You’ve talked about how trying to break America led to Lush almost breaking up by the time of Chris Acland’s death. Did you actually want that level of success? tomfowler500
If we had, then we wouldn’t have been on 4AD – because Pixies and Cocteau Twins were on 4AD and neither of them had a Top 10 single. They were popular and respected, but 4AD was not the label to push you up the Billboard charts. I don’t think any of us were built for that treadmill, or those long distances, and it’s hard not to lose your mind. I used to prepare for tours by taking Linguaphone tapes and thinking, “I’m going to learn Italian”. But within two weeks I was pissed out of my mind and shagging around and acting like an animal.
Do you have a favourite memory of Chris you’d like to share? Mr_202
I was at college with Chris. I went out with him. I knew him closely for a decade, so there’s not a single anecdote that sums him up. He was genuine, honest, likeable, good humoured. Not a shred of arrogance. What you got was really him. He wasn’t putting it on. He was just a joy to be around. I think he obviously went through something very difficult which must have overwhelmed him and ended with him taking his own life, but that wasn’t who he was. When I got the news, my overwhelming feeling was that I just wanted to run out of the room, up the street and away from it. I like to think that now he’d have been very happy, with a big family up in the Lakes.
