Lush Documentary
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- čas přidán 10. 01. 2022
- CORRECTION- Merial Barham was not a founding member of Lush. She was part of the band in 1990, contributing vocals and guitar to the Half-Life EP.
Ethereal, sensual, and surreal. These are all words to describe the English rock band Lush. While they never achieved the critical and commercial success of some of their contemporaries, the band delivered a unique sound that one Rate Your Music user described as, “if David Lynch was the primary songwriter behind ABBA, and it was produced by Robin Guthrie.” It’s time Lush received some recognition of their own, rather than being lumped together with countless other shoegaze groups of the early 1990s.
Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson had been school friends since their teenage years in the early 1980s. Prior to the formation of Lush, Berenyi and Anderson performed individually with different groups. The band officially formed in 1987 in London, and they originally called themselves Baby Machines. The initial line-up included Meriel Barham on vocals, Anderson on guitar and vocals, Berenyi on guitar and vocals, Steve Rippon on bass guitar, and Chris Acland on drums. Acland was Berenyi’s boyfriend at the time. Lush’s early days consisted of punk rock music. Anderson commented on the band’s beginnings, “Basically, our idea was to have extremely loud guitars with much weaker vocals. And, really, the vocals were weaker due to nervousness - we'd always be going 'Turn them down! Turn them down!'" A year after Lush formed, Barham would leave the band to form Pale Saints. Now without a lead singer, Berenyi reluctantly stepped up to be vocalist. In 1989, Lush was signed to 4AD Records, a UK based record label that had signed influential groups including Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, and Pixies. That same year, they would release their first recording- a mini-album entitled “Scar.” Combining elements of shoegaze, post-punk, and jangle pop, Scar is a sonically diverse record that cannot be pinned down to one genre. It was a strong first record for the band, as it was well received by critics. The UK music newspaper Sounds listed Lush as the “Brightest Hope” for music in 1990, alongside Pixies, the Stone Roses and the Sundays. While the band received acclaim for contributing to the shoegaze sound, it should be noted that they have tried to distance themselves from being associated with the genre.
In 1990, Lush would release two EPs, with the first entitled “Mad Love.” Consisting of four songs, the EP was produced by Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie. It had a more polished sound than Scar, with the song “De-Luxe” being a high point on the release.One major highlight on the record is the harmonizing vocals of Anderson and Berenyi, which compliment each other naturally. Their following EP released eight months later was called “Sweetness and Light,” this time in collaboration with Talk Talk producer Tim Friese-Greene. The release distanced itself from the post-punk sound in the band’s earlier records in favor of a more atmospheric dream pop sound. In particular, the title track became a fan favorite for the band. The EP received mixed reviews from critics, with NME considering it “glorious” while Melody Maker deemed it “sorely over-produced.” Following its release, the band embarked on a series of tours in the United States and Japan. In conjunction with these tours, Lush released the compilation album, “Gala” in order to introduce themselves to American and Japanese markets. The album failed to chart, but was a critical success.
After an incredibly eventful 1990, Lush released “Black Spring” the following year, their third EP. It sounded more innovative and not as over-produced as their previous release, as the band began experimenting with sequencers and MIDI to create unique guitar and drum sounds. Described as “space-age guitar pop,” Anderson’s increased songwriting role contributed to Black Spring’s “moody dream pop” sound. A promotional video was released for the leading track “Nothing Natural,” which Berenyi described as, “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]". It did, however, further increase the popularity of the band, with Kurt Cobain becoming a fan after seeing the video.
In 1992, Lush would release their first full-length studio album “Spooky.” Once again produced by Robin Guthrie, the album reached the top 10 on the UK album charts and produced three singles: “For Love,” “Superblast!,” and the aforementioned, “Nothing Natural.” A continuation of their angelic and soothing sound, some listeners criticized Guthrie’s production as underwhelming and sounding similar to Cocteau Twins. Despite receiving some criticism, Pitchfork ranked Spooky at number 27 on its list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time" in 2016. - Hudba
There will never be another band like Lush. They were unique in so many ways.
