New 'Chorus' Comp is Now Available!

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

http://lush.sandbaghq.com/chorus.html

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

Record label 4AD's announcement: http://4ad.com/news/5/11/2015/lushanthologyavailableforpreorderplusbestofissuedonvinyl

LUSH Masters Archived at 4AD

LUSH master tapes in the 4AD archive. (from https://twitter.com/lushbandtweets)

Happy Lushoween!

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's Institute 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 album Split 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.

Paris, France :: October 19, 1991

Twenty short years ago...

LUSH makes it two-for-two, playing Les Inrockuptibles this time in Paris, supporting the release of their Black Spring ep. The bands Blur and Pulp return as the openers for the show.

According to Bill's site, a direct live recording (as in 'not taped from within the audience') of this performance was made.

Tokyo, Japan :: September 18, 1996

15 Years Ago Today...

September 18, 1996, Lush performs at the Shinjuku Liquid Room, Tokyo, Japan. This was to be the final live performance... yet for fifteen years onward now the band still lives on in the hearts and minds of a strong following!

Up on YouTube, you can view the videotaped performance of Single Girl (Live) from this very gig (which so happened to be shared here in a earlier post).




Be sure to pour over ALL the Tokyo show's vivid imagery by photographer Takamori Fukuda/Brownhat over on Bill's paramount Lush site lightfromadeadstar.org.

And as if that's not enough (because it isn't really, now, is it?!) there's this gem just in from lushlive.com's Lush and Miki Berenyi Facebook page:

Now available - The LAST Lush show, performed 15 years ago today in Tokyo is available for free download! Don't forget to also get the artwork at the site www.lushlive.com in the audio section. Enjoy!! http://www.lushlive.com/audio/tokyo/09_18_96.zip

Lushlive.com presents Lush at the Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA :: August 31, 1996

Fifteen years ago Lush performed at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, PA on their fianl American tour.

Today Lushlive.com presents a recording of that appearance made on August 31, 1996 to mark the 15th anniversary of this amazing show (that Lushlive.com's veru own Eric was at).

Enjoy this gem!!
http://www.lushlive.com/audio/philly/lush_08_31_96.rar

Unreleased Recordings Coming to Lush Live

Seen over on the Lush and Miki Berenyi page on Facebook...

"As you may know, this year is the 15th anniversary of Lush's final tour (can you believe it's been that long already?). It was the first and only time I had the honor of seeing them. I'm going to unleash two audio gems from that tour within a month's time. I surfaced these shows many years ago and to this day only myself and perhaps 4 or 5 other people have them. Soon you can all enjoy them! Stay tuned..."

We can look forward to seeing these two unreleased recordings being made available on Eric's LushLive.com.

Rockband Remix of De•Luxe

Afternoon All! It's been a very busy summer here, so new updates are slow and sparse in coming (my apologies for that!).

There is something I would like to pass along now however, in the form of a very interesting mp3 link posted by Tom Aresto a few weeks ago on the PurpleVeinsScenicGreens group. It is a remix of Lush's 'De•Luxe' minus the drum track.

At first I had my doubts... I mean, NO Chris and NO drums?? After a listen though, I think I've converted over to the opinion that it's a great new alternate version of one of the band's best releases for ravenous fans always starved for fresh Lush recordings.

Here's a direct link to the file: Lush - DeLuxe (Rockband remix)

Tom explains that he came across the recording on a site called mp3skip, taken from the video game Rock Band 2.

Thank you again Tom for sharing your great find!

Kobenhaven, Denmark :: June 28

Twenty years ago today Lush plays in Kobenhaven, Denmark for the Roskilde Festival.
The band are opened by Sisters of Mercy and followed by Stereo MC's. Both audio and video recording were recorded for this gig, as well as photographed. You can view these over at Bill's site: Roskilde Festival @ Light from a Dead Star.

Miki, Emma, Chris and Steve seem to be enjoying the media attention as they pose for photos.

"Show Us" - 1994 Reading Festival

New stuff from a great Lush site!


Lush's complete live performance recorded 26th, August 1994 at the three-day Reading Festival is now available for download at lushlive.com. The recording is from the hard to find Italian import/bootleg disc – the memorably titled "Show Us Your Tits." And being a bootlegged live recording, free downloading should not present a copyright issue.

The files are located in the Audio section. They are in .FLAC format, this is a lossless format that preserves the original sound quality. When you "unflac" them they'll be .wav files. This is done to save space. You need a program called FLAC which is free, and can be downloaded here.

Thanks Eric!!


'Show Us Your Tits'
LABEL: Insect (Italy)
RECORDED: 26th, August 1994 - Reading Festival - England

TRACKLIST:
1 Introduction
2 Blackout
3 Stardust
4 For Love
5 Lit Up
6 Lit Up (Take 2)
7 Kiss Chase
8 Desire Lines
9 Lovelife
10 Hypocrite
11 Downer
12 Undertown
13 De-Luxe
14 Leaves Me Cold
15 Sweetness & Light

TIME: 60 minutes

Additional sleeve artwork:

back insert

inner sleeve fold-out

On a side note, I imagine that "Show Us Your Lemons" would have made a somewhat Lush-ier title for this famous bootleg ...

