Lush were <!-- not "was"; British English is used for this article. See WP:ENGVAR for more info. -->an English rock band formed in London in 1987. The original line-up consisted of Miki Berenyi (vocals, guitar), Emma Anderson (vocals, guitar), Steve Rippon (bass guitar) and Chris Acland (drums). Phil King replaced Rippon in 1991. They were one of the first bands to have been described with the "shoegaze" label. Following the death of Acland, the group disbanded in 1996.
The group reunited for a short time between 2015 and 2016 with Berenyi, Anderson, King and Justin Welch. They toured and recorded an EP of new material.
History
Formation and early sound (1987–1988)
The band was formed in 1987 in London, initially named the Baby Machines (after a line in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "Arabian Knights"), with a line-up of Meriel Barham (vocals), Anderson (guitar, vocals), Berenyi (guitar, vocals), Steve Rippon (bass guitar) and Chris Acland (drums). Their influences were diverse; they were inspired by Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and the garage rock scene of the Nuggets series.
Anderson and Berenyi had been school friends, having known each other since the early 1980s, and together published the Alphabet Soup fanzine. In 1986, Anderson joined the Rover Girls as bass guitarist and Berenyi joined the Bugs, also as a bass guitar player. Neither band lasted long, and in 1987, they joined Barham and Acland in the Baby Machines. Unusually, the band released two EPs from the album ("Hypocrite" and "Desire Lines") both on the same day (30 May 1994). A month later, drummer Acland died by hanging himself in his parents' garden on 17 October. The band went on an extended hiatus, officially announcing their break-up on 23 February 1998.
Reformation and second break-up (2015–2016)
In September 2015, the music press suggested a reunion might be planned after Anderson posted a cryptic "7 day." message on social media and an official band website appeared. For Record Store Day 2016, 4AD released a limited edition 5-LP colour vinyl box set titled Origami, comprising Gala (clear vinyl), Spooky (silver vinyl), Split (red vinyl), Lovelife (pink vinyl) and the first vinyl release of the Canadian version of Topolino (yellow vinyl), with revised artwork by Chris Bigg. The UK/European version was packaged in a white cardboard "pizza box" emblazoned with three different Lush logos from 1990, 1994 and 1996.
Lush also announced a show at the Roundhouse in London on 6 May 2016, and later added a second date, 7 May 2016, after the first show sold out in six hours. They alluded to further dates in North America, confirmed on 19 January 2016 when their first North American tour in 20 years was announced.
On 15 April 2016, the band announced the release of the Blind Spot EP, the band's first new material since 1996. It was produced by Jim Abbiss and Ladytron member Daniel Hunt. On 18 October 2016, the band announced the departure of bassist King on their official website. On 15 November 2016, Lush issued a statement announcing that Michael Conroy of Modern English would play bass for the final show at Manchester Academy, and confirming the band would split after the show.