'spooky' is the best album ever to fall asleep to. i put it on repeat, and it's still going when i wake up.
i might have to try that
That's a great idea, maybe I'll experience some surreal dreams and then get inspiration to make a short film!
Dude, i just was on another you tube video and left almost a same comment. I was way into pu k in 1994, but this girl kristie i waz head over heels in love with gave me a tape of this album and id put it on EVERYNIGHT to both sleep to and think about that gal... teenage nostalgic love fest... i soo wish i could go back to 93 and start again😓
I feel that way about Slowdive's, "Just for a Day".
I finally got to see Lush in 1996 in Liverpool. Great gig. They performed some of their dreampop/shoegazing classics along with their Brit-Pop stuff. Chris Acland's skin and eyes were yellow - like he had jaundice. Sadly, we was dead a few months later.
Meriel Barham wasn't a founding member of Pale Saints.... She only joined them full-time in late 1990. She isn't on their debut album (Comforts of Madness) but she did do backing vocals on the Half-life revisited EP.
I think it would have been a thrilling experience to see them live. I'm sure the energy at the gig was unforgettable. It's truly tragic how Acland passed away. Thank you for notifying me of the error. I will issue a correction in the description of the video.
@@StainedGlassStories My ex dated him seriously back in the nineties. Showed me all these pictures of them and a box of letters he wrote her, She broke my heart though.
I think I was at that gig - can’t remember the venue (Stop Press: checked my diary, I was there and it was the Lomax) but I was standing on a balcony overlooking the stage and had a great view of the slash marks on Miki’s arms. You just don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but thankfully she seems to have gone on to have a happy life.
I eventually saw them 5 times but missed the 1996 gig since it was cancelled for the aformentioned reason. The two first times were in October '91 and March "94 in a very small venue, there was like 50 persons. To access to the stage Miki walked directly tgrough us from the bar, everybody froze ! The 3 next times were during the reunion. I therefore saw them in London, then twince in French festivals (Nîmes and Saint-Malo).
Probably one of favorite bands of all time.
Between the dreamy vocal and trippy guitars it was a thing to itself.
Hello, Meriel Barham did not form Pale Saints. She joined later and first appeared on the In Ribbons album. Pale Saints previous release was The Comforts of Madness on 4AD.
De Luxe was stuck in my head for decades. Didn't know who sang it until CZcams was a thing. Wish I'd see them at Coachella
A few years ago I had the pleasure of Emmy and Miki replying back to me on Twitter when I spoke to them, It meant a lot to me and i'll always cherish that moment. I'm so sad that I never got to see them live in concert. Thank you Lush for all the incredible music.
I have a signed Gala cassette tape from all of the band.. So happy to have that!
The second split was in no way amicable. Emma and Miki had a big falling out. Miki is still making music in the wonderful Piroshka with her husband Moose and has an autobiography in the works.
I managed to see Lush twice - in 1991 and 1994. The third time I would have seen them was cancelled - most people arrived at the gig not even knowing about Chris's suicide as it was so soon after that the UK music press hadn't reached Denmark yet.
I saw Piroshka on their first European tour - and they were brilliant.
Unfotunately now it's too late also for Piroshka. On the Bella Union website, this band is feature only in the archive. Nothing happened after 2022.
I loved them back in the day. Saw them in June ‘96 in the Olympia, Dublin. Great gig. Intimate and met the band in the bar afterwards. Down to earth and lovely people. Just another wonderful band from the 90s
sweetness and light is the perfect night song
Agreed, it's such a good song!
A great band. Sad they broke up. If your into the Cocteau twins of course you’d be into LUSH. I though I had all of their works I’m surprised they had an album out in 2016.
Miki was the hottest woman in any genre in the 1990s. Your tastes may vary.
Belinda Butcher
Rachel Goswell
Debbie Googe
Emma Anderson
*Anyone would like to add up?
