Lush (band)

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Lush

Lush were an English shoegazing band, formed in 1988 and disbanded in 1996.

History

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. In January 2008, Sing-Sing announced they were disbanding via their MySpace account. Emma Anderson currently resides in Brighton, England.

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).

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" bears remarkable similarities to the Lush cover of the Rubinoos song.

Lush's song "De-Luxe" is a playable track in the video game Rock Band 2.


Discography

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

Studio albums

Release Date Title Format Code UK U.S.
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

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

Singles and EPs

Release Date Title Format Code UK Singles Chart US Mod
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 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 BAD 6001 21 –
March 1996 "Ladykillers" 7"/2*CD BAD 6002 22 18
July 1996 "500" 7"/2*CD BAD 6009 21 –

¹ Japanese release

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)
  • "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)

Band images

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