What happened to LUSH?

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― Todd, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

one committed suicide in kendal a few years back. one is now in sing sing. i don't know about the other two

― gareth, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Sing Sing - the prison? or is it a band?

― Winkelmann, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

PHILIP KING was in FELT.. what happened to him? MIKI?

― todd, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

I thought both miki and emma were in Sing Sing.

― MarkH, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

No, it's pretty much Emma's band...Miki seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Miki and Phil King were 'outed' by another site who'd checked up on them on friends reunited as working for a TV listings magazine at IPC...Sing Sing are touring UK as we speak...US later..

― Mat O, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Drummer Chris Acland -- a virtual CLONE of Peter Murphy -- hung himself and that pretty much ended the band. No idea what Miki's gotten up to since then. Sad, really. There was a singles compilation of theirs about a year back or so. Loved them at the time, but their stuff hasn't aged so well, it seems.

― Alex in NYC, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

I was back at someone else's place a few months back, and they put Lush's debut album on.... I laughed my ass off at first, but "Ladykillers" was a fucking great song, no?

― Dom Passantino, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Their best single was and always will be "De-Luxe".

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

And a lovely song it was too. Le sigh.

Drummer Chris Acland -- a virtual CLONE of Peter Murphy

It was weird -- I had seen photos of him (and the band live) but this comparison didn't leap out at me until a MM article mentioned the resemblance, late 1991 or so I think. The photo with it featured his eyes and above in light and the rest in shadow, and the way he glowered made it all perfectly obvious!

Friend of mine interviewed him a few weeks before he killed himself, said that he seemed perfectly happy and chatty. You really can't tell...

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Aye, Deluxe has that great chord progression in the chorus/bridge bit. Thoughtforms is great too!

― Jez, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

I'd say Lush up to 1992 has aged fine: it sounds timeless, or it sounds like late-80s-early-90s, which are the same thing to me.

After that the sound veers some there are fine tracks on split and even on lovelife, but I could never love them as much as I adore the early records, which remain frosted december heaths.

― the pinefox, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

now i've "light from a dead star" jammed in my head...

― mike (ro)bott, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

it's all about "Scarlet" (if I've got the right song...)

― Paul, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

laughed your ass off? cause it was so fantastic? every song on gala is a prize. or maybe you're talking about spooky which isn't that great but still better than the later period material which was pretty ordinary.

― keith, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

I was listening to some of my Lush stuff the other day and was quite surprised as to how little of it wasn't good. It may sound dated but not in an unappealing way.

― electric sound of jim, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

But Ladykillers was on their third album, Lovelife... wasn't it?

― Mr swygart, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

i like lush ok, but if you put it on a mix tape, it always sticks out like a sore thumb. i didn't know you could have so much treble come out of one band!!

― Ron, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Treble? Lush? surely some mistake?

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Keith- I laughed my ass off because my memory had (incorrectly) filed Lush next to Sleeper, Menswe@r, and Northern Uproar. I was happily proved wrong.

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

It is incredingbly hard to find even "Lovelife" these days, not to say any of the earlier albums.

On the Sleeper/Echobelly mistake: they were kind of contemporaries but Emma and Miki had been contemporaries of MBV too, I guess

― Arantxa, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

The only concert I ever fell asleep at was by Lush. And I wasn't drinking, just tired from queuing for hours to get in as they opened the doors 2 or 3 hours late.

― Winkelmann, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

The only show I've ever literally fallen asleep at was Sonic Youth. Even at their worst, at least Lush were something to look at. Not so for the `Youth.

― Alex in NYC, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

for some reason i am listening to the song 'starlust'

― ron (ron), Wednesday, 28 August 2002 04:11 (10 years ago) Permalink

'cos it's good?

