FEATURE:
Get Into My House
Kate Bush and Why She Is So Relatable
___________
THERE is no denying that Kate Bush…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a photo taken during the promotion of 50 Words for Snow in 2011/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton
is one of the most popular artists in the world. Her fanbase extends across all ages. It is not the case that she is only trending when there is news about her – which, as any Bush fan will attest, that is quite rare! She trends just because people are listening to her music! I have lost count of all the times I have gone onto social media and seen something about Bush and her music. There are so many sides to her career and artistry. There is no doubting there is something rarefied about her. I have written before how there is this balance between the deified and domestic regarding Kate Bush. She is such an icon and legend, yet one knows she is very grounded. Whereas it is the music and its genius that has reached so many people and continues to inspire all around the world, I think it is the personality of Kate Bush that draws so many close. One fan understand why she courted a lot of media attention back in the day. Incredibly intelligent, supernaturally beautiful and beautifully spoken, I don’t think music has seen anyone quite like her! Obviously very ambitious yet polite and warm, here is an artist who was very much herself in 1978. No ego or forced persona. Instead, Kate Bush connected with people because she was ordinary and humble. Whereas some of her heroes like David Bowie were less accessible and seemed to be on a different level when it came to accessibility, that was never a problem for Bush!
In an age where social media tends to detach and connect us with artists at the same time, it can be hard getting to know the real musician. There are a lot of walls and barriers. So many of the biggest artists lead lives that few of us can relate to. Even though Kate Bush lives in an expensive house, she is not someone who lives a famous life. She wants to be comfortable and live well, yet she is very much connected to the people and the real world. In December, she left a message for her fans on the Kate Bush News:
“With nearly two years of Covid, are any of us the same people we were before? It’s left everyone confused and uncertain of the future.
It’s been a terrible time of loss for so many. I want to say a big thank you to all the people on the front line and in the NHS. I have such huge respect for all the nurses and doctors who’ve already been working flat out for nearly two years. These caring people are showing such extraordinary acts of kindness to others. Let’s hope they get the pay rises they rightly deserve.
I’d like to mention something that happened a few weeks ago on a walk; stopping to look at the view, I noticed something moving in a tree right beside me. It was a Goldcrest – the smallest bird in Europe, even smaller than a wren. I stood still, hoping not to frighten it away. Its colouring is beautiful – a peacock’s eye on each wing and a striking yellow streak on its tiny head. This gorgeous little ball of fluff flew away after ten minutes or so. I’ve only ever seen one once before and very briefly. It made my day. In these strange times, I really hope you can get the chance to stop for a moment and feel nature around you.
Please stay safe. Wishing you a restful Christmas and hoping 2022 is a happier year for everyone .
With love
Kate”.
One can easily imagine Kate Bush doing the shopping, leading a normal life and being very lowkey. This is what she is like. In fact, it was something she strove to return to when her career took off. Before recording Hounds of Love, in 1983 she returned to the country and spent valuable time with her family and boyfriend doing stuff like garnering, going on trips and getting away from the pressure of recording. It inspired one of her best albums. I think this sort of less stressful and high-profile life is what is conducive to great material. Since 1993, Bush has recorded away from big studios and there is no real time pressures on her. The message she left for her fans shows that she is very much one of us. Even if we cannot dream of matching her in terms of musical brilliance, the fact she is relatable accounts for her incredible endurance – and why there is so much passion and love for her. In fact, another piece of news that arrived on Kate Bush News relates to the HomeGround fanzine. I think one of the reasons it is returning for a one-off anniversary edition is because of the swelling fanbase:
“In 1982, in the months leading up to the release of The Dreaming single, we first had the idea of making a Kate Bush fanzine. Over the following 30 years we put out 79 issues, full of news and information about Kate and her music and associated subjects, providing a platform for review and discussion of Kate’s work on a worldwide basis. On the way we also organised, with the official Kate Bush Club, the 1985, 1990, and 1994 fan Conventions, the 1986 Video Party, all of which Kate attended. We also organised the fan contribution to the video shoot for The Big Sky. We were asked to provide the chronology and discographies for the 1987 Kate Bush Complete music and lyric book from EMI Music Publishing, and the sleeve note for the 1997 EMI 100 remastered CD of Hounds of Love.
The last printed HomeGround magazine was published at the end of 2011 and rapidly sold out. It was followed in March 2014 by the hugely successful two-volume HomeGround Anthology, containing over 1,200 pages of material from all 79 issues.
In May 2022 it will be 40 years since the first issue of HomeGround, and we felt we should mark the occasion with a very special issue – issue 80. Our intention is to make this available as a free downloadable PDF enabling us to use full colour.
Just as no previous issue of HomeGround could have happened without contributions from Kate Bush fans around the globe this special issue cannot happen without your help.
We will be producing the familiar news and a special retrospective summary of the last ten years in the Kate Speaking world. What we need are other features, artwork, poetry, short “Letters to the Editor” and even For Sale, Wanted, and Personal Message ads, just as we always did.
Here are some ideas for articles: there’s the work Kate has done since 2012, the 2014 Before the Dawn live performances, the 2015 live album, the 2018 re-masters and The Other Sides, and the Record Shop Day specials. 40 years of The Dreaming. Last words on 50 Words for Snow and the animations. Tribute Bands and tribute gigs, cover versions and Kate songs on TV talent shows.
Inspired fictional stories. Reviews and reactions to the many and various Kate related books now available. The trials and tribulations of collecting Kate material. Charts and facts. That day you met Kate. The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, tales of fan conventions and other Kate fan meet ups. The wider KateSphere – Paddy and John Carder Bush, Beck Sian, Sarah Daly, Raven Bush …
But generally, whatever might have a connection to Kate’s music. Before now we have run material as diverse as the appropriate whisky to drink with each album, to an analysis of the Red Shoes myth. We are looking forward to your contributions. Have a go!
Our aim is to have the issue ready by 18th May 2022, the official HomeGround birthday, so four months”.
I am hoping to contribute to that publication. There is this ongoing drive and commitment from fans to share Bush’s work and explain why she is so special. One might think this sort of tsunami of love must be for someone who is mega-famous and starry. As I posited, Kate Bush wins so many hearts because she is not like this! From her charity work to her inspirational messages and her lack of social media presence, we can identify with and respect her. I guess, in a sense, there is also a degree of mystery and enigma that attracts people. As we do not hear from Bush much and nobody really knows what she is doing at the moment, there are always those questions. She just wants to live her own life and, at sixty-three, she has worked for decades and earned that right for privacy. A woman who is deified but also extremely relatable and almost quintessentially English (even though she is half-Irish), it is a reason why we will be talking about Kate Bush…
FOR generations.