Sorry, I couldn't resist ;)

Los Angeles :: April 11 1991

Twenty years ago...

Lush does a repeat performance at the Roxy in Los Angeles, this time opened by Ride.

There are recordings made of this show, and possibly a radio broadcast.

Denver, Colorado :: April 3, 1991

Twenty years ago . . .
Lush plays Gothic Theatre in Denver, Colorado, opening for Ride

There was also a recording made of this concert (though unfortunately I haven't heard a copy)

Ciao! :: March 19, 2001 :: the Finality of it All

Finality,
and beginning again.

On this date ten years ago, the Lush compilation album Ciao! Best of Lush was released, bringing to a neat and tidy close the last of the official releases.

It's also the end of our 10-year anniversaries. It doesn't seem possible, to quote an oft used phrase, that a decade has passed. The music still sounds as fresh and vibrant to me today as it always ever has.

But Ciao! isn't supposed to be viewed or rather listened to as a final summing-up anyway. With the tracklist opening with Ladykillers and ending with Etheriel it's really more of a rewind, bringing us back at the beginning to replay over and over again.

Lush/J&MC Lollapalooza '92

Time to get back to that list of bootlegs I'd started...

"Lollapalooza '92 - Lush/Jesus & Mary Chain" isn't quite a bootleg, it's an actual production quality cd, but neither is it an official Lush release either. For that reason it's grouped along with the usual bootlegs.

This cd was also offered as a three-disc set including Pearl Jam, Sound Garden?.... well, you get the general idea. This one's still a comparatively common find to obtain online.

As far as the recording goes, the note on the back of the jewel case sums it up: "We apologize for the fact that this recording is not up to the standards of other KTS recordings..."

I wouldn't consider this as being ranked among the best myself. The sound quality is good, but the comments of the crowd are often more clearly audible than what's coming from the stage. And some of it not exactly flattering. The band plays a clean, tight set though the majority of the audience were not there to see Lush, but for Pearl Jam which immediately followed after. They're aware that they're facing a hostile audience, which lingers over the performance (at least it seems like it does, compared to others I've heard). Remember, up to this time Lollapalooza was among the biggest events that Lush had played, it would have been both thrilling and terrifying at the same time to have been in the spot they were placed into.

With that said, there were much better performances from Lush during the Lollapalooza tour. These were obviously overlooked by KTS in its eagerness to only cash-in on the Pearl Jam-Jarheads band wagon.

Sorry! Did I let that slip-in? But I've never had any use whatsoever for pretentious musicians (and their followers) of any genre. Can you tell? :)


Recorded live in Miami, Florida August 22, 1992.
Produced by KTS, Italy, released 1992
18 tracks evenly split

SETLIST:
1 Stray/Bitter
2 Nothing Natural
3 For Love
4 Superblast!
5 Covert/ De-Luxe
6 Downer
7 Sweetness and Light
8 New Song (*the unidentified track is 'Starlust')
9 Leaves Me Cold

- the remaining 9 tracks are of the Jesus & Mary Chain, which are not too shabby by the way.

Lush : Female Hybrid (demo)

I've finally, finally got a recording to post on YouTube (my movie editor and I have had issues). Not sure why the band image is placed off center, but I'm just happy to get anything up at this point.

This is one of the early Lush demos with Meriel Barham on lead vocals before she went on to join the Pale Saints.

This demo has also been shared under the title "Grotesque" (demo I) on a bootleg currently in circulation, including on YouTube. So being the little pita nit-picker that I am, I u/led the same song under the name used by the band - "Female Hybrid" is the commonly accepted Lush title.

I can proove it too :P

Steve, the founding bassist:

"I went down to an audition at this place behind the Holloway Road,' he continues. 'They (Lush) were possibly the worst group I'd ever seen in my life. It was an absolute cacophony. The songs were really simple and had titles like 'Female Hybrid', 'See-Saw' and 'He's A Bastard'. I thought, yeah, I can play bass to this."

Lush: The John Peel Sessions 1990

It takes a little patience to track down anything regarding Lush on the Peel Sessions. To be honest, I still haven't uncovered what I've really been after, the complete works. Do know that the date for the recording was February 19, 1990 and broadcast broadcast March 22 1990, which included "Hey Hey Helen, "Leaves Me Cold" and "Breeze."

There may have been another Peel recording made later on, or maybe not – one which included "Blackout" (from Split in 1994) which which has been mislabled as being of the '90 session... or maybe this has been incorrectly associated with Peel all together... See why my head is starting to churn from sorting this out?

Such a shame these were never released together as an EP (though one song, "Breeze" I think, is included on one of the many Peel Sessions compilations - "The New Season" is one containing 20 British bands). No doubt such an offering would have been in every Lush fan's arsenal if it had.