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 28 August 2002 04:27 (10 years ago) Permalink

yeah, but it popped in my head for no apparent reason

― ron (ron), Wednesday, 28 August 2002 04:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

and i'm ok with that, don't get me wrong :-)

― ron (ron), Wednesday, 28 August 2002 04:35 (10 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

Just spotted that Emma from Lush is on The Orchestra Pit programme on Resonance FM at 13.15 BST today, talking about her career.

― NickB (NickB), Thursday, 21 April 2005 08:02 (8 years ago) Permalink

This is starting right now if anyone is particularly keen on catching it.

― NickB (NickB), Thursday, 21 April 2005 11:16 (8 years ago) Permalink

Miki from Lush was still at IPC aabout a year ago. You see her around the building. She still has super-distinctive hair.

― Anna (Anna), Thursday, 21 April 2005 12:14 (8 years ago) Permalink

I must disagree w/Alex's statement concerning the two bands' respective looks

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Thursday, 21 April 2005 12:24 (8 years ago) Permalink

I have the singles compilation. Good stuff; I agree that "Ladykillers" is both atypical and their best song, but that doesn't mean everything else is bad. The music is dated, but not in a bad way.

― Lyra Jane (Lyra Jane), Thursday, 21 April 2005 13:08 (8 years ago) Permalink

I must disagree w/Alex's statement concerning the two bands' respective look

My statement? Well, the bit about falling completely asleep on my feet in front of Sonic Youth is entirely true. I'm not saying Lush blew a new part in my hair and set the room on fire, but they were visually more engaging than Sonic Youth. But, y'know, I've never been a member of Sonic Youth's hallelujah choir, so ya might factor that into your assessment.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 21 April 2005 13:50 (8 years ago) Permalink

I think Lush were the ultimate mixtape band. They were completely impossible to listen to for more than three songs, but if you put just about anything they did on a mixtape it sounds fantastic.

The idea of getting paperwork or voicemail from Miki Berenyi seems really strange to me. It would be like having Kevin Sheilds fix your plumbing or something. You would sit there thinking "oh my god, oh my god, Kevin from MBV is snaking my toilet."

― Disco Nihilist (mjt), Thursday, 21 April 2005 20:08 (8 years ago) Permalink

I still think their best song is "De-Luxe".

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 21 April 2005 20:10 (8 years ago) Permalink

I interviewed them a couple of times, and they were genuinely the nicest people, Miki and Chris especially. I ran into Chris in London in 1993 (at least a year or so after I'd last interviewed them) at a Neil Young/James/Pearl Jam festival in Finsbury Park, and he completley remembered me (including my name) and bought me more than my fair share of beers. To hear that he took his own life was quite sad.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 21 April 2005 20:14 (8 years ago) Permalink

Dan Perry is still right.

― Disco Nihilist (mjt), Thursday, 21 April 2005 20:16 (8 years ago) Permalink

"De-Luxe" is irrefutably their best song.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 21 April 2005 20:19 (8 years ago) Permalink

you might be right about that mixtape thing, dn. they were not an album band.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Thursday, 21 April 2005 20:21 (8 years ago) Permalink

i can still hear, in my quiet moments, dave kendall say "and here's lush with 'superblast.'"
i think it's my fave still.

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Thursday, 21 April 2005 20:24 (8 years ago) Permalink

I had fun flirting with Miki at a show once. She was sweet.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Thursday, 21 April 2005 21:08 (8 years ago) Permalink

They did some amazing songs in their early days for sure. I've always been in love with Miki and Emma just for the vocals on Spooky and all the different stuff that was on Gala. Chris was a great drummer too..

― Johnny Badlees (crispssssss), Thursday, 21 April 2005 21:15 (8 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

I was never a huge Lush fan, but good grief I heard 'For Love' for the first time in years last night and now it sounds like the best song in the world.

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:47 (8 years ago) Permalink

:-)

But as the others upthread note, "De Luxe" = winner.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:51 (8 years ago) Permalink

man, i used to be nuts about that song. i think that was one of the first CDs i ever bought!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:53 (8 years ago) Permalink

Incidentally, I came across Emma from Lush on Friendster once. She didn't say "I am Emma from Lush" but it was her and it was funny.

