Emma Anderson

Emma Anderson

Emma Anderson Live
Background information
Birth name Emma Victoria Jane Anderson (actually adopted name)
Born 10 June 1967
Wimbledon, London, England
Genres Alternative rock, shoegazing
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Labels 4AD, Aerial
Associated acts Lush, Sing-Sing
Notable instruments
1972 Fender Telecaster Thinline

Emma Anderson (born Wimbledon, London 10 June 1967)[1] is an English musician. She is best known for being a songwriter, guitarist[2] and singer in the shoegazing/Britpop band, Lush. As a keen music fan, she used to write a fanzine called Alphabet Soup[1] with school friend Miki Berenyi whom she met at Queen's College, London in 1982 when she was fourteen years old. Her first band, which she joined in 1986, was The Rover Girls (which featured Chris P. and Stu who were both later in Silverfish) as a bass player.[1]

Musical career

In 1987 she formed Lush with friend and fellow song writer, Miki Berenyi. On 6 March 1988, Lush played their very first performance at Camden Falcon in London.[1] They went on to reasonable success, having a number of Top 40 hits over an eight year career. Anderson told Everett True 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."[1]

Both Anderson and Berenyi became major music press celebrities as part of The Scene That Celebrates Itself. Music magazines the NME and Melody Maker gleefully reported their social activities on a regular basis,[3][4] which could be said to overshadow their increasingly strong songwriting. As drummer Chris Acland states, "people seem to want to talk about Lush's relationship to the press more than they want to talk about Lush."[5]

Of the sound of Lush, Emma says, ""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!'.""[1]

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.

In 1997 Anderson formed a new band with vocalist Lisa O'Neill, Sing-Sing. Emma talks about 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 whom funnily enough, someone I knew said, was looking for collaborators so it kind of all fell into place and Sing-Sing was born."[6] 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.[6]

Anderson currently resides in Hastings with her daughter.

Discography

Lush

Sing-Sing

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lightfromadeadstar.org
  2. ↑ Guitargeek.com
  3. ↑ Lightfromadeadstar.org/Press
  4. ↑ Lightfromadeadstar.org/Press (2)
  5. ↑ Lightfromadeadstar.org/Press (3)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vonpipmusicalexpress.wordpress.com

External links