@@s3bast1aannn you forgot Toni Halliday
@@s3bast1aannn Harriet Wheeler, Tanya Donnelly
@@adamsmith307 I haven't heard of them, but yea!!!
@@s3bast1aannn Toni Halliday was in Curve, Harriet Wheeler - The Sundays, and Tanya Donnelly - Throwing Muses, The Breeders. I also forgot Alison Shaw of Cranes.
Incredible how influential Robin Guthrie has been on so many artists.
Saw them in the 90s at SF Slims. Loved them so much.
Deluxe...mind blowing. Music & video. Saw them twice. Very memorable. Once with Ride...also awesome
God they are underrated. Every time I hear a tune, I swoon.
Still love this band.
Remember when 120 Minutes and other MTV alternative programs started carrying their videos in my high school years. A great time.
Lush’s first album on 4ad is amazing
I am blessed enough to have seen them on their final tour in the US and they were incredible. Burnham Beeches is one of the best songs ever written.
Saw Lush at a bar in Cincinnati OH at the beginning of their Split tour. Weezer opened for them. One of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.
I was at that show..
I used go and see these guys every time they played around '89-'92. Which was a lot! Happy days...
Very cool! Those are priceless memories and I wish I could have been around to have seen them. I'm sure they were great!
I always loved their covers of i wanna be your boyfriend and i have the moon.
Great covers! Lush really knew how to spot a great song and make it their own.
I loved their cover of the Rupert the Bear theme song. czcams.com/video/SGX2fe1DYdI/video.html
Piroshka's cover "It's Obvious" by the Au Pairs is rather good too.
The early ‘90s had some of the best music ever. From big influential bands down to the relative unknowns, the quality of output was tremendous.
Always loved them. Got to see them on the 1992 Lollapalooza tour.
Split was a awesome album, I'm sure that Robin enjoyed them😊
I found them fascinating and caught one of their small number of gigs in New York. Loved their “overproduced” sound with ‘wall of guitar’, heavy pulsed enveloped in noise, exotic melody lines and mysterious lyrics. I wasn’t a fan of “shoegaze” or any other genre-I was just attracted to them-and OK, had sort of a crush on Miki - can you blame me? Thank you Lush-Hope you make a little more noise for a reunion one day, but if not, enjoy your lives and THANK YOU for the good noise.
I'll never forget the first time I heard Sweetness and Light - love at first listen in 1990 at uni.
Great work, love this!
Thank you Amanda!
I've been a fan since the early 1990's. Got to see them live in Los Angeles in 1996 and 2016. Both shows were in September and looking back at my old ticket stub, I realized that the two concerts were almost 20 years apart to the day. I remember hearing about Chris just a few weeks after seeing him perform. RIP Chris and love and prosperity to the remaining members of Lush.
Lush is just magic. Never heard anything so relaxing and melodic. The harmonizing vocals sound like heaven, and their talent for transitions in their songs is just wild. Spook is in my top 5 I never get tired of hearing that album
So glad I was able to see Lush in the '80s and in their last tour in 2016. Still love listening to their albums, along with Piroska.
I will always love Lush. Best concert I've ever seen. It was like being in a dream.
Nice documentary. I had read somewhere they did not amicably split up in 2016. I had heard the bass player and Mikki had a big fight and he left before the final show. Someone else had to fill in on bass on that show. It may have been the bassist from Blur or Elastica; can't recall.
The guy from Modern English
It was Michael Conroy. Frankly, I'd love to know Phil and Emma's point of view in their own words on this. They must have interesting tales to tell but they never released them publicly.
I remember seeing Lush and Ride at the Whiskey in the late 80s. I'm OLD dammit
Love this! Lush incredible!
Thank you! They are such an underrated band!
Nice doc - thanks. Great - I get to really like a band after they're long broken up. Haunting and etherial - love the sound!
Thank you Sutterjack! Sadly they originally broke up a year or two before I was born so I never got to see them live.
Great documentary, thanks
Glad you enjoyed it attentionaddicts!
