Lush Storie
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Lush Storie
I don't remember a lot of the questions,
but I do remember asking them about touring with the Goo
Goo Dolls--specifically, why were they doing it--it
seemed like the wrong mix of bands. Miki responded that
they were talked into it by the record company and would
have rather toured with Elvis Costello, because the
crowds would have been more receptive. That's why she
signed the set list for me "We've come on tour by
mistake"
The remaining accounts come from
Starlust's Lush Page . I can't vouch for their
authenticity but
there are some great stories here, especially the one from Chris'
sister-in-law. I left the
names since they were already published.
Personal recollections written by Lush fans, friends and
family, most of them long before the rise of Facebook and Twitter.
The
Guestbook also contains many great Lush stories.
There are some truly great
stories here. They are not in any particular order but generally
the newest submissions are at the top. So, please
look through them all otherwise you might miss some gems!
This
was a showcase gig for 4AD to present 3 of their new
electronic signings. The show was opened by Cuba,
followed by Thievery Corporation and headlined by the
Icelandic nine-piece GusGus. I remember it being (like
most gigs at ULU at the time) very loud. After watching
Cuba I went to the side of stage bar/kitchen area and
spotted Miki (with her distinctive red hair) sitting with a
load of people. It took virtually the whole of the
interval for me to pluck up the courage to go and speak
to her, but when I did she was really friendly. I told
her how much I liked Lush and how upset I was that they
were no more and she kindly signed my GusGus ticket. It
was a brief encounter but I was buzzing afterwards and
don’t really remember much of the Thievery Corporation
set as a result. I do remember them being loud, with the
two producers sat at the back of the stage nonchalantly
pumping out bass driven dubby goodness while two mc’s
enthusiastically toasted along. By the time GusGus took
to the stage I’d got my head back together and enjoyed
it thoroughly. Miki was by the door of the side stage
area watching the band.
This
was a Mark Van Hoen showcase. The line up consisted of
Emma’s new band Sing-Sing (the reason for me going),
Mojave 3 and Locust. Following the Sing-Sing set I again
went to the side stage area to the bar and spotted Miki
(I had kind of expected her to be there for Emma’s big
night) and again approached her and said hello. She
recognised me and was really friendly again. She signed
my Locust ticket and called over Emma who also did the
honours (including hyphenating the band name!) and
introduced me to Lisa who also provided an autograph –
what lovely people! Phil was also there and I briefly
said hi but Emma steered him off before I could ask for
his autograph. It was such a buzz to see all three
remaining members of Lush in the same place, but sad
that Chris wasn’t around also and that the band had
split. On that poignant note I went off to watch the
other two bands and it turned out to be (and still is)
one of the best gigs I’ve been to. I’d never heard either
Mojave 3 or Locust before, but both were really amazing,
especially Mark Van Hoen’s video backdrops. Wonderful
stuff.
I read the second to
last fan story where Miki said the Internet is a
waste of time and pissed myself laughing. I think I
helped provoke that comment. Some time early in 1996
Lush dropped into
IRC for a chat session. We were all waiting
patiently in the chat room for hours before they were
due to show. Precisely when they showed up the IRC
channel imploded and everyone was booted off except Lush
and myself. I froze and couldn't come up with anything
to say. Eventually I asked Miki why she smokes and she
replied, 'because it makes me look big and cool.' And
that was about it. Lush's first Internet experience and
I made it suck. :( That was my only brush with Lush
unfortunately as in '92 when they came here I was
underage and still at home. And they were due to come at
end of '96 but well that was not to happen.
The gigs in Tel Aviv took place at
a club in the industrial area of the city. There was
probably around 150-200 people there and Lush played
an excellent set. After they had finished, I noticed
Miki wandering around the club so, my friend and I,
both from London, introduced ourselves. Miki was
trying to find cigarettes and my friend, a smoker,
was able to oblige. We started chatting but were
soon surrounded by locals. So Miki kindly invited us
both 'backstage' where we met the rest of the band
and had the opportunity to help ourselves to the
copious amounts of alcohol that were on offer. It
transpired that their manager, Howard Gough, came
from the same area of east London as me. At the end
of the evening my friend and I were invited back for
the next gig two days later.
We went along not expecting to be
remembered but, true to their word, our names were
on the door and we were allowed in. After the set,
we asked to see the band backstage to thank them and
we were invited in again. This time we were invited
to spend the night with some of the band and the
entourage, who were going out. I recall my friend
initially giving several people a lift back to their
hotel, though I can't remember who was with us. As
he pulled the car up and the others got out, my
friend told me that he couldn't join us as he had to
work the following morning and it was already around
midnight.
In the hotel I made excuses for my
friend. Then a guy turned up in a stretch Merc and
we spent all night coasting from bar to bar around
Tel Aviv and Jaffa. I recall that our last port of
call was a bar called Cafe Baghdad. One of the crew
went off to get the morning paper, where there was a
review of the previous evening's gig. I think we
eventually finished around 7am and I ended up
sleeping on the floor in Howard Gough's hotel room.
