NME.COM

Lush Officially Split
February 1998

LUSH have announced their permanent split after nearly a year-and-a-half of inactivity following the suicide of drummer Chris Acland (second from the left in the photo) in October 1996.

Guitarist and singer Emma Anderson has formed her own band Sing-Sing and is currently demoing songs to secure a record deal. Lush lead singer Miki Berenyi is also working on solo material. Phil King will be joining the Jesus And Mary Chain as bassist on their upcoming tour.

A statement from Lush's record company 4AD says the split is completely amicable. The demise of the band had been anticipated for some time in music circles since their career had been on hold since drummer Acland committed suicide at his parent's Lake District home.

While it always seemed unlikely that Lush would continue without their long-time friend in the line-up, no reasons have been given as to why they took so long to finally announce the end of the partnership.

The band, who formed in 1988, had a career spanning three albums and one mini-LP - 'Spooky', 'Split', 'Lovelife' and 'Scar', respectively - the last being 'Lovelife' in March 1996. Their first album 'Spooky' was their most successful, reaching number seven in the UK album charts in February 1992.

They achieved their biggest UK singles chart success with their last three releases in 1996: 'Single Girl' reached number 21 in January of that year, 'Ladykillers' hit 22 in March and '500 (Shake Baby Shake)' made it to 21 in July. Lush also made well-received appearances on the US Lollapalooza tours.