Thursday, December 31

Happy New Year's from Phil, Miki & Emma


From Emma, Miki and Phil, and of course us here at LUSHapalooza
Happy New Year -

See you all in 2016!




Friday, December 25

Happy Christmas!



As LUSH would say:
Merry Christmas from us all. Lush into 2016!

Friday, December 4

LUSH Interview :: The Guardian

LUSH in The Guardian:

Lush reunited: ‘We were seen as a band who’d turn up to the opening of a packet of crisps’

Ethereal, angelic shoegazers or boozy scenesters? Seventeen years after they split up, Lush talk about their legacy – and why they have reformed

"Drinking red wine on a couch in a London hotel library for their first joint interview in 19 years, Lush are still excellent company. Berenyi, instantly recognisable even though her distinctive shocking-pink 90s hair is now ink-black, gets told off for vaping indoors. Co-frontman Emma Anderson wages a war of nerves with a passive-aggressive desk clerk who keeps silently opening the library door. Silver-haired bassist Phil King regularly interjects with wry, elegant anecdotes, like an indie Peter Ustinov."

Follow the link for more.


Saturday, November 28

Wednesday, November 18

LUSH Announce New Show :: Manchester, April 30th


Lush have just announced another show! They will be playing at Manchester Academy on Sat 30th April 2016. You can purchase your tickets after 10am this Friday when they go on sale here: Manchester Academy.

Wednesday, November 11

Tuesday, November 10

It's New York :: First US Date Announced!


They're coming to America!

"We're delighted to announce we'll be performing at New York's Terminal5  on 14th September, 2016.  Tickets go on sale Friday 13th November at 12pm EST.  Tickets links to follow."

And here it is:

As stated by the band, there will be more US dates to come.

"Just as a footnote to the earlier post, more North American shows are currently being planned which we hope to unveil in the not too distant future."

Sunday, November 8

LUSH Photo of the Day


Shared through the band's official streams earlier today: Chris during a publicity shoot for 'Split', from the same series of shots we've seen earlier with Emma and Miki. This is also the same set we see featured in the 'Desire Lines' video.

LUSH + RIDE


Another publicity photo of LUSH with other bands. This is from the 1991 tour with RIDE.

LUSH + My Bloody Valentine




LUSH + My Bloody Valentine, from March 1992 'Alternative Press'.

Saturday, November 7

First Look :: Double Red Vinyl 'Ciao!'


First look of that nice red vinyl ...



LUSH

Ciao! Best Of Lush - CAD 2K22


The first time vinyl pressing of the band’s Best Of, Ciao! is being released on 27th November as part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday event.This first run will be limited, on double red vinyl, and will be available from your local record store. 


A1. Ladykillers

A2. Single Girl

A3. Ciao!

A4. 500 (Shake Baby Shake)

A5. Light From A Dead Star

B1. Love At First Sight

B2. Hypocrite

B3. Desire Lines

B4. Lovelife

C1. When I Die

C2. Nothing Natural

C3. Untogether

C4. For Love

D1. Monochrome

D2. De-Luxe

D3. Sweetness and Light

D4. Thoughtforms

D5. Etheriel


Thursday, November 5

'Girl In A Band' Interview Featuring Miki


Video is up for Miki's recent interview from the BBC documentary 'Girl in a Band: Tales from the Rock 'n' Roll Front Line', presented by Kate Mossman.

New 'Chorus' Comp is Now Available!


The new 'Chorus' compilation is up live and ready for preorders at the LUSH merch shop!


From LUSH:
"Here it is finally - the Lush box set 'Chorus' (out 4th December)!  We tried to fit as much on as we could but, having been blindingly prolific, we were unable to fit on every radio session, live track etc. so have cherry picked songs that we thought were the very best.  So, no 'He's a Bastard', I'm afraid. Enjoy!"

Coinciding with the news that the remaining members are to reunite in 2016, the complete Lush anthology fans have long been asking for is finally here. Spread over five CDs and housed in a beautiful hardbound book (designed by long-time associate Chris Bigg), Chorus consists of all three studio albums, both singles compilations and a wealth of previously unreleased radio sessions, demos, remixes and rarities.
Release date: 4th December 2015
US release date: 22nd January 2016



LUSH Photo of the Day


This has always been one of my favorite publicity shots of the band. Great that now we have the whole set!

