FEATURE:
A New Lodger
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush captured by Pierre Terrasson in 1982
Might We See a Collaboration Between Kate Bush and Tony Visconti?
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AS a lot of my features…
IN THIS PHOTO: The iconic producer Tony Visconti/PHOTO CREDIT: Cindy Ord/WireImage for NARAS
over the coming weeks are a reaction to the ongoing coronavirus situation, I wanted to break things up with other subjects. I realise that I have published a few Kate Bush-related features this year, but there is a possible collaboration in the air. I have been listening to BBC Radio 6 Music – like I do every day -, and it was revealed that Tony Visconti might be working with Bush - the two have been talking at the very least! This rumour has not been substantiated, so it might be the case that Visconti and Bush have been chatting and nothing else will come from it. The possibility of the two working together has got some wondering whether Bush might be about to signal the release of an eleventh studio album – perhaps there is a Visconti-led album that would feature the vocals of Kate Bush? There are a couple of reasons why I wanted to follow up on a possible Bush-Visconti partnership. Whilst most artists are not thinking of releasing an album at this time, Bush has traditionally put out her studio albums between September and December. It would not be inconceivable to think there is an album coming later in the year, but I wonder whether Visconti might be producing. From 1982’s The Dreaming on, Bush has handled production duties herself. That said, Bush did consider working with a big producer after 1980’s Never for Ever. Kate Bush and Jon Kelly co-produced Never for Ever, but Bush wanted to take a different approach for her fourth studio album.
Whilst re-reading Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, pages 178-179 caught my eye. Tony Visconti is one of the greatest producers ever, and he has worked with artists such as T. Rex and Iggy Pop. It is his work with David Bowie that must people reference when highlighting his genius. Visconti co-produced most of Bowie’s stunning work during the Seventies, and he also co-produced (with Bowie) Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) in 1980. According to Visconti’s recollection – somewhat vague by his own admission! – he and Bush were speculating working together. During the making of David Bowie’s 1979 album, Lodger, he was listening to Kate Bush’s (underrated) album, Lionheart (1978). Picking up something hugely powerful and interesting from the record, he wrote Bush a letter from his hotel room in Montreux. It was about a year or so after that letter was sent when Visconti received a phone call from Bush. The two met up with a real possibility of a working partnership – whether Visconti was in Bush’s mind to co-produce her next album or work on it in some form? Before their lunch meeting, Visconti worked up an astrological chart for Bush – he had been a dabbler for over a decade and, of course, this was the sort of thing that would have engaged and appealed to Kate Bush! They met at a restaurant near Bush’s studio in the West End (Bush recorded Never for Ever at Abbey Road Studios and AIR Studios, London). At this time, it must have been after Never for Ever but before The Dreaming, as Bush went on to record the latter album solo.
Whilst the two lunched together, they discussed Bowie and Bush took Visconti to play him a couple of songs – presumingly a couple of tracks from Never for Ever. Humourlessly, Visconti’s most vivid recollection from that studio time was the sight of Bush leaning on the back of a chair. Visconti was on the sofa behind her and was distracted by her bottom swaying near his face – he admitted that he must of loved the music but, understandably, there was something more pressing on his mind at the time! There was a huge amount of affection between the two. Bush was blown away by how accurate Visconti’s astrological chart was. Bush phoned him later to say that she was going to produce her next album alone but, sweetly, said that there is no other producer she would rather work with (than Visconti). Although Visconti did not work on The Dreaming, one can hear the influence of Bowie/Visconti’s production on songs like Sat in Your Lap. David Bowie – alongside artists such as Bryan Ferry and Pink Floyd – was a hero of Bush’s. As we can see in this article from last year, Bowie was present in Kate Bush’s heart very early in her career:
“Another day and another reason we love Kate Bush. In this rare recording which has just surfaced to us online, Kate, back in 1975, gives a few words on her unreleased song ‘Humming’, a track which is widely assumed to be about the legendary David Bowie. Listen back to the song below:
In the bootleg clip, clearly recorded from somebody’s FM radio, a reserved and shy Bush talks about the clip as if it is the worst song ever. Written when she was 15 the song is fairly naive in construction but still holds all the values as Bush’s later work. The real naivety comes from the song’s subject matter: Kate Bush’s hero, David Bowie.
Prior to it’s release in 2018 as an extra on a bumper vinyl box set, the song was floating around the airwaves known as ‘Maybe’ or even ‘Davy’. The latter of which a clear nod to the beginning of Bowie as Davy Jones. The track pays homage to the flame-haired alien from outer space, not through the music (which is actually more akin to Bush’s other hero Elton John) but through her wondrous, cheeky and very intelligent lyrics.
The track comes from a very exciting period for David Bowie. He had ditched the long-haired hippy vibe of Hunky Dory and was instead intent on establishing his incarnation Ziggy Stardust. The rock world was taken aback by the transformation and his output and it’s no wonder when people like Kate were caught up in his wake. Kate was even standing solemnly when at the Hammersmith Apollo in 1973 Bowie killed off his alter-ego Ziggy.
In fact, we’d go as far to say as that the song is about this very moment. The yearning in Bush’s lyrics, coupled with the song’s love-letter qualities, send a message of missing somebody special. Written at the age of 15, just a year after Ziggy was sent back up into outer space, it makes sense that a heartbroken Bush would pen a song for the moonage daydreamer.