Finally a lush doc !!
Glad to be the first!
I read about them in Guitar Player magazine, bought the Hypocrite single and fell in love with the band 💚
Another great video !
Thank you Ramiro! I appreciate your support and I hope my future content doesn't disappoint!
Love Miki & Emma so much!
Me too! I hope they continue to collaborate in the future!
New fans may want to check out Piroshka feat. members of Lush, Elastica, Modern English, and Moose. I think "Brickbat" was released in 2018.
Their second album “Love Drips and Gathers” is also excellent.
They actually put on a better live show than Lush IMHO.
Lush♥
Love this band! Very inspirational for me. I still try to sound like them when I write songs.
I was never into the whole shoegaze thing (I'm still an old goth) but I did like Lush and still enjoy their stuff and a bit of MBV.
Wonderful....😊❤
Saw Lush at Lollapalooza '92, amazing
Same! I was at the Long Island, NY show.
Same! Great Woods MA show. I also got to see them at Avalon in Boston with Weezer opening summer '94. Both shows were awesome.
Excelente video, me encantó, espero que sigas haciendo muchos más, saludos!
¡Gracias por sus amables palabras! ¡Espero hacer más videos en un futuro cercano!
I saw Lush live in 1992 when they toured with Ride, another great shoegaze band! Ride were touring their debut classic album, Nowhere.
Both bands played amazing sets and although I went into the concert more of a Ride fan, I left a bigger Lush fan.
I love ride! I love them both!!
my favorite band of the 90s
one of the saddest days was being in HMV in Hong Kong buying Lush imports and then learning that Chris Ackland committed suicide. i'd just seen them perform at the Fillmore in San Francisco
Have always loved Lush
Saw them in either ‘90 or ‘91 at 9:30 Club in D.C. Phenomenal!!! Still one of my faves. They had to stop playing in the middle of a song to tell people to calm down from moshing too hard. Now I feel
old. Again.
Did you catch them at 9:30 Club when they came back in 2016-ish for their reunion tour? Hope so, because that was a great show!
@@curiousone6435 No, unfortunately. I would have loved that but I was no longer living around DC then.
I love them
The played with Ride in SF and we ended up having beers together and dancing all through rides set. They were super fun!❄️🌵🌊🏄♂️
wow good job very clear and succint
Good soundtrack for the early 1990's 😊
Absolutely illuminating! This "Robert Guthrie' guy sounds fascinating ;p
very nice video! keep up
Thank you deathvalley! Hoping to have more content out soon!
The vault dweller... Now just a radio wastelander, sends out his salute
saw em at Crystal Palace Bowl in 1990/1 supporting James, The Cure and All About Eve. Just after the Scar EP had been released. Always liked em.
I love lush 😍
Thanks for this. Pronounced Freeze-Green
Ahhh….Miki….🥰
I'm a HUGE fan.
Awesome!
Miki es la más linda
Saw them at the 15 Minute Club in DC back in 94....loud ass show
Loved Spooky! That , Loveless, and Soluveki (sp?) were great albums.
Put (them) it on. And just layback…
I love Spooky too but on Split has always touched me more ... It is such an underrated LP !
I've read that Steve Rippon left the band after having disagreements with Guthrie during the recording of Spooky. I'm surprised he didn't join The Fall.
When i was a 90s teenage sk8/party/zero cares kid, long before life started killing the fun that only being young offers i found this band. I knew nothing of this ' shoe gaze' genre attribution. A girl gave me a copy of spooky, id given her some tapes ( yeah yeah, love and relationships was simpler back then) - this band has some songs that deserve to be waaaaaay more respected. I know sometimes things conspire to stifle greatness into the background- nirvana had changed musical landscape, britpop and the like had some extremely huge bands probably hogging some more mainstream space and lush just did what they did. But i really hope with time ( i know its been a while already) and pkatforms like utube that this band gains some truly deserved recognition for some of the greatest harmonised songs ever written. The two gals up front had a remarkable duo goin on! They are just as important historically as cocteau twins or the likes of bands in that realm!!!
