FEATURE:
Moments of Pleasure
Why Now Is a Perfect Time for More, New Kate Bush Projects in the World
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I am going to spend the next couple of features…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at a Fairlight C.M.I. demonstration alongside Peter Gabriel (right)
focusing on specific songs from Kate Bush, because Aerial is fifteen next month and I want to explore moments from that album. Right now, I want to revisit a subject that I am pretty fond of: promoting Kate Bush’s work to a wider audience. In the absence of a new album, I think it is a great moment to put out new projects that celebrate the music of Bush. She might feel uncomfortable with a greatest hits package or being involved directly with a new work, but there is a swell of love and affection for her work life never before. This year has seen such an intensity of fans and followers promulgating the wonder of Bush, and various musicians name-checking her as an influence. From new artists releasing music that has elements of Kate Bush, to great documentaries like the celebration of Hounds of Love at thirty-five that was on BBC Radio 6 Music recently, it would be nice to have some more work and things out there that marks Bush’s importance. That sounds terribly vague but, as I have said before, I am working on a podcast, and there are a number of things that I need to sort out before kicking that off. I have asked in various features when there will be a new book of photos, a documentary or a T.V. series that puts Bush in the spotlight. For such an influential and always-loved artist, we do mainly focus on her albums when there is an anniversary.
IMAGE CREDIT: MOJO
Hounds of Love gets played on radio, and we all know the big songs. Shows relating to the album’s thirty-fifth anniversary were great, but there are albums and areas of her career that do not get the same depth. At the moment, there are a few fairly new bits and pieces. There is a new MOJO magazine special issue dedicated to Kate Bush, where there are interviews and lovely extras:
“Among the other wow-some treasures you’ll find within its covers are an unguarded 1980 Sounds interview conducted by writer Phil Sutcliffe, Tom Doyle’s epic four-hour encounter with the singer after she returned from a decade’s hiatus with 2005’s Aerial album, a run-down of Kate’s 50 greatest songs and guide to all her key albums. Plus much more besides. Unbelievable indeed!”.
It is wonderful that this is out, and it makes me feel like the words, interviews and features in the magazine should be expanded and other should follow. The most-recent album we got from Bush was 2011’s 50 Words for Snow, and she did remaster and release her back catalogue in 2018; she released The Other Sides, which gave us a chance to hear some rarer tracks and covers. There have been no new books for a while, and nothing in the way of documentaries and much on the radio. Rather than narrow down to a specific project, I feel it is a time when we could see a few interesting releases without it being too full-on or like a cash-in.
I have always thought how there should be a great Kate Bush covers album and, whilst one that was released twenty-two years ago has been reissued, there are so many artists who would contribute to a fantastic new one. There are fans of Kate Bush in every corner of music, and it would be fascinating to see a new covers album where established and new artists tackle one of her songs – personally, I feel John Grant could do a brilliant version of The Man with the Child in His Eyes (from The Kick Inside). I am not going to bang the demos and reissued albums drum again, but the idea of having her studio albums reissued with various takes and extras would be fascinating; there are early demos that warrant an official release. Looking forward, and BBC Radio’s Mark Radcliffe is putting something out relating to Wuthering Heights, but I don’t think there is too much else due out this year. With increased love and passion directed the way of Bush, I think there is not only an appetite for more music from her but portals where we can celebrate her more generally. Having recently been made a Fellow of the Ivors Academy, it is clear that Bush is as relevant and influential now as she ever has been. The brilliant BBC Radio 6 Music documentary on Hounds of Love was really deep, and it was a rare occasion where an album of hers has been given that much time and expansive investigation.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978
Not that things have to be linked to anniversaries, but I think albums like The Dreaming, The Kick Inside, The Sensual World, and Aerial could be given the same treatment. I feel Bush’s albums are so diverse and detailed, we do not really learn about the recording process, focus on the individual songs and stuff like that. Maybe not an entire album series, but focusing on four of five of her albums for extensive treatment would be great. Similarly, and returning to that MOJO edition, and there are all these fascinating interviews with Bush that could be collated. I think we could have a book of her interviews alone, as we can learn so much from them. We can access most of them on YouTube and the Internet, but I would love to have them in a book. In terms of books, I think there will be people starting the job of writing a new Kate Bush book. The last really good biography was Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush. I do not think there has been a book that details her impact on music and culture; something where artists and those who have been influenced by Bush are interviewed and, included, we get deeper looks at her albums – maybe tying in her interviews. Perhaps there could be an equivalent of The Beatles Anthology book, where we get a completer and updated Kate Bush compendium – something similar to the excellent HomeGround books.
