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Sep 28, 2015 Lush By Christopher Roberts

As the band hinted at last week, and as we predicted was likely, shoegazing legends Lush have confirmed their reunion today. The band have announced that on May 6, 2016 they are playing their first ever show in almost 20 years at London’s Roundhouse. They are also releasing a box set in December and reissuing their best of collection on vinyl.

Lush were one of the originators and main icons of the shoegazing genre, along with Slowdive, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, and Swervedriver (who have all reformed in recent years). Lush released three albums in the ‘90s, but split up after the 1996 suicide of drummer Chris Acland. Their final show was in Tokyo, Japan in September 2006. Justin Welch of Britpop icons Elastica will be playing drums at the Roundhouse show. He joins Lush’s three surviving members, guitarist Emma Anderson, singer/guitarist Miki Berenyi, and bassist Philip King.

“The opportunities and practicalities of reforming Lush meant that for 20 years it was an impossible undertaking,” said Berenyi in a press release. “But we all loved what we did, and the time is finally right for us to do it again.”

On November 27 Lush are reissuing their best of compilation Ciao! on vinyl via their original label 4AD. Then in December they will release the Chorus limited edition box set. It includes all three of their full-length albums (1992’s Spooky, 1994’s Split, and 1996’s Lovelife), their 1990 early singles compilation Gala, and their 1996 B-sides compilation Topolino (the Canadian version). Chorus also includes B-sides, radio sessions, remixes and demos, some previously unreleased. Chris Bigg did the artwork for the box set. He, along with 4AD design chief Vaughan Oliver, was responsible for designing Lush’s original album covers.

We were tipped off to a potential Lush reunion last week when Anderson posted to Twitter “7 days” and the band launched a brand new website (www.lushofficial.com) and a new Facebook page that includes up to date contact info for publicists, booking agents, and a manager.

Hopefully more shows and festival appearances will be announced soon and maybe there will be new music on the way from Lush at some point. While we wait for all that, you can read our two recent interviews with Berenyi and Anderson on Split and Lovelife, in which they discussed the challenges of reforming. Also read our 2007 interview with Berenyi, which at the time was her first interview in a decade, since Lush’s breakup. Below also are some Lush videos.