The author paints her in shades of grey, describing how her old-world sensibilities seem completely incompatible with England in the 1970s and 80s. If you’re expecting Fingers Crossed to be a rollercoaster ride of rock ‘n’ roll excess, you might be disappointed, but that’s more about your inflexibility than any failing the part of the author. Miki does not sensationalise these elements in the way that some authors might – this is by no means a ‘look at my dreadful childhood’ autobiography – and she takes great care to not pinpoint these occurrences as an excuse for anything she may or may not have done in her later life. Steve Rippon left fairly early on, replaced on bass by Phil King, who seems to have always been something of an outsider in the band.

A ‘C’ word that sounds offensive in my male inner monologue sounds less so delivered in context by Miki. Beginning with the upheaval and trauma of a difficult childhood and her friendship / rivalry with bandmate Emma Anderson, with whom she formed Lush in the late Eighties, it tells the story of attempting to establish herself as a woman in a male-dominated industry, and is scattered with numerous engaging celeb anecdotes. After a difficult time in my life in the early 1990s, my musical tastes blossomed exponentially and Lush was one of the bands that really appealed to me. I remember seeing her wandering through the throng at Glastonbury, chatting with fans as she went and, following a Lush gig in Liverpool, she turned up at a club to watch Levitation, where she autographed my cassette recording of the Lush gig with the words “Help me I’m Diamond Whited!A tender, fierce, uncompromising reflection on the power, peril and energy of youth, and how childhood lingers longer than you’d ever expect it to when you’re young.

Neuware - The extraordinary and searingly honest personal story of musician Miki Berenyi, revealing the highs and lows of navigating the madness of the '90s music industry. Overall the book is fascinating, eruditely-written, constantly amusing and jam-packed with interesting trivia: Emma Anderson dated My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields before Lush formed; Lush and Ministry formed a strong-if-unlikely alliance during the Lollapalooza tour and got up to mutually-supported mayhem; Berenyi once got back from tour to find an uncommunicative Richard Ashcroft pouring over music demos for A Northern Soul with her then-boyfriend; Blur and Pulp were both Lush support bands before becoming Britpop giga-stars.But although I obliquely discovered Lush via Emma Anderson, it was crimson-haired lead singer Miki Berenyi who always fascinated me and the more I looked into her on the aforementioned primitive Internet, the more intriguing she became.

My dad for all his lunacy was actually a very good friend”, says Berenyi, explaining her attitude to friendship. Following their bitter divorce, she had to split the time between her father, sports journalist of Hungarian descent Ivan Berenyi, and mother, Japanese actress and producer Yasuko Nagazumi. Trading Address (Warehouse) Unit E, Vulcan Business Complex, Vulcan Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE5 3EB.She clearly adored her father Ivan Berenyi, even though he comes across as shiftless, unreliable and a consummate womaniser. Ivan invited his terrifying, controlling mother, Nora, to live with them, and she initially fussed over and cosseted her granddaughter. The memoir also explores Miki's complex relationship with Emma - one that has fluctuated between camaraderie and rivalry over the years - and addresses the most devastating tragedy of all: the suicide of her soulmate, Lush drummer Chris Acland.