Emma Anderson (born 10 June 1967) is an English musician. She is best known for being a songwriter, guitarist and singer in the

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

band Lush.

Musical career

Born in Wimbledon, London, the adopted daughter of a former army officer who ran a gentleman's club in Piccadilly, Anderson attended several schools before taking her

O-Levels The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

at Queen's College, where she met Miki Berenyi. As keen music fans, they wrote a fanzine called ''Alphabet Soup''. Her first band, which she joined in 1986, was the Rover Girls (which featured Chris P Mowforth and Stuart Watson, who were both later in Silverfish) as a bass player. In 1987, while Anderson was at Ealing College of Higher Education studying Humanities and Berenyi was at

North London Polytechnic The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

, they formed Lush. Lush played their very first performance at the Camden Falcon in London on 6 March 1988. They went on to reasonable success, having a number of Top 40 hits over an eight-year career. Anderson told

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

in '' Melody Maker'', "I remember when I couldn't play, I wasn't in a band, didn't know anyone else who could play, and now we've got a record out on 4AD. I sometimes find it impossible to come to terms with what's happening." Anderson and Berenyi were the only women to take part in the 1992 Lollapalooza tour of the United States. Both Anderson and Berenyi became major music press celebrities as part of

The Scene That Celebrates Itself Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

. Music magazines the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' and ''Melody Maker'' gleefully reported their social activities on a regular basis, which could be said to overshadow their increasingly strong songwriting. As drummer Chris Acland stated, "people seem to want to talk about Lush's relationship to the press more than they want to talk about Lush." Of the sound of Lush, Emma said, ""We were kind of punk rock in one way. We did think 'Well, if they can do it, why the fuck can't we?' Basically, our idea was to have extremely loud guitars with much weaker vocals. And, really the vocals were weaker due to nervousness – we'd always be going 'Turn them down! Turn them down!'."" After their biggest hits, the Top 30 "Single Girl", "Ladykillers" and "500 (Shake Baby Shake)" and Top 10 album, ''Lovelife'', the band's drummer Chris Acland took his own life in 1996. The members were devastated and they split in 1996. Lush officially announced their breakup on 23 February 1998. While a member of Lush, Anderson also worked with

Drum Club Drum Club was a 1990s electronic music duo of former promoters and DJs Charlie Hall and Lol Hammond. They released several albums and singles on record labels such as Big Life and Butterfly Records. Their 1993 single "Sound System" reached #63 ...

contributing vocals and guitar on "Spaced Out Locked In" on their 1993 album ''Everything Is Now'', also playing guitar on "Sound System".Bush, John
''Everything Is Now'' Review
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved 21 November 2015 In 1997 Anderson formed a new band with vocalist Lisa O'Neill, Sing-Sing. Emma explained how it started, "I just started writing songs not really knowing what was going to happen though I kind of knew I didn't want to form another 4-piece indie band. I demoed those songs for 4AD with myself singing but was dropped but I wasn't fazed. I then met Lisa O'Neill via a guy I was going out with at the time. She had worked with

Mark Van Hoen Mark Van Hoen (born September 1966, Croydon, London, England) is an English electronic music artist. He has created music under his own name as well as Locust, and Autocreation. Pitchfork said, "Musically, Van Hoen belongs to a distinguished f ...

whom funnily enough, someone I knew said, was looking for collaborators so it kind of all fell into place and Sing-Sing was born." They released two albums – ''The Joy of Sing-Sing'' in 2001 and ''Sing-Sing and I'' in 2005, before officially disbanding on New Year's Day 2008. Anderson joined in reforming Lush in 2015, releasing a four-track EP ''Blind Spot'' in early 2016. Anderson currently resides in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

Discography

Lush

*''

Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a n ...

'' (

mini-LP A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...

) – October 1989 *''

Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman *GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups *''Gala'', a 1986 album by T ...

'' – December 1990 *''

Spooky Spooky or Spookey may refer to: something that will cause creepiness or uncanniness. Arts and entertainment Music Musicians * Spooky (house music duo) * Spookey (UK band), a 1970s soul band based in Manchester *DJ Spooky, musician and producer * ...

'' – January 1992 *''

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

'' – June 1994 *'' Lovelife'' – March 1996 *'' Ciao! Best of Lush'' – 2001 *'' Blind Spot'' EP – April 2016

Sing-Sing

*''The Joy of Sing-Sing'' – 2001 *''Sing-Sing and I'' – 2005

References

External links

Sing-Sing's MySpace4AD Lush Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Emma 1967 births Living people English adoptees People educated at Queen's College, London English women guitarists English rock guitarists English women singers English rock singers English songwriters People from Wimbledon, London Shoegaze musicians Lush (band) members