FEATURE:
Great Danes of Love
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
Inspired by Under the Ivy: An Expanded Edition of Hounds of Love
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I have been inspired by…
a recent anniversary. On 19th March, 1986 Kate Bush performed Under the Ivy live from Abbey Road Studios in London. It was broadcast to mark the 100th episode of The Tube. The performance is gorgeous. It highlights what a remarkable song it is. Not available on streaming services (not Spotify at least), Under the Ivy is one of Bush’s finest songs. Originally released as a B-side for Running Up That Hill, it never made it onto Hounds of Love. Recorded hurried in one afternoon, it was created after the album was completed. Released as the B-side on 5th August, 1985, it does make me wonder about reissuing Hounds of Love on its own as an expanded edition. Before going further on that, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia collated interviews where Bush discussed Under the Ivy:
“It's very much a song about someone who is sneaking away from a party to meet someone elusively, secretly, and to possibly make love with them, or just to communicate, but it's secret, and it's something they used to do and that they won't be able to do again. It's about a nostalgic, revisited moment. (...) I think it's sad because it's about someone who is recalling a moment when perhaps they used to do it when they were innocent and when they were children, and it's something that they're having to sneak away to do privately now as adults. (Doug Alan interview, 20 November 1985)
I needed a track to put on the B-Side of the single Running Up That Hill so I wrote this song really quickly. As it was just a simple piano/vocal, it was easy to record. I performed a version of the song that was filmed at Abbey Road Studios for a TV show which was popular at the time, called The Tube. It was hosted by Jools Holland and Paula Yates. I find Paula’s introduction to the song very touching.
It was filmed in Studio One at Abbey Rd. An enormous room used for recording large orchestras, choirs, film scores, etc. It has a vertiginously high ceiling and sometimes when I was working in Studio Two, a technician, who was a good friend, would take me up above the ceiling of Studio One. We had to climb through a hatch onto the catwalk where we would then crawl across and watch the orchestras working away, completely unaware of the couple of devils hovering in the clouds, way above their heads! I used to love doing this - the acoustics were heavenly at that scary height. We used to toy with the idea of bungee jumping from the hatch. (KateBush.com, February 2019)”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Clive Arrowsmith
I have speculated how there could be re-releases of all Kate Bush studio albums. I think that Hounds of Love specially is one that has not really been given much consideration. It has been remastered but, as Bush’s most-acclaimed album, there is definite scope for expansion. Under the Ivy is a song ones suspects could have ended up on Hounds of Love if it was written in the sessions and time around the other songs. So much better than a B-side, I often wonder where it could have fitted on Hounds of Love. Maybe closing the first side, or being nestled on The Ninth Wave (the album’s second side) between the opener, And Dream of Sheep, and Under Ice. Some say it would be sacrilegious to add anything to The Ninth Wave, as complete and flawless as it is. Maybe there would not be enough room to add it to the first side. Having an extra vinyl would allow room for Under the Ivy, My Lagan Love (a traditional Irish song, it was a B-side on Hounds of Love), Burning Bridge (another Hounds of Love (single) B-side), and Not This Time (a B-side for The Big Sky). There are a couple of audio interviews that could also be added to a vinyl. It seems a shame that a song as majestic and important as Under the Ivy has not been included on a reissue. Hounds of Love remains such a wonderful album. Maybe a package that includes a book, special magazine about it and an extra vinyl alongside the original album would be a great idea. Having rewatched the video of Bush performing Under the Ivy in 1986 for The Tube’s 100th show captivated me! A song that not every Kate Bush fan knows about, Under the Ivy is…
A minor masterpiece.