Aside from producing excellent
music, my recollection is of a wonderful group of
people and it was a pleasure to be able to spend
some time with them.
One thing I remember clearly about him
is the fact every time I saw him, I smiled and had a great
afternoon, evening, weekend, whatever...it all rocked with
him. We laughed and told bad jokes. I remember the last
time we talked. It was on the phone at a hotel in
Reading. We were all at the festival like we had been
for years, but Chris wasn't with us this time.
Ironically, he was on tour in the states and I was in
the UK. He was on a tour he didn't like and wanted to be
at Reading with us badly. There were 4 or 5 of us in the
room and we talked to him for hours. I told him I was
coming back in October for Metallica and I had tix and
passes and we were going. That seemed to cheer him up a
bit and we said bye and see each other in October in
London. Well, I called him numerous times when I arrived
and no one knew where he was. I talked to Miki and left
a message for him. He didn't pick up his ticket for
Metallica, which was disappointing.
I remember the night of October 17th,
we were eating Thai food in Swiss Cottage. Sally, a
friend of Chris, and all 8 of us eating, came in and
said Chris was found dead this morning in his parents
house. I was staying with Malcolm who was a really good
friend of Chris' and we cried and drank all night. My
flight left the next morning and I was in shock for the
next few weeks.
I think of Chris often...use to think
of him everyday for the first few years, but I think of
him several times a week now. I truly wish I'd had one
more hour with him. I miss him so much and am so
grateful for having him in my life the times he was. You
always ask yourself if you saw it coming or if you
missed obvious signs. I did see it once or twice, but
thought it was just being moody. All I know is I am a
better person for knowing Chris Acland.....friend and
drummer extraordinaire.
The second time I met her was last summer
at that show with Robin Guthrie. I went up to her when she
arrived outside the venue and introduced myself. I thought
she probably wouldn't remember me from the Luminaire, as it
was really dark inside. We actually ended up talking about
the weather, as it was really hot that day!
The third time I met her was at her house.
You know that Lush logo, the pink round thing on the front
of Lovelife? She was selling it on eBay! Except, I didn't
know she was the seller! It was pickup only and the seller
lived in Cricklewood, London, so I did wonder at the time if
she might be the seller, who else would have one! Anyway, no
one else even bid on it, so I got the item! I was really
delighted when I found out she was the seller! I was quite
nervous about meeting her, so I was glad I'd met her a few
weeks earlier at that show because it didn't seem quite so
nerve wracking. Actually, it was really nice to meet her
that way because I was able to have a long conversation with
her....Anyway, she's a really
lovely person . She made me a
cup of tea, how many people can say that a celebrity they
really admire has done that!
Many years ago, I think in
1987 I was in the (I think) the Sir George Robey and sat
with my friends having a beer, waiting to go next door for
some gig.
Back then I used to carry loads of crap in my pockets..tape
recorder, tabs, money, spare tapes, and while I was out at
these kind of gigs I would always end up carrying around
loads more fanzines and records I would pick up during the
night. On this particular night..I had just got fed up with
being so bogged down..so I wanted a night without lugging
around sodding tape recorders or being pressured to buy all
this stuff, that I really wasn’t that arsed about.
So anyway...who comes up to our table..but Emma selling her
now legendary fanzine ’Alphabet Soup’. Emma goes ’It’s crap
but it’s only 5p’. We were quite taken a back by this! ’It’s
crap?!’ and in response ’Yeah’..So this thrilling
conversation went on for a while. I was resolute not to buy
anything that night..especially a fanzine who’s very editor
described it as being ’crap’ and there was also alot of
sales pressure from Emma as well.
Anway about 2 minutes later someone else came upto me and
said ’I hear you want to buy a fanzine?’..which was Miki.
Which was confusing at first, because I thought it was only
Emma selling the fanzine..so this was like a double act. So
I had this long ’argument’ with Miki, why I didn’t want to
buy ’Alphabet Soup’. In the end...I sort of won. Miki looked
really dejected and I felt really crap, because they were
being so alright and just trying to sell their fanzine,
which I would always of bought any other night and it was
also the cheapest I had ever come across, plus they were
just doing it for the love of it.
..so looking abit guilty..Emma went ’Go on’..so I did! All
5p.
..later on when I was pissed and going home on the tube..I
reached into my pocket and thought..’what the heck is
this?’. So I read the fanazine. Alas though at the time
where I was staying was a very ’right on’ vegan flat and
publications using words like ’cunt’ or ’twat’ many
times..was very much frowned upon. Which is totally
ridiculous when you consider who wrote it in the first
place. So I ditched it before I got home.
I’ve never seen anything on the net anywhere about this
fanzine..but to this day is still very much talked about. I
wish now of course I had kept my copy..
