Ciao! (song)

"Ciao!" is a song by English alternative rock band Lush from their 1996 album, Lovelife. Written as a duet sung from the perspective of a breakup, the song was written by Miki Berenyi after drummer Chris Acland jokingly asked to sing on the album. Ultimately, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp made a guest appearance on the album to sing the male part on the song.

"Ciao!"
Song by Lush
from the album Lovelife
Released5 March 1996
Genre
Length3:31
Label4AD
Songwriter(s)Miki Berenyi
Producer(s)

"Ciao!" was not released as a single, in part to avoid looking like trend-riders. It has since seen positive critical reception and has been performed live, with one performance featuring Ian Astbury of the Cult as the male vocalist.

Background

"Ciao!" notably features Jarvis Cocker of Pulp dueting with Lush vocalist Miki Berenyi. According to Berenyi, she first met Cocker and Pulp in 1991, when the then-obscure Pulp performed as Lush's support act. Berenyi recalled, "[Pulp] absolutely blew me away and I became a regular at their gigs over the next several years."[1]

Berenyi had written the song as a duet after Lush drummer Chris Acland jokingly asked to sing a song on the new album.[2] Ultimately, Acland declined and Cocker provided guest vocals, possibly because, according to Berenyi, he was amused by the demo of the song, which featured Berenyi singing the male part in a low voice.[3]

Cocker did two takes of the vocals after calming his nerves with brandy, contributing his spoken word part in the song's middle section.[3]

Release

In addition to its release on Lush's 1996 album Lovelife, "Ciao!" was released as a promotional single sent to radio stations. However, the band did not want to appear to be capitalizing on the Britpop trend and Cocker's popularity, so it did not release the song as a single (the band instead selected "500" as the album's third single). The song also was the title track to the 2001 compilation Ciao! Best of Lush.

The song was also unpopular with 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell. Berenyi joked, "Poor Ivo - he still can't believe that this song was on 4AD. Makes him shudder every time I remind him!"[3]

The band has performed the song live, with one performance featuring Ian Astbury of the Cult as the male vocalist. Berenyi recalled, "When we went through it at the soundcheck, it became obvious that Ian had got a bit confused and thought we were going to cover the Cult's "Edie (Ciao Baby)". We're playing the intro and he’s going 'It's quite skiffle, isn't it?'. Chris was laughing so hard he could barely play."[4]

Reception

Consequence of Sound compared Berenyi and Cocker to Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood on "Ciao!", writing, "This death-of-a-relationship celebration is a potent anti-love song that's especially cathartic for anyone who’s ever needed convincing that they were more over a former flame than they actually were."[5] AllMusic described the song as "irresistible,"[6] while the Chicago Tribune called it "amusing."[7]

Berenyi spoke of the song positively, stating that the song made her laugh.[8]

References
  1. Berenyi, Miki. "Ciao! Also known as The Jarvis Duet. I first saw Pulp when they supported us (yes, I know) in Paris, in 1991. Absolutely blew me away and I became a regular at their gigs over the next several years #TimsTwitterListeningParty". Twitter. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  2. Perrone, Pierre (21 October 1996). "Obituary: Chris Acland". The Independent. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  3. Berenyi, Miki. "Chris had been fishing to do a vocal but then bottled it when I actually wrote him one (he may have been joking!). Jarvis agreed to do Ciao, possibly because the demo made him laugh (I sang his 'low' vocal parts and sounded like a depressed frog)". Twitter. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. Von, Andy. "Miki Berenyi Interview - Part 3. Miki's Photos (con't)" (PDF). Lush Remembered. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  5. Mojica, Frank (28 April 2012). "Dusting 'Em Off: Lush - Lovelife". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  6. "Lovelife - Lush | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  7. Webber, Brad. "Lush: Lovelife (Reprise)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  8. Carpenter, Lorraine. "Miki Berenyi". Under the Radar. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
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