Looking For Set Lists!


The Lush Appreciation Society on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/lushappreciationsociety/is looking for set lists, and they need your help!

"We are looking for hand-written Lush concert set lists for submission for a project we are currently working on.

"Please send us a private message with your photos or scans (preferred) and with details of the show concerned (date, venue, country, etc).

"Signed or unsigned set lists are welcome.

"Please share this post with friends you know who may also have hand-written set lists from the band."

Many thanks for your help! Remember, submit lists at https://www.facebook.com/lushappreciationsociety/

...

The photo below is a set list taken from the band's performance at Luxor in Cologne, Germany on April 2nd 1990 where the band played with 4AD label-mates The Pale Saints and is taken from the fantastic, conprehensive Lush  fan site www.lightfromadeadstar.org

Tuesday, November 3

Watch Miki :: 'Girl In A Band'


In case you missed Miki's interview last Friday night on BBC4's documentary 'Girl In A Band: Tales from the Rock 'n' Roll Front Line' 0r914&sns=fb&app=deskto https://
status/661469375061446656

Monday, November 2

Vintage LUSH T-Shirt



vintage LUSH T-shirt from the "Split' era is up for sale on eBay. 
The asking price - $220... Just. Wow. 
I have to admit that I'm digging this design though.


LUSH Photo of the Day


Emma for a 'Split' photo session, 1994. Follow the band's official Instagram.

Saturday, October 31

Happy LUSH-oween!






Happy LUSH-oween!

Lush was reborn in October 1988, with Miki taking the vacated lead vocal spot. And according to at least one source, Lush was originally formed on Halloween night of 1988, in London, England (*please see note below!). For today I'm referencing this alternate view to give full play to the whole Lush 'mythology' and for adding a bit fun for the holiday occasion ;)

 Later on the band would eventually play a gig on an October 31st date. In 1990 they performed at Birmingham'sInstitute of Art and Design. Never again would Lush do another Halloween gig after this performance - coincidence? We may never know!

On several occasions the band members dressed up in costume (even at one time raiding a Hollywood costume shop in 1991)... which just so happens to be a very popular custom typically observed only for Halloween!

In 1992 Lush's first full length "proper" album was titled "Spooky".... though the whole wasn't entirely spooky in nature!

While staying in Normandy for the mixing of the albumSplit in 1994, some band members reported strange goings-on while holed-up at their secluded - and haunted - chateau. Chris felt his bed abruptly moved back one night. Phil too had a strange experience here. "[I dreamt that] I was in a red cathedral, and there was this red room in this huge church..." It wasn't until after relating the dream to their producer that Phil learned that "there used to be a church on the grounds where the chateau was, and one day there was a massacre in a big red room there." The band's mysterious connection to the nether realms deepens!

So what more is there to add but Lush's own music itself, last but not least. Hauntingly beautiful, for the Halloween holiday I offer you:

Lush's Most Haunted Mix!
- I Have the Moon - Amazon Preview
- When I Die - Amazon Preview
- Invisible Man - Amazon Preview
- Ocean - Amazon Preview
- Undertow [Spooky remix] - Amazon Preview (Spooky remix version n/a)

MP3 versions of these tracks may be purchased for download at Lush - Amazon.com


* There is no record of a Halloween gig in '88 on Miki's own exhaustive show listing, though she admits she may have missed one or few. It's near certain that the band had their very first gig in March 1988, having just filled the bass spot with Steve in the nick of time. Chris was on drums, Emma and Miki both backing vocals/guitar and Merial Barham on lead vocals. Personally I think a bit of confusion is responsible for the Halloween '88 date, even an '87 date when the very beginnings of the band were forming in the Fall of that year would make more sense. Also see one of my older post, Lush v.2.0.

- Originally posted October 31, 2012

Friday, October 30

LUSH Photo of the Day


Photo session for 'Split'

LUSH @ Heathrow Airport

The photo booth series appeared in the May 1992 issue of Select Magazine. Can you guess each letter?

Scroll down for the answers...













Answers: A, B, C - D, E, F - G, H, I - J, K, L

The Making of 'Hypocrite'

I love sharing all these fresh new posts that keep coming straight from the band! Today they're talking about the making of the 'Hypocrite' video (one of my personal faves).
. . .