- Mick
April 2010
[message left on this website's Guestbook]
Note for my
cousin Chris, who was my hero and inspired me to get into
the drums (still got his old kit from very early Lush days)
note to all who were at the memorial in Kendal last year and
saw my sketch band play alongside the other much more
credible punk bands (nice lyrics Larger) and prime drumming
Kez. Still think about you often Chris and always
appreciating your magic drumming on De-luxe, miss our
Christmas japes too. Nice to see there are still Lush fans
remembering.
Anyway, flash forward a couple years
later. Lush is at the Tower Records on Sunset Blvd in West
Hollywood and they're doing an in-store concert and signing
for Lovelife afterwards--for 100 fans. I get there early in
the morning, get my wristband that ensures me I can get in
later that night and show up around 9pm with the 99 other
fans. The gig is amazing—I was upfront, eye-level and they
did about 5 songs. Afterwards, we all get in a line and make
our way to a long table where all four band members are
signing things the fans bought. That's where I got that
poster signed. Emma and Phil were pretty quiet, smiled and
said hello. Chris and Miki were great though. They joked
around with me and then I said something stupid to Miki
like, "Miki, do you remember me? I was the guy who bought
you a beer at Glam Slam on the second night while you were
checking out the opening act."
Then Chris said, "Yeah, and now he wants
you to pay him back, so pay up you miser." Of course, the
band laughed—it was a great moment for me because I loved
the band so much.
Of course, the sad part was that I heard
over the radio one night that Chris was found dead the day
before. The news hit me like a ton of bricks. So depressing.
Over three months went by without a reply,
and to be honest, I was hoping for a reply, but not
expecting one. Then one day I opened my mailbox and found a
mysterious envelope with stamps from Finland, and my heart
skipped a beat - and then, upon opening said envelope, I
actually screamed out loud in amazement (and I am not a
demonstrative person, under normal circumstances), because
lo and behold, it was my question list for Lush, and it was
filled out all over with Miki's hand-writing! If that wasn't
enough of a thrill, Miki had also enclosed a few photos from
their tour! Ah, I remember it all like it was yesterday..."
- Jen of
Stratosphere Fanzine Yahoo Group
I started dating a
girl in June, 1996. She knew I was a HUGE Lush fan,
and she surprised me with tickets to the [Asylum in
Toledo, Ohio] show on August 24th. My birthday is August
25th, and this was my 25th birthday present! I'd been to
the Asylum (a theatre converted to a large dance club)
several times, so I was very excited to see them for the
third time, in a local setting. The Eels opened for them
(they were great, BTW), and when Lush came on, there
simply was only 100 or so people there (maybe 150.) I
was able to stand about 15 feet away from center stage,
with everyone clear as day, right in front of me. The
best part for me was how they sounded exactly like they
did on their albums - they really played well. The
girlfriend is now my wife (of almost 10 years) and to
this day, she said that of all of the many concerts
she'd seen, that the Lush show was definitely one of the
best. It will always be very special to me, and knowing
that they only played a few shows after that intimate
experience, makes it all the more incredible to me. I'm
certain that my first birthday present from my wife will
always be the best.
I
met them all at a concert back in 1993 in support of Spooky.
Miki was nice, as was Phil - he's sexy if I may say so
myself. LOL
Was lucky enough to interview Miki and
Emma some years later when I used to work for a small music
video show. Both sweet as hell. They had brought along a
Gameboy and all three of us took turns playing Mario
Brothers. Fun!
Being only 16 years old I had to beg
my parents to drive me there. They didn't want to
because it was a school night I think. But I made up a
story and said I won tickets on the radio and couldn't
turn down an offer like this and they finally caved in.
If they hadn't I don't think I would have ever forgave
them!
The opening band was the Eels and they
were really cool, I always thought so. We waited for
Lush to take the stage for over an hour and everyone
thought something was wrong. Seems Miki had a case of
diarrhea. Before the last song before the encore (Ladykillers)
she said would again rush again to the toilet.
I remember the show like it was
yesterday. The atmosphere, the lighting, the music was
ethereal. It was what Lush did best. It was the only
show I've ever been to where I felt intoxicated in the
music and not on a chemical substance.
I craved more Lush in the months after
the show and was hoping they'd tour again. Then you know
what happened. Kinda forget about them for a year or two
after that and focused on other bands, but eventually I
returned to Lush's music more than ever. Especially when
music in general went downhill in '98 or so.
But when I look back at all the
concerts I ever saw, and there were MANY, this was
probably the best with a few close seconds. It is
something I will never forget.
I saw them thrice in
94 at Manchester Uni (I think) and 96 at Liverpool
Lomax and Manchester again and I spoke to Miki, I
was a bit drunk and I think I bought her a pint of
cider, she was very gracious, I think Chris was
around too at Manchester but a mixture of cider and
the years have made it all a bit muggy. Three of my fave gigs ever though! Great Memories.
- Andy Von Pip of the
VPME blog
and
We Miss Miki website
At the Lush show
at Maxwell's I got the set list signed. I was standing in
front of Emma, and it was real easy to get the list. After
their set, they just hung around the club, talking to fans,
signing
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