FEATURE:
Fear na hÉireann
IMAGE CREDIT: Michael Byrne and Marius Herbert (Finding Kate)
A Tribute to the Wonderful Michael Byrne and the Beautiful Book, Finding Kate
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ANY passing away that relates…
to Kate Bush is very sad, but there was something particularly heartbreaking about the fact author and writer Michael Byrne died on Christmas Eve. On a day of wonder, expectation, excitement and happiness, someone who is so important to the Kate Bush community left us. I have been re-reading a book that he helped to bring together, Finding Kate: An illustrated journey through five decades of the music of Kate Bush. What he did, alongside illustrator Marius Herbert, was to bring Bush’s unique, always remarkable and poetic lyrics to life. I think that many listen to her music and focus on the vocals. Maybe not recognising the beauty, originality, power and depth of her words, Finding Kate was a book that immersed you inside some of her best-known and lesser-heard tracks. With Michael selecting some excellent and memorable lines, and Marius producing these stunning images, the book is a must-own for established Kate Bush fans and new converts alike. The Twitter account is still active. I am going to get to the book and why I love it so much in a bit. First, from the Finding Kate book official website, the sad announcement of Michael’s death was announced:
“We are heartbroken to let you know that Michael sadly passed away on Christmas Eve after a short illness.
Michael was incredibly passionate about Kate Bush’s music and about the artist herself. He was driven to share this passion with fellow fans and also hoped he might draw in new fans through his beautifully written book.
IMAGE CREDIT: Michael Byrne and Marius Herbert (Finding Kate)
Michael produced many books over the years but ‘Finding Kate’ was a labour of love for him and it is what he is most proud of. He was initially a little anxious about how the book might be received, particularly from dedicated Kate Bush fans, but the book has been sold all over the world and the positive feedback we have been receiving back since the first copy was sent out has been quite phenomenal.
Michael found great joy in hearing from people who have said that the book has touched them or helped them in some way. Kate Bush fans have told us that they have read things in the book that they never knew about her before but also that they felt that they got to know a little bit about Michael through his writing in the book
We will keep Michael’s legacy going and hope that people will continue to enjoy this book for many years to come. It is definitely what Michael would have wanted.
>> Deirdre and Marius <<”.
Prior to coming to my thoughts and recollection of Michael Byrne, here are some details about the essential and gorgeous Finding Kate. It is a book that I hope will reach the hands of Kate Bush fans for many years to come:
“An illustrated journey through five decades of the music of Kate Bush
In 1978 a then totally unknown teenage girl topped the UK Singles Chart with her debut single Wuthering Heights and in doing so became the first female artist to achieve a UK number one hit with a self-penned song. In 1980, aged 20 she was also the first British female solo artist to to enter the album charts at number one with Never For Ever, her third studio album. Her career currently spans five decades and she has had twenty five UK Top 40 singles in that time. As a singer, songwriter, musician, dancer and record producer she has been a groundbreaking artist in the truest sense of the word, often laying bare her soul in her songwriting and she is someone who has never been afraid to take risks creatively.
Finding Kate is a large, beautifully produced coffee table book that sets out to visually and textually explore her eclectic and often experimental musical style, her unconventional lyrics and in doing so celebrate the genius of one of the true icons of British music – Ms. Kate Bush”.
IMAGE CREDIT: Michael Byrne and Marius Herbert (Finding Kate)
“Finding Kate explores a selection of the author Michael’s favourite Kate songs which he has chosen from her extensive five decade long career, each one conceptually visualised as double page spreads with accompanying text detailing song facts, together with his own personal insights into the music – all beautifully digitally illustrated by Marius. The book is broken into five chronological chapters each covering a defined period in time, plus there will be other interesting Kate content related to her recorded work to date (we say ’to date’ because as fans we really hope there is more to come!).
As nearly all of the photographs that have been shot of Kate over the years are very familiar to fans through their constant use both online and in press, the aim of the book is to create vivid and exciting ‘illustrated visuals’ which will be new to fans. These ‘illustrated visuals’ will be based on original photographs (which we are licensing the rights and paying for) and which will connect with the text and visually explore the themes in Kate’s songs.
Like all of Kate’s own work, this book will be produced like a labour of love to the highest possible standard, both at the design and the print production stages. Michael and Marius alone will conceptualise, write, create, illustrate and handle the pre press stages of the book.
Finding Kate was launched on December 3rd 2021 and has been enthusiastically received by both the music press and fans of Kate Bush worldwide. It is currently in stock and ships immediately upon purchase”.
IMAGE CREDIT: Michael Byrne and Marius Herbert (Finding Kate)
Michael Byrne kindly credited me in the acknowledgements of the book. Whilst it was being written and compiled, he asked me about Kate Bush songs and whether there were any I would particularly recommend. I suggested some of her songs I felt were quite underrated and had particularly good lyrics. Alongside more obvious songs, there is a nice selection of deeper cuts that made it into the book. During the pandemic, me and Michael had a Zoom chat. He didn’t need to do it but, thankful for my input, we had a great chat. He was calling from Ireland, and we discussed the book and how it came together. It was clear from the chat and the many Twitter messages we exchanged how he was passionate about Bush and her music in a way I had never seen before! I thought I was passionate about Bush’s music, but Michael’s knowledge, enthusiasm and curiosity was on another level! He had this innate understanding of her lyrics and why particular songs were effecting and standout. This is reflecting in the marvellous Finding Kate. It is a book that I will treasure and will come back to time and time again. The combination of Michael’s lyrical selections and words, together with those sublime images makes it a visual feast! Thanks to Michael, the book has given me a new appreciation for Kate Bush. I have explored songs of hers I hadn’t listened to for a while. I have also thought deeply about Bush’s words and what they mean to people. How they connect. Why they are so timeless and moving.
