Last week there were some online rumblings from Lush, one of the remaining UK bands from the shoegazing era that had yet to thrown their hat into the reunion ring. But a new website, Facebook page, and a bit of Twitter tease some guitarist Emma Anderson stoked the reformation fire, suggesting that Lush would soon join bands like Slowdive, Ride, and My Bloody Valentine in staging a 2010’s comeback.
Now they are back, with a best-of reissue on 4AD, a show in London next spring, and former Elastica drummer Justin Welch on drums, filling in for Chris Acland, who died in 1996.
Here is the band’s message, which they posted on Monday morning:
We’ve been away for ages and ages, but we’re really excited to announce that we’re finally ready to reform as Lush. For all the fans who have been pestering us to do this: thanks so much for your patience and support! We wish it could have been sooner but, for many years, it was just too painful to contemplate without Chris, and then all kinds of life-changing commitments made it impossible.
Now, at last, the three of us are in the right place at the right time to play music together again.
To celebrate our return, 4AD will be putting out a vinyl edition of our ‘best of’ compilation Ciao! (limited copies will be coloured red) and a box set of (very nearly) everything we ever released along with a selection of rarities, sessions and demos. We’ll be playing the Roundhouse in London on 6 May 2016 — tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. on 30 September — so you’ve got plenty of time to regrow your shoey fringe. Chris’s old friend from back in the day, Justin Welch (Elastica), will be on drums. There’s more information to come, so please keep in touch…
Lots of love, Miki, Emma and Phil
With Tom Windish listed as the band’s United States booking agent, it’s safe to say we will be seeing the band on our shores next year as well.
And as for the career-spanning box set, here’s what 4AD has to to say about it:
With almost twenty years having now passed, Lush are a band long overdue celebration. Coinciding with the news that the remaining members are to reunite next year, 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 demos, radio sessions, remixes and rarities. The limited edition box set will be released at the beginning of December, dependent on territory, and preceded by the worldwide vinyl reissue of Lush’s ‘Best Of’ compilation Ciao! in November.
In the meantime, get reacquainted below…