I don’t think a Madonna-style biopic is on the cards, but I do feel, as I have said before, that the one-hour BBC documentary of 2014 was fine but not long or detailed enough; Bush’s legacy and work cannot be crammed into a single hour! Apart from the excellent, long-running Kate Bush Fan Podcast, there is not really a dedicated platform that tackles her career from so many different approaches. Maybe Bush would feel that such exposure and a lot of different new projects coming out would be a bit too much, but there is this justifiable demand and swell of affection for her that, I think, warrants a worthy and compassionate drive. Even if it was a couple of new books, a new radio documentary (or multi-part documentary), alongside a covers album, I reckon that would not be overboard. Forty-five years since Bush’s first recordings for her debut album were completed, there is a generation of people discovering her music; so many artists today reference her work, and there is an endless outpouring of love for her and her work. The fact Kate Bush has not had a dedicated documentary series on Netflix irks me, as I think there are so many different areas to cover and so much to discuss, that it would not only introduce her work to new people but properly pay tribute to an icon.
As COMPLEX wrote earlier this year, Kate Bush’s influence is everywhere:
“In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush began breaking barriers for women in pop. Topping the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights," Bush became the first female artist to reach number one in the UK with a self-written song. Additionally, and equally impressive, she was the first British solo female artist to ever top the UK album charts and the first female artist to enter the album chart at No. 1. By her fourth studio album, Bush gained artistic independence in album production, an uncommon circumstance for women in the music industry during the ‘80s. “The big thing for me, and it has been from quite early on, is to retain creative control over what I’m doing. If you have creative control, it’s personal,” she told Independent in 2016. Her ability to work on her own agenda and release atypical work influenced many younger artists to do the same.
“When I was 17 and getting my first record deal, it was the likes of Kate Bush who had contributed to labels taking me seriously as a girl who knew what she was doing and wanted,” Imogen Heap once said. “I was able to experiment and left to my own devices in the studio. Kate produced some truly outstanding music in an era dominated by men and gave us gals a license to not just be ‘a bird who could sing and write a bit,’ which was the attitude of most execs.” Bush is credited for her early-on, revolutionary use of the Fairlight synthesizer, the headset microphone onstage, and exploring controversial themes wrapped into an ultramodern sound.
IN THIS PHOTO: FKA Twigs/PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Stone
If you haven’t been as lucky to come across Kate Bush’s music in a film or through the recommendation of a friend, there's a chance you’ve unknowingly grown accustomed to the sounds she pioneered. From FKA Twigs’ Magdalene to Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, Bush’s influence—whether direct or not—exists in so many modern pop projects today. Hints of her dramatic vocals carry on through Florence Welch’s delivery and her experimental, futuristic production provided a blueprint for artists like Charli XCX to push pop forward. Her mime-like dance moves coupled with intimate orchestration is echoed in Lorde’s performances. Sinead O’ Connor’s penetrating lyrics in “Troy” and Sia’s roaring vocals in “Chandelier” both conjure the spirit of Kate Bush. Her heirs include other greats like Tori Amos, Björk and Enya. Even electronic artists like Grimes and rock artists like Stevie Nicks have been compared to the UK artist.
Music critics often award talent to musicians who effectively create songs that are transformative and albums that generate a different vibe than the previous. In 2011, Kate Bush told Interview Magazine, “My desire was never to be famous. It was to try and create something interesting musically if I could.”
For fans, it can be quite frustrating to admire someone who is so distant, especially in the digital age. Very little is known about Bush’s day-to-day life, and social media doesn’t provide a stance on her political views or evolving taste and perspective. It isn’t even certain when and if another Kate Bush album will ever come, leaving fans with no choice but to be patient with her timeline and dive deeper into music that already exists. Luckily, powerful art coupled with a mystifying personality has left a lot to explore since the release of her debut album in 1978. Maybe that is why Bush has continued to persist over time. After all, an artist who is not yet fully understood can often be the most compelling.
IN THIS PHOTO: Charli XCX/PHOTO CREDIT: Griffin Lotz
“I think when you don’t give people anything, they make things up. It’s both flattering on lots of levels... The fact that people are still concerned about writing about me,” Bush said in a 1992 interview. “The fact that they still remember me and are hanging onto me, it’s very flattering.“ While her low profile has kept her out of the public eye, the public ear will continue to wait for the groundbreaking musician that is Kate Bush to reappear, whenever she decides it's time”.
From bringing the Fairlight C.M.I. into her music and the impact that had on others – Peter Gabriel owned the first Fairlight C.M.I. in England and introduced Bush to it -, to how her 1979 extravaganza, The Tour of Life, progressed what a live show could be…there is so much that Bush has done for music. Short of her being made a Dame – which I have written about and think should happen! -, to there being this yearly day held to celebrate her work (ditto), I think there would be a warm embrace of new Kate Bush-related work. I can appreciate how tough things are for musicians and everyone at the moment, but I think people would come together and welcome the chance to salute Bush – whether it is a book or a bigger series. Whilst it is humbling seeing all the social media love and the various projects that have been announced or happened recently – Mark Radcliffe’s upcoming T.V. show, and the BBC Radio 6 Music nod to Hounds of Love -, there are missed opportunities and gaps. Given the momentum Bush’s work and legacy has gathered over the past couple of years especially, it does seem a perfect time to strike – whether there are books and concepts waiting to see the light, I am not sure. It would be fitting to see Kate Bush celebrated widely for giving the world so many…
MOMENTS of pleasure.