Miki playing Hamburg, 1994
photo courtesy Cord Walter/Xeper
"I suppose a lot of people like to see musicians as some sort of tortured artists who want to go and change the world with their souls and music, or whatever. But we're just not like that. We just like to write songs and have fun."
At the age of 14, Berenyi met her friend and future bandmate, Emma Anderson. They became interested in music and together wrote the music fanzine Alphabet Soup (which only lasted for five issues). Berenyi first played bass with the band, The Bugs, and later went on to play with I-Goat, Fuhrer Five, and Lillies. "In 1988, Berenyi studied English literature at the North London Polytechnic, where she met drummer Christopher Acland, bassist Steve Rippon, and singer Meriel Barham. Along with Anderson, they decided to form their own band". When Meriel Barham left, "the remaining members of Lush placed ads in local papers looking for Barham's replacement, but they couldn't find the singer they wanted, and Berenyi took over the vocals".
From 1988 until 1996, she played with Lush, releasing several albums, and toured extensively through the UK, North America, Japan, Australia.
Lush officially announced their break up on 23 February 1998, following the suicide of drummer Chris Acland on 17 October 1996.
After Lush split, Berenyi appeared as guest on The Rentals 1999 album Seven More Minutes (Track 4: "The Cruise"). "Miki has also contributed vocals to a remix of a Flat 7 track by former Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie (who incidentally produced Lush's early work)," and she will be appearing on four tracks as a guest vocalist for Eric Matthews' new project Seinking Ships on their debut album released in late 2008. In 2013 she appeared on stage with punk band Hard Skin and recorded You Still There.
When asked if she missed anything about her time in Lush, she stated, "I miss the excitement and energy of playing live and the camaraderie of touring – being with the band and crew in a foreign country is like going on holiday with your mates but even more fun because it’s free." "I enjoyed being in the band immensely, I’m glad I did it."
"I was never a proper guitarist – only in the context of Lush. I played the guitar to write songs on and to play live."
Miki in concert, Rennes, France, April 1990
photo courtesy Cyrille Folliot
The heartbreaking loss of Chris, the resulting breakup of the band and feeling a justifiable disillusionment with the music industry as a whole has led Miki to persue a very different life. Miki has perhaps been the most eloquent about expressing the heartbreaking loss of bandmate Chris and what it meant for the band. After Chris, there seemed to be "no point in continuing" Lush, and it "wouldn't be as much fun." As for Miki's musical career, when the band ended, it took all her confidence away and she no longer felt comfortable, too vulnerable to give music her all. She just didn't want to do that anymore.
Her job now is not as exciting as it was with the band, but niether does she have to live with the demands of the recording industry greed or the mean-spirited criticism that came with it.
Miki is a survivor. Today she works as an assistant copy editor for Web User magazine, settled down to home life with longtime aquaintence Moose and is quite content, happily being a mum to her kids. Cheers Miki!
Miki-isms
"You can be so much more eloquent about stuff that pisses you off that you can about really good things. I can't express happiness in lyrics. Happiness is something that you do, and sadness is something that you think about for ages and try to get rid of in writing or painting, or whatever," Berenyi says.
Miki: "They just want to see my naturally flamey hair, that all. You're all just jealous."
Emma: "No, they don't."
Miki: "No, No! of Course not. They're really, interested in lyrics and what Chris' choice of drum pedal is, I mean come ON! This band would be nowhere if it wasn't for my naturally flamey hair!"
Emma: "Next time we need to lay down a rhythm track we'll get your hair to do it eh?"
Chris: "Girls, girls, girls, always bickering!"
Miki & Emma: " Don't patronise us you bastard! We could get one of the monkeys at the monkey house to do what you do in the band and nobody would notice!"
Chris: "Why you little..."
Do Lush enjoy seeing their faces on the covers of most every British magazine?
Chris: "I don't really."
Miki: "You do! You bloody love it."
Chris: "I do not. You do. You think you're gorgeous."
Miki: "Well I am."
Chris: "Oh, yes. That large strawberry nose."
Miki: "You've got a big nose as well. "
Time to Play Miki Triva!
The heartbreaking loss of Chris, the resulting breakup of the band and feeling a justifiable disillusionment with the music industry as a whole has led Miki to persue a very different life. Miki has perhaps been the most eloquent about expressing the heartbreaking loss of bandmate Chris and what it meant for the band. After Chris, there seemed to be "no point in continuing" Lush, and it "wouldn't be as much fun." As for Miki's musical career, when the band ended, it took all her confidence away and she no longer felt comfortable, too vulnerable to give music her all. She just didn't want to do that anymore.
Her job now is not as exciting as it was with the band, but niether does she have to live with the demands of the recording industry greed or the mean-spirited criticism that came with it.
Miki is a survivor. Today she works as an assistant copy editor for Web User magazine, settled down to home life with longtime aquaintence Moose and is quite content, happily being a mum to her kids. Cheers Miki!
Miki-isms
"You can be so much more eloquent about stuff that pisses you off that you can about really good things. I can't express happiness in lyrics. Happiness is something that you do, and sadness is something that you think about for ages and try to get rid of in writing or painting, or whatever," Berenyi says.
Miki: "They just want to see my naturally flamey hair, that all. You're all just jealous."
Emma: "No, they don't."
Miki: "No, No! of Course not. They're really, interested in lyrics and what Chris' choice of drum pedal is, I mean come ON! This band would be nowhere if it wasn't for my naturally flamey hair!"
Emma: "Next time we need to lay down a rhythm track we'll get your hair to do it eh?"
Chris: "Girls, girls, girls, always bickering!"
Miki & Emma: " Don't patronise us you bastard! We could get one of the monkeys at the monkey house to do what you do in the band and nobody would notice!"
Chris: "Why you little..."
Do Lush enjoy seeing their faces on the covers of most every British magazine?
Chris: "I don't really."
Miki: "You do! You bloody love it."
Chris: "I do not. You do. You think you're gorgeous."
Miki: "Well I am."
Chris: "Oh, yes. That large strawberry nose."
Miki: "You've got a big nose as well. "
Time to Play Miki Triva!
- Berenyi owes her good looks to her mixed Japanese and Hungarian parentage.
- Her mother, Yasuko Nagazumi was a Japanese actress who played minor roles in the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice and in TV-series Space: 1999.
- Played 506 shows in 8 years with Lush
- Berenyi Light Arms, a fictional firearms company, was named after her in the SLA Industries Role-playing game. Her likeness appears in one of the illustrations in the SLA Industries rulebook.
