
