1987–1996, 2015–2016Emma AndersonGuitar, vocals1987–1996, 2015–2016
Miki Berenyi Guitar, vocals1987-1996, 2015-2016
Steve RipponBass1987-1992
Chris AclandDrums1987-1996
Meriel BarhamVocals1987-1988
Phil KingBass1992-1996, 2015-2016
Justin WelchDrums, percussion2015-2016
Lush were formed in London in 1987 as the Baby Machines, a name taken from a line in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "Arabian Knights." The original lineup included vocalist Meriel Barham alongside Miki Berenyi, Emma Anderson, Steve Rippon, and Chris Acland. When Barham departed, Berenyi and Anderson shared lead vocal duties, and the band renamed themselves Lush, making their live debut at the Camden Falcon on March 6, 1988.
Frontwoman Miki Berenyi was born in Chelsea, London, to a Japanese mother - actress Yasuko Nagazumi, who appeared pregnant with Berenyi in the 1967 Bond film You Only Live Twice - and a Hungarian father, Ivan Berenyi, who'd fled Budapest after the Soviets crushed the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Through her mother's side, Berenyi is a second cousin of Japanese musician Cornelius.
Lush signed to the 4AD label in 1989 and released their debut mini-album, Scar, the same year. Their ethereal, effects-heavy sound - guitars layered into walls of shimmering noise - quickly established them as one of the defining acts of the shoegazing movement, alongside My Bloody Valentine and Ride. John Peel was an early champion, and the band recorded three sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show.
The band's debut album,
Spooky (1992), was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins, a pairing that shaped the dense, dreamlike textures Lush became known for. "If you want Robin Guthrie to produce your record, it's going to sound along those lines,"
guitarist Emma Anderson said. The album reached #7 on the UK Albums chart.
Lush toured America as part of the Lollapalooza festival in 1992 - a sign of the growing appetite for British alternative acts in the US. Songwriters Berenyi and Anderson took very different approaches: Berenyi tended to write sharp, confessional lyrics about relationships, while Anderson favored more impressionistic writing, inspired by artists like Laura Nyro, whose albums she discovered in a second-hand record shop during the US tour.
By their third album, Lovelife (1996), Lush had shifted from shoegaze into full-blown Britpop territory. The feminist anthem "Ladykillers" peaked at #22 on the UK Singles chart and #18 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming their biggest commercial hit. The album also featured "Ciao!" - a duet with Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker.
Tragedy struck in October 1996 when drummer Chris Acland was found dead at his parents' home in Burneside, Cumbria, having taken his own life. He was 30 years old. The remaining members were devastated and disbanded soon after, bringing Lush's first chapter to an abrupt end after almost a decade together.
In 2015, nearly two decades after Chris Acland's death, Lush reunited with Justin Welch (of Elastica) filling in on drums. They released the Blind Spot EP in 2016, their first new music in 20 years, before disbanding again that same year. Berenyi has since channeled her musical energy into Piroshka and the Miki Berenyi Trio, and published a frank and widely praised memoir, Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me from Success, in 2022.
