Lush (band) - History

History

The band formed in 1987, initially named The Baby Machines, with a line-up of Meriel Barham (vocals), Emma Anderson (guitar), Miki Berenyi (guitar), Steve Rippon (bass), and Chris Acland (drums). Anderson and Berenyi had been friends since the early 1980s, and published the Alphabet Soup fanzine together. In 1986 Anderson joined The Rover Girls as bassist and Berenyi joined The Bugs also as bass player; neither band lasted long, and in 1987 they joined Barham and Acland in The Baby Machines. Rippon joined shortly thereafter, and the band members decided on a change of name to Lush, making their live debut at the Camden Falcon on March 6, 1988. Barham left the band and later joined Pale Saints. Anderson and Berenyi then took on lead vocal duties.

Emma Anderson said of the band's beginnings: "We were kind of punk rock in one way. We did think 'Well, if they can do it, why the fuck can't we?' Basically, our idea was to have extremely loud guitars with much weaker vocals. And, really, the vocals were weaker due to nervousness - we'd always be going 'Turn them down! Turn them down!'" Miki Berenyi said, "We started by writing crappy riot grrl anthems... which was probably charming in a juvenile way. But there was a very rapid shift from the minute we started to write for records. The music, the lyrics became much more thoughtful and expressive, more important, really. I remember that change beginning when Emma wrote "Thoughtforms," it certainly made me think I needed to get my act together."

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 UK indie scene. Anderson told Everett True in Melody Maker, "I remember when I couldn't play, I wasn't in a band, didn't know anyone else who could play, and now we've got a record out on 4AD. I sometimes find it impossible to come to terms with what's happening."

Not long after, the British music press tagged them with the "shoegazing" label. The following year, the EP Mad Love (produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins) and the single "Sweetness and Light" (produced by Tim Friese-Greene) were released. All three releases were eventually combined into the Gala compilation album which was produced mainly for the US and Japanese markets. The band recorded a live session for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show in 1990 and contributed a cover version of "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep" to the anti-poll tax album Alvin Lives (in Leeds).

The band's profile was raised by extensive touring, including an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival and tours of Japan and the United States (with Ride). Lush's first full-length album of completely new material was Spooky, released in January 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; although the album sold well, reaching number 7 in the UK Albums Chart. The album was preceded by the band's first UK top 40 single, "For Love." Rippon left the band during the final mixing of the album 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. Lush was eagerly added to the 2nd Lollapalooza roster in 1992 by its organizer, Perry Farrell, the Jane's Addiction/Porno for Pyros frontman, who personally requested Lush for his new tour program.

Lush approached Bob Mould to produce their second album. The band stated that Mould was too busy to produce them, but Mould said in a Spin Magazine article that he backed out because "I kept picking the wrong girl's songs... I had to get out before I broke up the band!" Split, produced by the band with Mike Hedges and mixed by Alan Moulder, was released in June 1994 and featured a more stripped-down sound. Split was not as successful as Spooky, however. Two singles from the album ("Hypocrite" and "Desire Lines") were both released on 30 May 1994, making Lush the first band ever to release two different singles on the very same day, though neither single broke into the UK Top 40. The band concentrated on the American market, under the advice of their management, but failed to make a breakthrough there; they suffered further setbacks when tours of Japan and the UK were canceled. They decided to break from their management and begin work on a new album. 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 upbeat 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 the song "Ciao!"

In October 1996, tragedy struck the band when drummer Chris Acland committed suicide by hanging himself in his parents' house. After a long period of grieving, the band continued for a time, with rumours that they were working with former Scarce drummer Stephen Albert, but the band officially announced that they had split up on 23 February 1998.