It’s a wonderful song which not only is given an extra kick of gravitas by the small and sweet intro she gives the song on the radio but with it’s latest release in 2018, is given a modern face-lift. Kate Bush is very shy about most personal things in her life but she wasn’t shy about Bowie. Below is the message she wrote for David upon hearing of his passing. Below that is the two versions of the song ‘Humming’ or as we prefer to call it ‘Davy’.
IN THIS PHOTO: David Bowie shot in 1975 by Steve Schapiro
“David Bowie had everything. He was intelligent, imaginative, brave, charismatic, cool, sexy and truly inspirational both visually and musically. He created such staggeringly brilliant work, yes, but so much of it and it was so good. There are great people who make great work but who else has left a mark like his? No one like him.
I’m struck by how the whole country has been flung into mourning and shock. Shock, because someone who had already transcended into immortality could actually die. He was ours. Wonderfully eccentric in a way that only an Englishman could be.
Whatever journey his beautiful soul is now on, I hope he can somehow feel how much we all miss him”
There is no telling how hard Bowie’s death in 2016 hit her. This article from 2016 shed some light on the answer to that particular query:
“After an extended period of self-imposed media exile, the past months have seen Kate Bush offer more of herself to the public than she has for years. In a recent chat with Fader she opened up about her love and respect for David Bowie.
While she admitted that she doesn't really listen to contemporary music, she revealed how moved she was by the legend's final album. "One of the most powerful things that I heard recently was Blackstar by Bowie...I thought it was beautiful. Very moving of course, but I think one of the best things he's ever done."
IN THIS PHOTO: Tony Visconti and David Bowie
Following Bowie's death, the Hounds of Love singer spoke to The Guardian about their relationship saying: "He created such staggeringly brilliant work, yes, but so much of it and it was so good. There are great people who make great work but who else has left a mark like his? No one like him."
10 months on from his passing she adds, "He was one of my great heroes when I was growing up. He was such a brave artist, so unusual, and I loved his music...But I just sort of admired what he achieved creatively." When pressed over their dual ability to challenge traditional expectations of gender she continues, "I think when I'm working creatively, I don't really think of myself of writing as a woman. I just think of writing as me, as a person, if that makes sense"
I think Tony Visconti is a huge part of what made Bowie successful. One can drawn comparisons between Bush and Bowie in terms of their ever-changing art and image; the way they go beyond the ordinary and take music to new places. When speaking with Matt Everitt (of BBC Radio 6 Music) in 2016, she stated that this was not the end of her career – Everitt asked if this was a full stop in her career: “No, I don’t think so. I think it’s just a rather big comma”. Everitt was speaking with Bush to promote the album release of Before the Dawn - Bush returned to the stage after thirty-five years in a hugely celebrated and triumphant residency at the Eventim Apollo in 2014.
2011’s 50 Words for Snow was her last studio album and, since then, she has returned to the stage, remastered and released her back catalogue – including vinyl sets contained rarities and B-sides – and released her first book of lyrics. Maybe Bowie’s death – and the impact of 2016’s Blackstar – sparked something in her. Visconti co-produced that with Bowie, so this might have got her thinking about new work and injecting some of Visconti’s magic into her music. Kate Bush is an artist who has gained more control of her music since her debut album. She was in control of production by 1982, and she started directed her own videos from 1985’s Hounds of Love – although she has worked with other directors and creative since. She (amicably) parted company with EMI and set up her own label, Fish People, in 2011 - the label's first release was Director's Cut, quickly followed by re-releases of The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, The Sensual World, The Red Shoes, and Aerial. Later in 2011, Fish People released 50 Words for Snow. Nearly nine years after that album, one would not be surprised to find Bush looking for a collaborator. Although Bush has been alone in the producer’s chair for nearly four decades, I feel that lunch meeting with Visconti, tied with her life-long affection of David Bowie could lead to a new project. As I said at the start…the BBC Radio 6 Music discussion I heard was brief and there was a sort of whisper that Visconti and Bush were going to unite.
Any project involving the two of them would be a dream. Four years after David Bowie’s death, maybe Bush will contribute to a tribute album. The thought, though, of a new Bush studio album holds more allure. 50 Words for Snow is an album that mixed Jazz and Art Pop together. Bowie’s 2011 swansong fused Art Rock, Jazz, and Experimental Rock. It is understandable that the epic and emotional Blackstar resonated in Bush; it is no shock to think that her and Visconti have been discussing future work. I think we all need some good news right now but, without knowing whether there is a new album coming, it is all scuttlebutt. There has been this decades-lasting bond and understanding between Tony Visconti and Kate Bush. The two are both geniuses, and I am surprised they have not worked together on something big before! Visconti actually name-checked Bush in a speech at SXSW in 2016 (“…Visconti concluded that the music industry needed to be more adventurous when looking for new artists. “Look at those freaks out there, the really weird ones, because that’s what the public wants to hear,” he said. He added that labels need to spend time nurturing talent, citing the example of Kate Bush, who was developed over several years by EMI before she released her first single”). So many people are excited when there is mention of Kate Bush - me included -, so it is only natural to look forward and wonder what might be coming – if anything at all. It has been a tough couple of weeks, and things are going to be pretty rough for a while longer. I think the world would open its arms to news of a Bush-Visconti blend. Although the legendary producer was not involved in the making of The Dreaming, a collaboration with the iconic Kate Bush nearly forty years after that album’s release…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
WOULD be a dream come true!