Lush were a British Alternative Rock band, originally active from 1987 to 1996 before reuniting from 2015 to 2016. They were, along with My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive, one of the main examples of Shoegazing.
The band was formed in 1987 and initially called itself The Baby Machines; its members were Meriel Barham (vocals), Emma Anderson (guitar), Miki Berenyi (guitar), Steve Rippon (bass), and Chris Acland (drums). The following year, Barham left the band, Berenyi and Anderson took over as lead vocalists, and the band was renamed Lush. In 1989, Lush signed to famous alternative talent incubators 4AD Records (see Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, The Breeders, The Pixies, etc.), released the 6-track mini-album Scar, and put together a live show that proved extremely popular.
Lush further raised its profile with additional EPs, extensive touring during the years 1990-91 (when it acquired the "shoegazing" label), performing among other places at the Glastonbury festival, and going to Japan and the USA. In 1992, Lush released their first full-length album, Spooky. It was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins, resulting in a sound fairly similar to that of the latter band—namely walls of sound, ethereal vocals and plenty of guitar effects. Just before the release of the album, Rippon left the band and was replaced by Phil King.
Lush played at Lollapalooza in 1992, and released two more albums in the following years: Split, which featured a more stripped-down sound than Spooky but otherwise continued with the trippy shoegazing, and the upbeat Lovelife, which surfed on the mid-1990s Britpop craze to great success in the UK. However, the attempted breakthrough on the American rock scene was unsuccessful, and the band broke with their management after the cancellation of tours in the UK and Japan. In 1996, Acland committed suicide and Lush went into hiatus, eventually disbanding in 1998.
The band reunited in September 2015 with Elastica drummer Justin Welch filling in for the late Acland. In 2016, Lush released a new 4-song album, Blind Spot. Phillip King left Lush in the middle of what would become their last tour, and the group permanently dissolved. Bassist Michael Conroy of Modern English replaced King for their final concert.
In September 2018, a successor to Lush was formed under the name of Piroshka. This band is a quartet consisting of Berenyi, Welch, Conroy and former Moose member K.J. "Moose" McKillop (who is also currently in a relationship with Berenyi, with two children between them). Their debut album Brickbat was released in February 15, 2019.
A piece of trivia: Miki Berenyi is half-Japanese, half-Hungarian, and her mother, Yasuko Nagazumi, played minor roles in You Only Live Twice and Space: 1999.
Discography:
- Scar EP (1989)
- Mad Love EP (1990)
- Sweetness and Light EP (1990)
- Gala (1990) - compilation including the previously released EPs and additional songs
- Spooky (1992)
- Split (1994)
- Lovelife (1996)
Tropes associated with Lush:
- Epic Rocking: The seven-and-a-half-minute-long "Desire Lines".
- Grass is Greener: "Single Girl". The song begins with "I don't want to be a single girl"... and then after she finds love and endures some fights and annoyances, the song ends with "I just want to be a single girl".
- New Sound Album: Split toned down the Dream Pop; Lovelife turned up the Britpop.
- Non-Appearing Title: It's easier to list the songs that avert this trope (such as "Single Girl" and "Hypocrite").
- Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Definitely in the earlier stuff.
- Quarreling Song: "Ciao!", a Break-Up Song, sung by Miki in duet with Jarvis Cocker.
- Repurposed Pop Song: "Sweetness And Light" turned up in a Volkswagen commercial in the late 90s.
- Shout-Out: "Laura" to Laura Nyro, with its references to her songs "Luckie", "Stoney End" and "Sweet Blindness".
- Take That!: "Ladykillers" was written based on an encounter Miki Berenyi had one time with Anthony Kiedis. The music video even features a self-centered guy strongly resembling Kiedis.
- Token Minority: Miki is an English woman of half-Japanese, half-Hungarian parentage. As a child, she had to deal with racism from other kids because of it, not to mention that her Hungarian grandmother hated Miki's mother and called her a 'Japanese whore' (though she did make exceptions for Miki).