IN THIS PHOTO: Michael Byrne, Mandy Watson (Cloudbusting) and Marius Herbert in Dublin, July 2022
It was a privilege to speak with Michael and exchange messages for months. He explained to me a while ago how he suffered an accident and was out of commission for a while. Even though that, he was optimism and still had that drive and love for Kate Bush in his heart. I know how hard it was to get the Finding Kate book funded and to the people. It was a labour of love for Michael and Marius, and their commitment and hard work made Kate Bush happen. Even though we sadly say goodbye to the great Michael Byrne, his amazing contribution and legacy will live forever. I want to end with some beautiful words from Kate Bush News. In December 2021, the Kate Bush Fan Podcast spoke with Michael about Finding Kate. Go and listen to it now:
“Michael, a kind, industrious, soft-spoken man who ran a creative publishing company in Dublin, first came to my attention during lockdown in 2020 – contacting me to feel out an ambitious, high quality Kate Bush coffee table book project, Finding Kate, that he was undertaking with his colleague, the supremely talented Irish designer and illustrator, Marius Herbert. Needing something to throw his endless energy into while business took a pandemic downturn, his passion and sincerity as a fan managed to convince me that this was going to be special so I was on board, plugging his crowdfunding campaign (it wasn’t a cheap book to produce) and helping to spread the word. Michael succeeded in getting interviews on national Irish radio and press articles about the book, and I am delighted that we got the chance to record an episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast together all about the Finding Kate project. You can hear it here – it’s so wonderful to be able to hear him talk last year about realising his dream project. The detailed effort that went into creating each image is so evident in his voice.
The early peeks I got of the book were breathtakingly good. The reaction from fans was highly enthusiastic, the book was hailed as a great success. As I wrote before on this site, “it was a joy to leaf through the pages of the book and talk through this impressive piece of work with its clearly relieved and delighted creators. As promised, the book is a visual feast, illustrating twenty six of Kate’s songs across sumptuous double-page spreads. The songs have been chosen by Michael, a major Kate Bush fan (it shows!) who writes beautifully about each song’s significance in Kate’s career and what they mean to him.”
Some of the sumptuous reward items crowdfunders received with their early orders
“The unexpectedly generous introduction sections by Michael throughout constitute a wonderful, concise synopsis of Kate’s recording career, so there’s plenty of great reading here for both casual and more hardcore fans of Kate. But, this large LP-sized book is intended to be a visual feast and Marius has produced some breathtaking images filled with detail and touches that were agonised over for months between the pair – a honeybee flies across the pages from a near psychedelic explosion of Kate in colourful nature imagery (and a familiar yellow sun-design) for Delius, a floating, angel-winged electric guitar poignantly reflects the departed musicians name-checked in Blow Away (for Bill), a water-submerged Kate simultaneously floats, dreamlike, above the planet for Hello Earth, an Irish dancer’s feet captured in whirling mid-step on a flagstone floor for Jig of Life, four glorious pages devoted to A Sky of Honey where the crimson, red and rust of golden hour transform a female figure into an explosion of feathered wings and avian friends, soaring skyward…and so many, many more surprising visuals.”
IMAGE CREDIT: Michael Byrne and Marius Herbert (Finding Kate)
Michael had told me that one of the sparks of inspiration to do the book came from seeing the Kate tribute band Cloudbusting play in The Sugar Club in Dublin, so it was my pleasure just a few short months ago in July to arrange for Michael and Marius to meet the band backstage before their Dublin gig, where he presented the band members with copies of the book. It was plain to see the joy and pride Michael had on his face as he explained the book and thanked the band for spreading Kate’s music out into the world. He was floating on air. I had no way of knowing that was the last time I’d see him, but I’m glad it was such a joyous occasion for him. Very recently, Michael managed to get the book mentioned again on national radio here in Ireland, presenter Ryan Tubridy truly impressed by the book – a flood of new orders ensued. Of course.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Michael’s wife Deirdre, his children Holly, Conor and Alyson and to all his family and friends. He will be terribly missed. An online book of condolence is here. We especially send a big hug to Marius, who patiently and painstakingly helped Michael to put together something that remains utterly unique for Kate’s fans around the world to enjoy. Marius, your illustration work is exquisite. You have done yourself and Michael so very proud. I would urge anyone reading this to get your copy of the book to see it for yourself. It’s available to order worldwide from https://findingkatebook.com/ – RIP Michael, you did it x”.
Michael will be very much missed by us all! In addition to the beautiful tribute from Kate Bush News, there have been some touching tributes and words from those who knew Michael and who have bought the Finding Kate book. I still can’t process the news. I am glad he achieved a dream in getting a book made - and we are very grateful for all that he has given us. I only knew him for a brief time, but it was a real pleasure and honour! When it came to showing love, passion and dedication to Kate Bush’s iconic music, there was…
NOBODY quite like him!