What can I say about Kate Bush that hasn’t been said? She is one of a kind.
She first came to my ear with her Hounds of Love album in 1985. “Running Up That Hill” was a monster hit back then and I rushed out and bought the album.
Man, what an album. “Cloudbusting” was a great song and it had a great video, featuring Donald Sutherland. I also love the title song, “The Big Sky”, and “Under Ice”.
Over the next few months, I picked up her back catalog from used record stores around Fredericton. I loved.. most of them.
Her debut album, The Kick Inside (1978), is a wonderful album (“Wuthering Heights” was the standout hit). Lionheart was a worthy sophomoric sequel, with my favourite being the awkwardly named “Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake”.
Then there was what I call her “weird era”, with Never For Ever and The Dreaming. She had some very strange songs, like “Sat In Your Lap”. I didn’t care for most of the songs at the time, but I have grown to appreciate them more over the years. Most people of my age do know “Babooshka”.
I remember buying her EP, “Kate Bush”, from a record store on Queen Street in Fredericton. An EP, for those not from the vinyl era, stands for Extended Play and is a record with more songs than a single (2) but less than a full album.
Kate’s albums continued coming out every few years, with The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993) yielding some great tunes.
Then… nothing.
I guess she retired from music. Wikipedia says she stepped away to focus on raising her son Bertie. Good for her.
Finally she returned in 2005 with Aerial, a complex and beautiful album. 2011’s 50 Words for Snow was a lovely and comfortable album. Both were unmistakably Kate albums and to date those are her most recent studio albums.
“Running Up That Hill” reached a whole new audience in 2022 when it was featured on the hit show “Stranger Things”. I love it when older music is rediscovered.
For me, Kate Bush was the gateway to a bevy of female artists like Sarah McLachlan, Melissa Etheridge and many more. She will always be first in my heart.
Have an album here entitled “The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball.”
A compilation of songs by various artists.
First song on 1st side is a live version of “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush, featuring David Gilmore on guitar & Nick Mason on drums.
Great Stuff !!
Cheers,
KLS
Hi KLS, I’m familiar with the Secret Policeman’s series from the Python skits, like the Argument Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkQhK8O9Jik
I hadn’t realized they involved musicians later on.
Gilmore in particular was a strong supporter of Kate Bush.
I loved Bush’s vocal range and the operatic Wuthering Heights, but some of the other songs – not so much! The Beeb had a really nice documentary (2014) “The Kate Bush Story”. In that, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd says he put up the money for “a proper demo” where she recorded “The Man with the Child in his Eyes” at the age of 16. Worth watching.