I saw them in Sydney in 1992 and the gig was well attended. The smoke machines were turned up to eleven so I only really saw the band in sihouette. I dragged my mate along... it wasn't really his sort of music but we'd got to anything. I had to depart promptly afterwards, he didn't, he met Emma and Miki and I never did. Her beauty moves me more than ever.
I remember in the early 90s stood next to Miki Watching MBV play at Brixton Academy.
That's so cool!
I stood in front of her watching their warmup act at a gig in Manchester. I considered moving aside as I might be blocking her sight (I do this for people smaller than me as a matter of course) because Miki was reputedly quite small but she actually isn't, so I didn't feel it was necessary. Cool thing was that nobody hassled her either and just let her watch the band.
I had a nice chat with Miki after a Piroshka gig in Copenhagen a couple of years ago and she is hilarious. Looking forward to her autobiography, which I am sure will be a blast.
Back in the early 90’s I wrote for Spin Magazine. There was many bands that I received promotion material. My cousin who was 4 years younger I would take her to shows and make mix tapes of many bands. Lush was incredible to both of us. MBV, Slowdive and Cocteau Twins where some music in our rotation.
Dude(?), you wrote for a magazine?? Your grammar and spelling are both ATROCIOUS!!
Dude(?), You wrote for a magazine?? Your grammar and spelling are both ATROCIOUS!!
i am going back to 1990. to the hot tub time machine!!!
Great alt band.
Great video! thanks for this - btw U2 are Irish! Not British (5:00)
Lushiest.❤
Cool video. 2:23 should be "Robin" not "Robert" Guthrie.
Thank you! My apologies for the error. I wish I would have caught that before uploading the video.
Is there a reason why bassist Phil King (ex-Felt, ex-The Sevants, ex-Apple Boutique, etc. now in Population: 5) is not mentioned?
I miss music like this , back in the era where there was still alot of variety, likable bands with original ideas ! I have forced universal local radio on all day at work and I litterally can't tell one song from another , it's like ok yeh I'm not a spring chicken but I know good music when I hear it , peace ✌️
I love Spooky, but it really lacks a bottom end. Possibly due to producer Guthrie being a cocaine maniac at the time.
Miki Berenyi's autobiography "Fingers Crossed" is a fascinating look into the music scene of the time and her turbulent personal life. Highly recommended.
I have read Steve Rippon left the band after Spooky because he was butting heads with Guthrie.
Correction, the name of Cocteau Twins guitarist and Lush producer is Robin Guthrie, not Robert Guthrie.
Can't believe I made such a dumb mistake, especially being such a big Cocteau Twins fan! Thank you for the correction
Uh, yeah... Lush did not break up amicably. I was at their last two shows in L.A. and the next day they did a live set at a local radio station and broke up almost immediately after. Miki missed their first date at Coachella and that really pissed off a lot of fans who had bought tickets, some of whom flew halfway around the world to see them.
Your correction just needs a slight correction - should say Pale Saints not Lush. I remember being very disappointed with Spooky at the time of release and hating Guthrie's production but listening back to it 30 years later I really enjoyed it and the sound of it seems to have aged well.
Thank you for pointing that out! I'll make that correction right away. I think Spooky is polarizing to a lot of fans, but I personally have quite enjoyed it myself. When you initially heard it, did you think it sounded similar to Cocteau Twins? I know that's a comparison many fans have made.
@@StainedGlassStories Guthrie seemed to smother every track with his signature Cocteau Twins sound rather than letting Lush develop a distinct sound of their own. Listening to it now it sounds better than I remember and the song writing is consistently great. I still think he did a much better job on the Mad Love EP which has a more raw feel.
NME and Melody Maker having opposite opinions on singles/albums was always on purpose and happened all the time. If one hyped something the other would knock it down. I bought both because you could sort of work out what to expect from a record.
