In Conversation: Miki Berenyi (Lush)

We are extremely happy to welcome Miki Berenyi, singer and guitarist of legendary 90s act Lush, to the by:Larm conference!

In her brutally honest and open memoir Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me From Success, Berenyi details her life. A difficult childhood gives way to the humble beginnings of her band Lush, who suddenly find themselves at the heart of the madness that is the 90s British music scene when their classic debut album Spooky (1992, 4AD) reaches the UK Top 10. As the band continues to achieve success – also in the US as part of the second Lollapalooza tour – they struggle to find a middle ground between ‘safe’ indie obscurity and ‘sell-out’ international success, while Berenyi experiences the trials of being a woman in an infuriatingly male world.

Berenyi’s book was met with acclaim from reviewers, and has been credited with setting the record straight about 90s music in Britain. It was named Rough Trade’s Book of the Year, while The Guardian named it “a salutary corrective to a much mythologised musical era”, adding that “it’s often extremely funny.” Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv also included the book in their recommended reads for the summer of 2023.

In this conversation with Jude Rogers (The Guardian), Berenyi will share highlights from her memoir, and also give the audience an unfiltered view into the highs and lows of the music world.