Lush (band)
| Lush | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1987–1996; 2015–2016 |
| Labels | 4AD, Reprise (US) |
| Associated acts |
|
| Website | lushofficial |
| Past members |
Miki Berenyi Emma Anderson Chris Acland Meriel Barham Steve Rippon Phil King Justin Welch |
Lush were an English rock band formed in London in 1987. The lineup before the original split consisted of Miki Berenyi (vocals, guitar), Emma Anderson (vocals, guitar), Phil King (bass) and Chris Acland (drums).
They were one of the first bands to have been described with the "shoegazing" label. Later, their sound moved toward Britpop. Following the death of drummer Chris Acland, the group disbanded in 1996.
The group reunited for a short time between 2015 and 2016; they toured and recorded an EP of new material.
The band formed in 1987 in London, initially named the Baby Machines (after a line in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "Arabian Knights"), with a lineup of Meriel Barham (vocals), Anderson (guitar, vocals), Berenyi (guitar, vocals), Steve Rippon (bass) and Chris Acland (drums).
Anderson and Berenyi had been school friends, having known each other since the early 1980s, and together published the Alphabet Soup fanzine. In 1986, Anderson joined the Rover Girls as bassist, and Berenyi joined the Bugs, also as a 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 6 March 1988. Barham left the band and later joined Pale Saints. Berenyi then took on lead vocal duties.
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!'" 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."
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