Song · Lush
“Ladykillers” by Lush
“Ladykillers” by Lush appears on 20 radio countdowns from 12 stations between 1996 and 2025. Its best result is #21 on The End Top 107 Songs of 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #54 alternative song of 1996, #2,921 alternative song of all time and #490 of the '90s.
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"Ladykillers" was the second single from Lush's third album, Lovelife, out on 4AD in February 1996, and it's the sound of a band stepping out of the haze and coming out swinging. Where their earlier records leaned on reverb, this one opens on a circling melody and Miki Berenyi singing with a grin you can hear: Britpop with a punk kick and a shot of Blondie-style new wave. Critics heard Elastica in it, AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine among them, and Berenyi called those comparisons stupid.
The feminist bite is in the lyric, a first-person tour of men and their seduction routines; Berenyi later confirmed that the second and third verses were about Anthony Kiedis and Matt Sharp. It ranks with their bigger hits, with peaks of 22 in the UK, 18 on America's Modern Rock Tracks and 15 in Canada's alternative listings.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 27 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 | 107 |
| 1996 | 83 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 | 91 |
| 1996 | 81 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 | 101 |
| 1996 | 38 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 | 99 |
| 1996 | 21 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 | 107 |
| 1996 | 87 | WBCN Boston, MA | WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 | 104 |
| 1996 | 74 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 1996 | 100 |
| 1996 | 93 | Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) | Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 | 96 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 346 | WHFS | WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) | 500 |
| 2000 | 246 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) | 500 |
| 2001 | 247 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) | 498 |
| 2002 | 243 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) | 500 |
| 2003 | 325 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) | 500 |
| 2005 | 335 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) | 500 |
| 2006 | 415 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) | 499 |
| 2021 | 827 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 571 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2022 | 950 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2024 | 730 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
| 2025 | 521 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
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