Miki: 'Chris LOVED making this video! So sweet to see him laughing and being his lovely happy self. I remember going on the Octopus ride with Phil and they ran it backwards and forwards and it went on and on and what started with riotous hilarity ended with both of us having one hand clamped over our mouths and the other frantically waving in the air desperately trying to get the bloke to STOP!!! '
Phil: 'I remember that before we decided on getting Matthew Amos to direct this we met up for lunch in Notting Hill with a now famous French film director who was making pop promos at the time. Chris nicknamed him 'consumptive child' as he looked very pale and sat throughout the meal in silence while his manager did all the talking. The concept was us floating around a haunted house. It would need to filmed in a pool on a Hollywood soundstage. “100,000” his manager told us. “Pounds or dollars” asked our manager. “Pounds” he replied. Meal over. Think PJ Harvey ended up doing it in the end. We instead decided to hire a funfair near Heathrow Airport for the day and shot the video there for half the price. A bargain...um.'
Emma: 'I don’t remember a massive amount about it except them trying to create that effect where the camera and the subject is moving unnervingly toward/away at the same time..they do it using the camera on a track and the subject (us individually) on the same track with both moving at the same time. It wasn’t a massive success.
Wasn’t there also an extra who was also in Eastenders?'
Phil: ' I do remember seeing one extra (old bloke looking miserable) all the time afterwards in Marylebone library’.

Miki on BBC4 Tonight!

Just a quick reminder from Emma today:

"Don't forget.. tonight on BBC4 at 10pm Miki  (along with a fantastic array of other of female musicians) is appearing in a documentary called 'Girl in a Band: Tales from the Rock 'n' Roll Frontline'. I haven't seen it but the previews have been great: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06l17fn. Can't wait."

For those in the UK the program will be streamed on the BBC site an hour after airing. But outside the UK? We can only hope that the program will be found on YouTube soon.



Update-
Lush Appreciation Society has added that:
Lush will also feature on a programme following the BBC Four documentary 'Girl In A Band' (which airs at 10pm tonight). Titled, 'Girls In Bands At The BBC', the programme will feature performances from Lush, Elastica and Garbage, amongst many others.
It airs on BBC Four tonight at 11pm.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06mxpjc


Thursday, October 29

LUSH - Control Freaks


Well what's all this then?? It's a bit of a filler piece that was shown on Channel 4 around 1996-ish during the holidays. But what makes this unique is that the 4-minute show features the one, the only Phil, Miki, Emma and Chris - aka LUSH. Aren't they all a wonderful lot? So there's  no music from the band, no interviews either, however as the uploader keenly points out: "...but it's rather charming in a lo-fi kinda way." And that's something that every true Lushhead can appreciate. Cheers and Long Live Rock!

(follow the link, web-sharing disabled) https://youtu.be/fKMah99Z8ro


Wednesday, October 28

'Nothing Natural' & Pyramids Centre 24th Anniversaries


It was 24 short years ago today...
October 29th, 1991 'Nothing Natural' was released as a maxi-single disc. It had peaked at number 43 on the UK Singles Chart. The EP was followed by a national British tour, during which time bassist Steve Rippon left the band and was replaced by Phil King. 

Incidentally, on the same day, 100's of screaming kids - the 29th of October - The Pyramids Centre, Portsmouth - LUSH is there to play. With the opening acts of Passing Clouds and Gallon Drunk on a two-leg UK tour debuting the songs from the just released Black Spring EP.

Reflecting on the music video, Miki said it was "an effing nightmare" and that the video's director had "some ludicrous idea of what he wanted [Lush] to look/act like in the video and it was nothing to do with how [the band was]." Miki further explained that the band went along with the director's suggestion as Lush "had no ideas of [their] own at all, and back in the [19]90s the solution was to offer directors a shitload of money to come up with something fabulous that MTV would play." According to Berenyi, Nirvana vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain became a Lush fan after seeing the music video.

'Nothing Natural' - 'official' promo video

'Nothing Natural'- live at Toad's Place, New Haven, CT - March 23, 1992

Tuesday, October 27

Limited Vinyl 'Ciao!' LP Details & Preorder Now Available


The 'Ciao! Best Of' limited pressing on two red vinyl is now up at RecordStoreDay.com. So far it is now available for preorder in the UK at www.amazon.co.uk!

