Bush Biography

BUSH formed in 1992 shortly after guitarists Gavin Rossdale and Nigel Pulsford met in a London club. Realizing they shared a love for such diverse artists as The Pixies, Bob Marley, Jesus Lizard, MC5, Husker Du, and Big Black, they decided to form a band together. It wasn't long before they recruited Goodridge and Parsons and started writing. Shortly after Dave Parsons joined the band leaving from his band Transvision Vamp. Later after going through a few drummers Sasha Gervasi, Amir, Spencer Cobrin they finally fallen on the perfect piece of the puzzle Robin Goodridge. were the first lineup of BUSH.

They had some songs and played at English bars, not making any big money. At one gig, Robin Goodridge was in the audience. He liked the music, but not the drummer, so got backstage after the show and spoke to Gavin about what he thought. After that, he was a member of Bush. (think the displaced drummer might have a beef with Robin? Oh yeah.) Robin says of the event:

"I got drunk saturday night and I nearly didn't go. But he (Gavin) phoned me again earlier that day to say, 'Please come tomorrow', and that second phone call made it. I thought they were great. I didn't really like the drummer, which made me feel good. I knew I could have just sat down there and taken them up two levels in the rhythm department immediately. Got a bit drunk and told them that."

The success didn't come immediately. Gavin, Nigel and Robin worked as painters daytime and played their music at night. They also sent out demo tapes to radio stations. LA station KROQ liked the music and played Everything Zen a lot. In 1994 a new record label Trauma Records picked up a few Bush demos which they liked and they made a two album deal. Here Bush made the name change from Future Primitive. Rumor has it the label asked them to do it for cost purposes. (Bush would cost less to print on a CD than Future Primitive)

Their debut album was recorded between January and February 1994. Sixteen Stone wasn't released immediately due to some internal problems in Trauma Records, not to mention that Gavin was into soccer while recording Sixteen Stone and had an injury to his mouth that at one point delayed the recording sessions. (Rumor has it he's quite good) After forming a partnership with Interscope Trauma released Sixteen Stone in December 1994. In January 1995 the Black Dog Tour started and continued all over the US. Bush was on tour over a year and all the shows were sold out. Although Bush were big in the US, in the UK everything was the same, no screaming fans just a few half full, dusty ass clubs.

By spring of 1995, the record had gone gold, despite a stack of bad reviews. By that time, the band was successful enough in the U.S. to land a British record deal, although they weren't able to match their American success in the U.K. Over the course of 1995, Sixteen Stone became a major hit in the US, with "Little Things" reaching number four on the modern rock charts in the spring; later that year "Comedown" and "Glycerine" both reached number one on the modern rock charts, as well as crossing over into the pop Top 40. Despite their success, Bush received scathing reviews from the press and many alternative-rock critics, who believed the group was a bit too pretty for grunges..er, grungy sound. To counter such charges, the band asked Steve Albini -- notorious for his abrasive productions for not only The Pixies, Nirvana and PJ Harvey, but also countless indie bands -- to helm their second album.

Weeks later, the band emerged from Abbey Road's Studio Two with Razorblade Suitcase, 13 raw, real cuts recorded in mostly one or two takes with few overdubs. The album balanced storming rockers like "Personal Holloway" and "Greedy Fly" with their more introspective fare such as "Swallowed" and "Bonedriven."
The album was released in time for the Christmas season of 1996. Razorblade Suitcase was critically bashed too, but not as much as Sixteen Stone and the album entered the US charts at number one, as well as making some headway in the UK. However, by the the spring of 1997, the album had stalled somewhat, producing only one major hit in "Swallowed,". But the other singles still did well enough for Razorblade and to achive just under triple-platinum status.

In November 1997 Bush released a remix album Deconstructed containing new versions of old songs. Some of the world's top remixers, such as Goldie (Swallowed) and Tricky (In A Lonley Place), put thier spin on Bush music. The first single and the only one was Mouth and was remixed by Bush but under different name (The Stingray).This one sold like turd (who would have thought that people wouldn't buy already released songs as dance music?). Bush wasn't really to blame, and the members still express dissatisfaction towards the record.

In 2000 Bush released The Science Of Things, their third studio album.Rossdale wrote the bulk of the album during the band's six month hiatus after its Razorblade Suitcase tour in 1998. While he had previously written many BUSH songs in the heart of the city, he decided he wanted to get away from the distractions of London this time, so he journeyed to an old mansion on the Irish Coast near the city of Cork. He found the tranquility inspirational, and within six months he had recorded demos for 25 new songs. Gavin said of the CD:

"I didn't want to be content just being a rock guitar band anymore," says BUSH vocalist and guitarist Gavin Rossdale. "I found that a bit stifling and frustrating, and wanted to create something that came from a different angle and expressed a different side of us. I wanted to demonstrate that we've grown."

"The Chemicals Between Us" and "Letting the Cables Sleep", which moved Bush towards more of an electronic sound. During the spring, Nigel pumped out a solo album Heavenly Toast On The Paradise Road. Don't go looking for the Bush flavor, however. While it is an excellently crafted CD, it's much softer than the Bush norn.

After problems with the guys at Trauma (Bush felt that the executives weren't promoting the band that had practically made the label enough), Bush signed a huge contract with Atlantic Records. While we haven't got official numbers, it's safe to say that Bush got some primetime cashflow. The fifth Bush album and first for this label was released in October 2001. The album, Golden State , was produced by Dave Sardy who has worked with Marilyn Manson, among others. Support for the album was lukewarm at best. Music lovers seemed more interested in bands like Linkin Park, Nickelback, and Creed (shudder) to give much of a glance to Bush, despite awesome songs like the driving "The People that We Love" ( A song that had it's title changed from "Speed Kills" in the aftermath of the New York attacks), and the atmospheric "Headful of Ghosts".A bright spot was that Golden State was loved by the critics who had trashed Bush so much in their early years.


The Golden State tour was the beginning of the end for Bush. The early part of the tour that took place at the end of 2001 would be the last the Bush would perform with the original line up. For the kick off of their main tour in January of 2002 Nigel Pulsford quietly bowed out to stay at home and await his newborn son. Bush decided to continue on with promoting their new album and Chris Traynor (ex-Helmet member) filled in and finished out the tour. The first signs of speculation began to arise. Was it was the end for Bush or just a temporary bump in the road?

Each member branched into their own new ventures. By mid-2003 the band would be giving hints to its fizzling relationship. Gavin mentioning his new band 'Institute' and Nigel stating 'the isn't much Bush anymore'. As of now Bush is no more and as far we know the band has still not ruled out getting back together someday.