Hopefully, this is not the last of her writings we shall see, as her way with words and her knack for expressing herself so well leaves us wanting more. Miki also explores her complicated 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 best friend and soulmate, Lush drummer Chris Acland.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Told through frank confession, wry humour and searing emotional honesty, this is the incredible tale of a trailblazing woman and a seminal band. S., they were a nineties dream-pop cult band, starring Miki Berenyi as the iconic chanteuse with the neon-scarlet hair.Fiercely honest and emotionally acute, it is evenly divided between Berenyi’s early life and her nine-year stint as the singer in British dream-pop outfit, Lush.

As I said earlier, I was gonna like this book even if it had been half as good, I’m a fan, but to earn the praise of all those newspaper columnists and book reviewers (not to mention the notoriously hard-to-please music press) took hard work and dedication.

Despite the trauma at the heart of her story, Berenyi’s writing is characterised by arch humour and a delight in the absurd. Centre stage with bright red hair, she had a striking and recognisable image, but never let this put her off mingling with the crowd at gigs and festivals. Online since 2010 it is one of the fastest-growing and most respected music-related publications on the net. She clearly adored her father Ivan Berenyi, even though he comes across as shiftless, unreliable and a consummate womaniser. A ‘C’ word that sounds offensive in my male inner monologue sounds less so delivered in context by Miki.

The problem with reviewing things on a strictly amateur basis is that it’s often very hard to be impartial. I’m a big fan of the music of Lush, so singer and guitarist Miki Berenyi’s autobiography Fingers Crossed was long-anticipated by me and was a book that I was always going to get something out of, even if it had been a bit rubbish.

I don’t want to be a drama queen but reliving the 30-year span of this book… let’s just say it’s been emotional. The ‘lunacy’ of Ivan, particularly his inability to commit to a relationship, was the flipside of his generosity as well as respect for one’s freedom and choice, including that in Miki’s life. I felt like I was on the rollercoaster with Miki, from making mixtapes with her school friends to the wild dream of making it as a pop star.

I never much minded the workload, but the financial exploitation, the bickering with Emma, the anxiety and the relentless lack of fucking respect ground me down. I’ve no idea if Miki Berenyi has any interest in writing another book – perhaps a novel – but if she did, on the basis of Fingers Crossed, I’d certainly read it!

From the bohemian lifestyle of her father’s social circle to the privileged glamour of her mother’s acting career, Miki’s young life was a blur of travel, celebrities and private schooling. The ebb and flow of their relationship makes up a large part of this painfully honest book, which often finds Berenyi (who confesses to being needy and a bit all over the place) walking on eggshells around Anderson (more circumspect).