Keep it up, man! That said, prioritize fact-checking and your future stuff will be even better, as there are lots of factual errors in this, and I don’t just mean the ones other comments have already mentioned. Doubt you’d be doing this if you didn’t love the bands, and that shows, so please just take this constructive criticism as a suggestion, a way to even better honor whatever band you cover!
The magazine is "sounds" not "sound"
My apologies, thank you for the correction
Robin, not Robert!
My apologies for making that dumb mistake. I don't know how that managed to slip by.
I enjoyed the documentary but U2 are Irish not British.
Thank you for the correction, TMINE100!
up
M. Barham did not form Pale Saints. Babymaker was Lush's initial name. I interviewed them in 1991 in Atlanta. Phil King had just joined. feminism is evident in their earliest tunes.
Baby Machines not Baby Maker, that is a title of a Pale Saints song
Barham JOINED pale saints
2:24 “Robert Guthrie?!” Come on man!!! I’ve really been enjoying your shoegaze docs. You’re better than that…
What is "Shoegaze"????
I was into Lush and many other indie bands in the 80's and 90's yet, have only heard the term Shoegaze as a genre today. It certainly wasn't a term used in London in the 80's and 90's.
Heavy use of distortion and other effects led to the performers looking down at the boards and pedals at their feet.
Kurt Cobain has good taste in music ✅😀
Welp - they had huge success with Shoegaze then failure with the Britpop. Does not take a scientist to see what they should have done back in the day. I think that while Miki had the look she lacked the spirit to go with the sound. I am having some trouble describing what I mean but there is a.....dissonance(?) that ultimately led to a changing of the bands sound and its eventual end. I think in a lot of ways she wanted to be a punk pop icon - the ethereal shoegaze throne she attained just did not suit her. Soon as you hear her speak in interviews you can hear it. Guess she didn't belong in either world after all.
You know a band is truly a shoegaze band when they deny being a shoegaze band.
Wtf is Tim fry ass green ?! 🤣
:)!! You are missing out - P R O M O S M !!
"Much more than a Shoegaze band"
?
Um no, they are a most excellent Shoegazing band, and no doubt it is that Shoegaze output of theirs being the reason they are remembered at all. Frankly it's their regrettable forays into Britpop which should've been the crux of that dismissively apologetic jab at the end. Derp
It wasn't my intention to belittle their output with that statement. In retrospect, I could have worded it differently, but the purpose of that statement was to express their individuality. As I stated at the beginning of the video, I think Lush should receive their own recognition. Berenyi herself has acknowledged that oftentimes when publications review shoegaze groups of the 1990s, oftentimes it's only MBV, Slowdive, and Ride that receive recognition.
Not correct.They were at no time a Shoegaze band and as said, they distanced themselves from that label. More dreampop or ethereal.
@@clvrswine
WRONG!
They were absolutely a "SHOEGAZE" band if YOU were around back then listening to these bands you'd know that none of those bands labeled themselves that because it was a derogative tag, however it has in-retrospect become welcomed. Gala and Spooky are absolutely indicative of the Scene That Celebrates Itself, i.e., Shoegazing. FACT.
@@Flibbybibby What's fact is that labelling and categorising bands, and then arguing about it makes you look like an arse. Buying into the English music press nonsense back then makes you look like an arse too. The only scene that celebrated itself was English music jornalists, who predated the term FIGJAM, but fitted it to a tee.
I have many old NME and Sounds editions from that era where the writing was pompous, bizzare and nonsensical, often barely even adressing the "music" they were supposed to be covering. Tangents taken to showcase their writing articulacy was more the style, as most seemed fixated on bigger, greener pastures than the music press could provide.
@@deaddoll1361
aka "The ARSE That Celebrates themself"
Lol you wrote so so many words to say literally nothing! LUSH released a couple great albums that absolutely can be and was then LABELED Shoegazing, and that is no-longer a derogative term, so your insipid 'I'm cooler than the UK press' bloviation which I dare label as "poo" can simply be flushed. 😘