However, I do have a few free downloadables below to share; three vids through youTube, the others are mp3s of "Hey Hey Helen, "Leaves Me Cold" and "Breeze", which are slightly cut off, obviously recorded off a broadcast. These are simply lurvely renditions of the three songs recorded as only the late great John Peel could do. Not at all like "remixes" of the album versions, but still totally Lush sounding. Full guitars thrumming, yet they're still etheriel, a bit more like the band would naturally sound live with maybe a little hint of dare I say a 'darker' feel as with "Leaves Me Cold." And both "Breeze" and "Hey Hey Helen" are arguable as good as the original studio versions.

Sure would love to have heard the whole segment in it's entirety, though.



'Breeze' on Peel




'Blackout' on Peel, would this have been from a later session from the three recorded in March 1990?




All three recordings from the 1990 Session, if you don't mind the funky "home-grown" graphics *smirk*




And finally . . .
Lush: The Peel Sessions, Feb 19 1990 @ filestube.com

TRACKLIST
1 Hey Hey Helen
2 Leaves Me Cold
3 Breeze


I wouldn't share this link if these songs were official releases. To the best of my knowledge they are not (unfortunately). With that said, I will not post any full studio song much less full-length album for free distribution, this is NOT the way to promote your all-time fave band... it's just not Proper!

So... don't let me catch you doing it :P


update:
I found a few extra details and a correction to add concerning the tracks and dates.

Lush - Peel Session, in 1991 (Feb. 1990 is likely the correct date)
recorded Breeze, Hey Hey Helen and Leaves Me Cold

There are some recordings currently in circulation online which are incorrectly attributed as being from another Peel Session in 1993 (Blackout, Childcatcher, Kiss Chase and Lit Up). Lush only had one Peel Session. These other tracks were not recorded for John Peel, but were live recordings for The Evening Session with Steve Lamaq and Jo Whiley in June 1994.

The Sound of Indie & Lush

Great site? This is an absolute treasure horde of over a dozen very rare live recordings and video (whole sets!) spanning 1988-1996 posted by Kevin of The Sound of Indie... Thanks Kevin! One recording is thought to be from Lush's second show ever, with Meriel Barham at lead vocals. The recording quality is very listenable, all in all, this trove is just about too good to be true. It's like Christmas in July...

The Sound Of Indie / Lush

Have a look, stay a while and a listen long - Enjoy ;)

SETS AVAILABLE:
Lush (audio) earliest known live recording
Unknown Live Recording
1988

Lush (audio) thought to be 2nd show ever
Greyhound
London, UK
4/6/88

Lush – Breeze (video)
Royal Holloway College
Egham, UK
3/3/90

Lush – Thoughtforms (video)
The Venue
New Cross, London, UK
3/15/91

Lush (audio)
The Palace
Hollywood, CA
4/11/92

Lush (audio)
Slim’s
San Francisco, CA
4/14/92

Lush – Sweetness And Light (video)
Water Place Park
Providence, RI
6/6/92

Lush (audio)
Commodore Ballroom
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
4/11/96

Lush (audio)
The Whiskey
West Hollywood, CA
4/17/96

Lush (audio)
Paradise
Boston, MA
4/29/96

Lush (audio)
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
5/10/96

Lush (audio)
WXPN Radio
World Cafe
Philadelphia, PA
7/12/96

Lushapalooza! on Playlist.com

Yet another way to spread your Lush-love to the masses. A streaming audio online player which can be posted just about anywhere. The main drawback is that you're rather limited on your track choices to add; ie: no Sing-Sing available... booo!

The Lillies

The Lillies
An indie rock band formed in 1991 as a one-time collaboration between members of the bands Cocteau Twins, Lush and Moose.

And here's what the the Lillies were about - a recording with the very memorable little title:

"And David Seaman Won't Be Very Happy About That"

Background
Although originally from the Lake District, Chris was a keen Tottenham Hotspurs football fan. Miki was a huge fan as well, and the Lillies' 3-1 trouncing of local rivals Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-finals was an occasioned to be celebrated. So how do musicians best express their praise of such a victory? They co-create a specially recorded track aptly and humorously entitled 'And David Seaman Will Be Very Disappointed About That', and have it pressed-up on a flexidisc to be glued to issue 24 of 'The Spur', a football fanzine. The sound bites used throughout the song deal with a goal Gary Lineker scored for the Spurs against Arsenal.

Joining forces with Kevin McKillop and Russell Yates of Moose and the Simon Raymonde of the Cocteau Twins they became the Lillies - effectively a super-indie rock band. And Simon wrote the song. The lyrics? "Three-one, three-one, three-one!" Miki's sole lyrics, vocalized all the way through.

The track was recorded at the suggestion of The Spur’s editor Stuart Mutler. After rejecting suggestions that they should record a cover version of an old football song, such as "Nice One Cyril", they decided to come up with an original song.

Yates said of the track: “…we’ve all been Spurs fans for years, and for myself making this flexi has probably made me more proud than making any Moose record”

The Lillies
"And David Seaman Will Be Very Disappointed About That..."
Release : September, 1991
Flexidisc insert, The Spur #24

Live 1990 in Surloire, France from 'Sparky The High Voltage Wire'

From the 7" Sparky The High Voltage Wire. Live at St. Sebastian 2/1/1990 in Surloire, France.