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:58 (8 years ago) Permalink

Re-reading this thread, I have the urge to pick up some of their records again.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Sunday, 8 May 2005 15:59 (8 years ago) Permalink

I think Lush are back.

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 8 May 2005 16:02 (8 years ago) Permalink

did she talk about when she auctioned off her bed for charity?

― keith m (keithmcl), Sunday, 8 May 2005 16:26 (8 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 106 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

btw atp dude, if u are out there somewhere: you are the fucking worst

― in movie 2001 resurrect thread on planet jupiter (Pillbox), Sunday, 4 April 2010 07:59 (3 years ago) Permalink

^^^

― from the unhip (electricsound), Sunday, 4 April 2010 08:47 (3 years ago) Permalink

If My Bloody Valentine’s experimental but calculated aural sculptures are Jackson Pollock or Damien Hirst

They sound like a noted abstract expressionist or maybe a twat who put a shark in a box.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Sunday, 4 April 2010 09:38 (3 years ago) Permalink

Bassist Phil King (ex-Felt & currently in the Jesus & Mary Chain)

wot.

no mention of Union Jackson ?

cracking article .. time to go a diggin' in the archives.

― mark e, Sunday, 4 April 2010 09:42 (3 years ago) Permalink

History has vindicated Swervedriver

When?

Why? How?

But Lush, yes, absolutely Lush. Fuck an ATP anyway, they should reform off their own bat, do some gigs etc. There's a growing audience for 90s indie nostalgia anyway.

And the Pale Saints.

― Duke Newsom (DavidM), Sunday, 4 April 2010 09:47 (3 years ago) Permalink

An over-defensive article based around the idea that they are validated because lots of well known people said they liked them. Should've just talked about what they meant to the writer. Then again...

Lush’s Spooky album is a bona fide masterpiece.

It's their worst imo. It might've had a chance if it wasn't buried under a thick layer of Robin Guthrie varnish. Gala is their best release, but I prefer both Split and Lovelife to Spooky.

And I don't know who is having these discussions where Chapterhouse and Echobelly(!?) are favoured over Lush, but anyway.

― Duke Newsom (DavidM), Sunday, 4 April 2010 10:07 (3 years ago) Permalink

i also think spooky is their worst but it's far from a bad record.

surely no fucker really favours echobelly

― from the unhip (electricsound), Sunday, 4 April 2010 10:14 (3 years ago) Permalink

leaving The Pale Saints & The Telescopes as the true unsung heroes of the genre.

Never really dug The Telescopes much beyond the first singles, but Pale Saints grow in my affections with every year that passes (and I loved them at the time anyway). I know a lot of people dismiss the post-Masters stuff, but some of Slow Buildings is fucking amazing.

― Bill A, Sunday, 4 April 2010 13:15 (3 years ago) Permalink

some of Slow Buildings is fucking amazing.

Eh, I felt the "Fine Friend" single pretty much summed up that period.

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Sunday, 4 April 2010 19:39 (3 years ago) Permalink

Saying some of slow buildings is amazing is most not otm statement ever.

― keythhtyek, Monday, 5 April 2010 00:37 (3 years ago) Permalink

it's not the horrific disaster some make it out to be, unlike say rachel goswell's solo material

― from the unhip (electricsound), Monday, 5 April 2010 00:53 (3 years ago) Permalink

it's not the horrific disaster some make it out to be, unlike say rachel goswell's solo material

Yahhh! That's so true, I couldn't believe how bad Rachel's solo stuff was!!

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Monday, 5 April 2010 01:15 (3 years ago) Permalink

Meanwhile, by chance, my latest Not Just the Ticket entry...

