FEATURE:
On Folk, Fame and Femininity…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
A Look Inside a ‘Lost’ Kate Bush Interview from 1989
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NOW that I have read and digested…
a recent edition of MOJO that dedicated a lot of space to Kate Bush, there are some interesting discussion points. The first I want to bring up is an interview from 1989 that was supposedly lost in the midst of time. It was never published in English and, in the conversation with Martin Aston, there were some intriguing points of discussion. As the U.K, correspondent of a Dutch magazine, OOR, it seems like there was a round of interviews where people got to talk with Bush about her ‘return’. She released Hounds of Love in 1985 and, four years later, she was back with an album. That period of time between albums is not remarkable today, though for a big artists in the 1980s, I guess the press wrote off those that did not come back with another album very soon after the last. Ashton noted how Bush was almost enveloped by an armchair where they were sitting at Chilston Park (a stately home in Kent)! Shy and charismatic, the paradox was something that caught his imagination. It was noted that, maybe, because she had been in the studio so long, the reluctance to do many interviews was because she had been by herself/very people for a long time. Bush noted how The Sensual World (the album she was promoting) was her most ‘female’. In the past, she had written more from a man’s perspective (or a child in more than one case); The Sensual World has a very female energy and, whereas past albums have seen her deliver her words with masculine energy, maybe there was something more paternal and personal here.
Martin Aston picked up on what Bush said about The Sensual World being a ‘female’ album. He asked if women can be many things: “Yes, they can, but I am a female, and so most people presume that females write from a female point of view…”. Bush said how Hounds of Love had this male energy with big drums and quite a propulsive tone. The Sensual World had “much more of a female energy to it”. When challenged to define what constitutes a female energy, Bush suggested how one did not hear many female sounds at the time. A lot of music, such as Rock, was being distilled by male producers or dissipated in some way. In ethnic music (her words), the Trio Bulgarka (a Bulgarian female vocal ensemble) were pure and intense. They were not being directed or made to sound commercial. The Sensual World definitely benefits from their experience and power! Bush, without wanting to sound sexist, felt that The Sensual World would appeal to a few more women than her past work. Even though her musicians and technical team were men, the songs and themes covered on The Sensual World, to me, are closer to her heart than ever. I definitely think that Bush was putting more of herself into the work. Bush was stunned that people were so interested in her work. “I just continue to think how extraordinary it is that people do want to hear my stuff”.
She noted how, stuck in the studio and working so hard, she is never sure what people think and whether they will like her music. The question of touring came up and, as it has been a decade since The Tour of Life, she thought it was a little ridiculous people still asked about it – it would be another twenty-five years before a big return to the stage. There is a lot to love and pour over in the interview with Martin Aston. I am not sure why it was not run and whether there was something in there that was blocked by EMI or the Dutch magazine. Having it preserved by MOJO is a real treat! One of the most revealing questions came when Aston asked whether letting go of her music and having people hear it haunts her. Given that she is so driven and spends a long time honing her songs, is there that panic when it is finally out? “I think that ‘letting go’ is a key phrase for so many things in my life”. She stated how she is a tenacious person and that she does not like to let things go. For The Sensual World, however, “I couldn’t wait for the album to be finished, and to be out”. There was palpable relief at having an album out! One of the things that crops up in Bush interviews is that she can never be happy with anything. She told Aston that she learns to be a little less disappointed each time. On The Sensual World, she had reached the logical conclusion of each song; there were a few tracks she feared that would never be completed.
Bush revealed how, when recording The Sensual World, “how obsessive I am when making a record, and how it shuts me off from so many things”. I think the album was transformational in the sense that Bush would prioritise herself more after this album. By the time The Red Shoes was released in 1993, it was clear that she needed some time out and recharge. Bush took breaks when recording the album, and she was frustrated at how long lyrics were taking – “There were times I just couldn’t go any further”. Taking time out and doing stuff like gardening, when she couldn’t write and had to take breaks, spending some time doing something more relaxing was a help. Having reached the age of thirty (in 1988), she was looking art things differently. “I had to look at a lot of things in myself, and I think, “Is making an album that important to me?”. Bush revealed how it was important how she had friends and could divert from music and not solely be obsessed with recording and making an album. Asked whether there was a burden on her with the expectation surrounding a new album, Bush said how it was unfair that people assumed that an album would fare well and be a success. “Obviously, I would love them (the public) to like it, but again, it’s down to ‘Why do you make an album?”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for The Sensual World single/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
Bush discussed that she wrote songs because she had something specific to say and, if people don’t like them, then she has done her best and that is that. Perhaps the most surprising quote came at the end. After being away for so long, Bush found it surreal regarding the fascination. “Why are people so interested in me when I just make an album every now and then?”. Perhaps it is modesty on her behalf, though it was clear that Bush had achieved so much by 1989 and had a massive fanbase! Even though she was not releasing albums that regularly, the same sort of interest and expectation that met The Sensual World then exists in 2021. It has been nearly a decade since her last album, 50 Words for Snow, and it is clear that family and personal space has become more of a priority over thirty years later. In the Martin Aston interview, she was asked whether the track, This Woman’s Work, made her think of becoming a mother (Bush was quick to point out that this was quite a personal question!). Bush is a mother now and things have changed a lot in her life. What has remained is the popularity she has and, whilst she might not be as obsessive now towards making albums than she was in the past, there is still the media attention and the sort of expectation of new material. I am glad the 1989 interview has surfaced, and we do learn new things about Kate Bush. Reading Bush talk about The Sensual World and the songs makes you realise that it was…
A very important album and time for her.