INTERVIEW:
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985
Kate Bush and Me: Paul Mosley
____________
I am hoping to…
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Mosley
get together a series of interview with people who are fans of Kate Bush. One reason is the fact she reached number one in the U.K. thanks to Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) featuring on Stranger Things. It has played an important part and, as she told Woman’s Hour earlier this week, it was a big honour for her. Now, award-winning singer-songwriter Paul Mosley discusses Kate Bush and tells me when he discovered her music and what she means to him. Mosley composes for puppet theatre and writes concept albums with his chamber/junk ensemble, the Red Meat Orchestra. It has been insightful and a pleasure to hear from a talented songwriter like Mosley. He shows his passion and love for Kate Bush here. You can check out Paul Mosely’s official website here; his Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. We all hope that Kate Bush will release new music. I guess we will hear news and get that long-awaited music…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: John Stoddart/Getty Images
WHEN she is ready.
____________
Hi Paul. Can you tell me about the first time you heard Kate Bush’s music? Was it a particular song or album that captured you?
It was the cover art for Never for Ever that got me. I was eight, and it looked like Where the Wild Things Are - and turned out it sort of sounded like it too. I remember particularly loving Army Dreamers at the time; the spookiness of it.
What was it about Kate Bush that struck you? How did she differ to every other artist and album you were listening to at the time?
I was proper young, so I was listening to The Jungle Book soundtrack and my family’s records. I assume my sister Karen (ten years older than me) bought it when it came out (1980), but it was alongside The Beatles, Tony Christie, The South Pacific soundtrack. I listened to all of them pretty indiscriminately, but Never for Ever was like an adventure story, and I listened on (massive ‘70s) headphones to really get lost in it properly. It was quite a bit later before I formed any idea of Kate as a person – which I suppose is quite unusual as she is so striking and particular and amazing. But it was all about the world conjured up by that record for me for years.
Of course, there has been a lot of new celebration of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) after it went to number one in the U.K. following its place on the Netflix series, Stranger Things. How did you feel when you heard the news? How important is it that an artist like Kate Bush (who is sixty-three) gets to number one in 2022?
I was genuinely quite moved. She was always such a massive part of my musical landscape. For years, I was used to her being cited as an influence by anybody else I liked who came along. So, to suddenly realise that young musicians now didn’t know of her was simultaneously a shock and brilliant, because now of course they all do.
“The Ninth Wave (the conceptual song cycle that makes up the B-side of ‘Hounds of Love’) was the THING for me. I’ve been writing concept albums ever since”.
Do you think you have incorporated bits of Kate Bush into your own music? Has she directly influenced how you write and create as an artist?
Absolutely. Loads. That expectation that we writers incorporate ‘strange’ sounds into ‘proper songs’. That specific form of storytelling that has a very theatrical sensibility without being musical theatre. The non-Rock instrumentation mixed in with a band line-up. The magpie’s eye for musical styles and arrangements - all a big part of what I want my own music to be.
Is it possible to select the Kate Bush album and songs that mean the most to you?
Although Never for Ever was my entry point, The Ninth Wave (the conceptual song cycle that makes up the B-side of Hounds of Love) was the THING for me. I’ve been writing concept albums ever since. I have to ration how often I listen to it now, because I always want it to be special and to really hear it. There are so many bits that are perfect to my mind: the choir on Hello Earth; “Look who’s here to see you”; “Dum dum deeya dum dooo”… All of it!
Also, Love and Anger from The Sensual World is probably my number one specific Kate song.
I think that, in spite of her recent acclaim, Bush remains underrated. Many of her songs and albums are not overly well-known. Do you think that would change? What would you say to someone who wanted to explore Bush’s work more but was not sure where to start?
I think we will get more covers now, and hopefully that will shine a light on some other songs. This Woman’s Work is well-loved and already has that excellent Maxwell version, and there’s a beautiful instrumental by Brandee Younger & Dezron Douglas. Maybe that could become a standard; the way Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah did? Get Adele to do it!
In terms of starting point, I think I’d go with Hounds of Love, because you get the Hit! Hit! Hit! Hit! of Running Up That Hill, the title track, The Big Sky and Cloudbusting. Then you get the full-on mind-blowing masterpiece of The Ninth Wave. As a compilation, The Whole Story is excellent and definitely works for winning over a group of people on a car journey or something. But I like my Kate experience to be a one-to-one headphones thing and incorporate some of the quieter moments that grow on you over time. And I’d like to think somebody coming to her new would pick up on that about her and want to hear that side of her.
“There’s loads of ways to do it, but Kate’s way is right”.
Kate Bush means so many things to different people. What does she mean to you personally?
She’s fundamentally the real deal. Loads of people are, but when you think about the era she arrived in and the way she does everything on her own terms - amazing. Musically, I think there still hasn’t been anyone else like her that I have heard. I am protective of her because what she’s doing is correct. That’s how you do it. There’s loads of ways to do it, but Kate’s way is right.
On 30th July, Kate Bush turns sixty-four. If you had a chance to buy her a birthday present, what would you get her?
Studio time?
One of my dreams is to interview her. If you were sat opposite her and were interviewing Bush, what is the first question you would ask?
I would be useless. I would be focusing on musical questions. I don’t really need to know anything personal about her. She is there in her work. Everything else is nothing to do with me, I think(?). So, I’d probably ask her about her current approach to writing and if she would please sing with me.
“So, yes, I hope so. And I do think she will. Keep believing!”.
It is impossible to predict, but what do you think will come next for Kate Bush? Do you think we might hear new music soon?
I really hope so. I loved 50 Words for Snow. The way her voice has changed, and her songwriting is getting more obtuse and leaning into Jazz more: very happy with all of those things. So, yes, I hope so. And I do think she will. Keep believing!
Finally, you can select anything Kate Bush-related. It can be a song, interview, or live performance. What shall we end the interview with?
Although even she doesn’t love the film, the video for Moments of Pleasure from The Line, the Cross and the Curve is wonderful. The visuals are simple (and, yes, of their time), but they fit the music and the story so well. And that vocal run - down and up - on the line “Spinning in the chair at Abbey Road” and “Every old sock meets an old shoe” and “Here come the hills of time” – shivers every time. Beautiful.