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 5 April 2010 18:45 (3 years ago) Permalink

Good work Ned - I only saw Lush a couple of times a bit earlier in their career, but Spotify has enabled a fair bit of retrospective listening recently. I've some photos from a gig at the Manchester Boardwalk in 1990 that I'll try to scan and upload soon (in the process of moving house currently so everything's packed up, but will get on it once settled).

― Bill A, Monday, 5 April 2010 20:02 (3 years ago) Permalink

i know the production on spooky gets a bad rap, but imo if there was ever a band built to withstand (nay, prosper) from guthrie's sugary winterblast it was lush circa '92

― hobbes, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 07:34 (3 years ago) Permalink

argh end parenthesis after from

― hobbes, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 07:35 (3 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I often found the production on their previous stuff was a little thin, which is not an accusation that could be levelled at RG's maximalistic approach.

― Bill A, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 08:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

This is no time for revisionism, everything they say about Guthrie's work on Spooky is true. It's all true. The sound is so sealed in and polite. The voices are indistinguishable, and far too airy; the guitars should ring out clear, but are all cloudy; the drums are coming from the room upstairs.
Guthrie seems to think he's producing something called Sugar-Frosted Choo-Choo Faery, and he ain't.

― Duke Newsom (DavidM), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 08:58 (3 years ago) Permalink

guthrie has done a lot of great things, but his production of non-CT artists isn't really among them

― from the unhip (electricsound), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 09:03 (3 years ago) Permalink

Anyway, remember them this way:

― Duke Newsom (DavidM), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 09:10 (3 years ago) Permalink

So we don't get to see the lads with their tops off then?

― Doran, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 12:04 (3 years ago) Permalink

Haven't got them, soz.

― Duke Newsom (DavidM), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 12:18 (3 years ago) Permalink

http://www.lightfromadeadstar.org/Photos/Promo%20Photos.htm

― Convenience Fish (snoball), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 12:25 (3 years ago) Permalink

An extraordinarily good looking band. Part of their legacy problem right there. Too good looking. Too female/feminine. Too chipper looking.

It's been really good listening to Lush again this weekend.

― Doran, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 14:05 (3 years ago) Permalink

revisionism my ass, i've always been down w/spooky

― hobbes, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 21:13 (3 years ago) Permalink

but fuck, i first "spooky" when i was 15, in 1998, and i probably traded my copy of stone temple pilots "core" for it. so n/m

― hobbes, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 21:17 (3 years ago) Permalink

No, no. Spooky is classic. Fuck production.

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 21:33 (3 years ago) Permalink

i like the production on spooky. it's their best album too, imo.

― max arrrrrgh, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 22:27 (3 years ago) Permalink

I am all for Lush-canonization -- there are tons of things about them that sound even better now than they did at the time, especially the stuff that set them apart from the other bands around them. But the one thing recaps can't really touch on is the way that ... even if it seems less significant in hindsight, the changes they made going into Lovelife are what buried them for a while, aren't they? It felt like they reached for a certain pop role, didn't quite snag it right, and that's surely why their reputation languished for a while.

― oɔsıqɐu (nabisco), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 22:52 (3 years ago) Permalink

first time i heard lush was the singles off lovelife and found them really annoying (altho "500" is ok i guess) got into shoegaze about 2000 and somebody played me a couple of their early tracks without telling me who it was and i've loved the first couple of albums and early eps ever since.

― max arrrrrgh, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 22:58 (3 years ago) Permalink

lush got way more popular in oz off the back of the lovelife album, but i'm betting that a fair chunk of that was the jarvis duet. also shake baby shake was thrashed on the radio

― from the unhip (electricsound), Tuesday, 6 April 2010 23:12 (3 years ago) Permalink

Ha, I should probably be clear what I mean about snagging the pop role right -- I mean, that album seemed way more successful in a broad pop way, but I feel like there was this sense that they'd accomplished that by going a bit bland, or joining up to run in a pack with bands like Sleeper and Echobelly, or something. I don't know that anyone considered that a huge sell-out, or anything, but surely it has something to do with their not being critically canonized in the way they might have been if they'd released three records like Gala and then broken up, you know?