This title will be released on November 27, 2015.
Details:
Format: 2 x LP
Label: 4AD
Release type: 'RSD First' Release
More Info:

Ciao! Best Of Lush - the career spanning compilation from Lush comprises most of the band’s singles as well as choice album cuts and b-sides. Originally released back in 2001, it’s only now getting the vinyl pressing it deserves, with the initial run coming on red vinyl (2LP) on Black Friday.

Track List
A1. Ladykillers A2. Single Girl A3. Ciao! A4. 500 (Shake Baby Shake) A5. Light From A Dead Star
B1. Love At First Sight B2. Hypocrite B3. Desire Lines B4. Lovelife
C1. When I Die C2. Nothing Natural C3. Untogether C4. For Love
D1. Monochrome D2. De-Luxe D3. Sweetness And Light D4. Thoughforms D5. Etheriel

Are They Justin's?

And then there were drums.

Photo of the Day - Rehearsal VII


Phil, Miki and Emma.... Together again!

Meet Drummer Justin Welch


Meet the new face in Lush, drummer Justin Welch.

Born 4 December 1972 (age 42) from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, Justin Welch moved to London in his late teens and studied at London's Drumtech drum school. He played drums in a number of bands in the early 1990s including an early line-up of Suede, where he would first meet Justine Frischmann and Spitfire.

Justin and Elastica, 1990's

In 1996, Welch also formed the Britpop supergroup Me Me Me with Blur bassist Alex James and The Lilac Time frontman Stephen Duffy, who released one single 'Hanging Around'.

Elastica split in 2001 and Welch moved to Devon where he taught drums in secondary and primary schools.

James Atkin and Justin, 2012

In 2012, he was in a duo with former EMF frontman James Atkin called The Asbo Kid. He also played drums for Das Fenster and Oscillator.

In 2013, Welch briefly re-united with Suede for several gigs to replace drummer Simon Gilbert who was unable to play due to contracting tuberculosis.

It was announced, in September 2015, that Welch would play drums in the newly reformed Lush.


A Bit of Trivia:
Justin's talents include making the noises on Elastica's 'Brighton Rock', 'Spastica', and of course the puking sounds in 'Line Up'.


 

Sunday, October 25

Miki on BBC4 Friday Night, 10pm

Yes, there will be a delayed stream online an hour after the program airs for those of us who live outside the UK.
http://bbc.in/1PIUb5o

Remembering John Peel

It was 11 years ago today, October 25, 2004, that we lost John Peel.


As stated in Wikipedia: He was one of the first broadcasters to play progressive rock records on British radio, and he is widely acknowledged for promoting artists working in various genres. Fellow DJ Paul Gambaccini described him as "the most important man in music for about a dozen years".

Mr. John devoted one of his legendary Peel Sessions featuring Lush:
Lush - Peel Session, 23 January 1990
Recordings: 'Hey Hey Helen', 'Leaves Me Cold' and 'Breeze'

'Hey Hey Helen' 


'Breeze'

All three recordings together: 'Breeze', 'Hey Hey Helen' and 'Leaves Me Cold' 

For my past post on John Peel and Lush: Lush on John Peel Sessions

Rehearsal - And It Begins...

And now... A more recent photo from Lush. Looks like someone's been rehearsing.


We haven't seen Miki's 12-string Gibson ES-335 Sunburst for awhile. It's a beauty. Besides the obvious influence it imparts to Lush's sound, the instrument has a sweet, acoustic tone, and is one of the most versatile guitars you can find. It's perhaps the prettiest axe of the 12-string arsenal. You can find more about her here and here.


Wednesday, October 21

LUSH Live by James Lance


Lush performing at the SUNY Purchase Performing Arts Center, March 1991 by photographer James Lance. I've long loved this set, 94 photos in all. The images have a very retro 1960's Fab Four vibe to them. Enjoy!


LUSH's Photo of the Day


From the band's stream today, and if I'm not mistaken this is a wonderful outtake photo of Phil apparently from the same shoot done for the album art on the 'Split' LP and it's EP's.








So Many Songs



Phil's share today, with his comment 'So many songs, what to do?'

Tuesday, October 20