― oɔsıqɐu (nabisco), Wednesday, 7 April 2010 01:04 (3 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

http://vonpipmusicalexpress.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/lush-mad-love/

― piscesx, Friday, 21 May 2010 04:49 (2 years ago) Permalink

i do kind of miss these guys, though they were never ever in the same league as MBV or Slowdive.

― keine Macht für dich mehr! (Eisbaer), Sunday, 23 May 2010 15:01 (2 years ago) Permalink

the linked interview is really interesting, though. being American, i had no idea that Lush had gotten beaten up so much in the British musical press -- the interview claims it's because they were "lighter" than other shoegaze bands (which is true i guess) -- but it wasn't as if Slowdive (to give a counter-example) had a particularly easy time with the British press either.

― keine Macht für dich mehr! (Eisbaer), Sunday, 23 May 2010 15:51 (2 years ago) Permalink

yeah i recall interviews w/them in The Big Takeover where they blasted the British press, especially for constantly pushing the tired dull sexist "look these are women playing rock music" line.

― hobbes, Sunday, 23 May 2010 23:52 (2 years ago) Permalink

Also, shoegaze in general got AN LOT of ridicule; the term itself was originally used as a pejorative iirc.

― anatol_merklich, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 22:02 (2 years ago) Permalink

This must go down on record as the longest Lush thread ever being that it was stated in 2002!

In fact I can't think of any other band or for that matter, subject matter that has merited such an long thread!

― outoftheblue, Monday, 31 May 2010 08:37 (2 years ago) Permalink

i won't introduce you to the pseudo echo thread in that case

― lemon lime & butters (electricsound), Monday, 31 May 2010 08:53 (2 years ago) Permalink

I suppose with Lush now talking about reforming, it could quite easy make it's 10th anniversary.

I guess it's only a matter of time, until a reunion is on the cards.

Which would be very strange, to say the least.

― outoftheblue, Monday, 31 May 2010 11:17 (2 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

(sigh)

― piscesx, Saturday, 23 October 2010 04:39 (2 years ago) Permalink

After seeing Lush repeatedly place on the shoegaze-tracks poll, I am revisiting all of these Lush albums and they are hitting all the right autumnal emotional trigger points. So fucking good. The outros to Nothing Natural and Desire Lines are killing me.

― bmus, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 23:18 (2 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

Of course Lush will never get old. They will forever be in their twenties and the music will always remain ageless. And they didn't need the build-up and applause of the music press to keep them relevant either.

― ShadwwithouttheO, Saturday, 12 March 2011 23:50 (2 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Just read a note on FB that tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of Chris Acland's death.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 00:21 (7 months ago) Permalink

I've just bumped into this Emma Anderson interview... was kind of surprised to learn they've actually contemplated reuniting, but haven't been offered enough money :(

― daavid, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 04:44 (7 months ago) Permalink

Interview here

― daavid, Wednesday, 17 October 2012 04:46 (7 months ago) Permalink

Was talking to Emma Anderson at a wedding the other week.

― Manfred Mann meets Man Parrish (ithappens), Wednesday, 17 October 2012 11:21 (7 months ago) Permalink

Saw the Ride / Lush tour the summer I gradjeeated from college at the late lamented Latin Quarter in Detroit. Epic show. My brother and I both lost hearing in our right ears from the treble onslaught, but 21 years later I have no regrets!

― broom air, Thursday, 18 October 2012 02:05 (7 months ago) Permalink

6 months pass...

back next year according to a fake-Coachella poster doing the rounds!

― piscesx, Thursday, 2 May 2013 19:16 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

I hope so!

― OutdoorFish, Thursday, 2 May 2013 21:51 (2 weeks ago) Permalink

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