FEATURE:
Kate Bush and Desert Island Discs
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: John Stoddart
The Song of Hers I Would Take with Me…
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MAYBE I have alluded to this before…
but I know a lot of castaways that have appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs chose a Kate Bush song. I know that some have done podcasts about which Kate Bush tracks they would take to a desert island. Castaways can take eight discs with them to desert island. I would probably not choose all Kate Bush tracks. In fact, I would narrow it to one. I think most people who have chosen Kate Bush on Desert Island Discs go for Wuthering Heights. Either that or something from Hounds of Love. I think there is something unique about Desert Island Discs in terms of the psychology. One can simply choose their favourite eight songs, or the ones they first remember hearing. As you would be alone on an island, it is probably less about your favourite one, and more about the one that makes you feel less alone or is the best company on an island. I can see why Wuthering Heights has been selected so many times. For me and so many other people, that was our introduction to Kate Bush (her debut single of 1978, it went to the top spot in the U.K.). The song remains one of her very best and most important. I know there are a lot of different reasons why Kate Bush has been selected so many times. Given the new success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), that song might well feature in upcoming episodes.
My favourite Kate Bush song is from The Dreaming, Houdini. I think that Wuthering Heights means the most to me. Them Heavy People (both from The Kick Inside of 1978) is one that is also very important from my childhood. I don’t think that I would select any of those tracks. Kate Bush’s music provokes a lot of different emotions. If I were stranded on an island, I think I would want her music to give me strength and a sense of energy. I would also want it to remind me of better times, in addition to keeping me company. That takes me to a song from an album that does not get a lot of love. The Red Shoes was released in 1993. Following on from the successful and acclaimed 1989 album, The Sensual World, there was less critical love for the follow-up. That is a shame, because The Red Shoes has some classics. I think I would take Rubberband Girl with me. The opening track on that album, it has an elasticity, energy, uplift, and sense of motivation that would be very useful. The song reached number twelve in the U.K. Bush re-recorded Rubberband Girl for 2011’s Director’s Cut. I am not overly keen on that version. I think the 1993 original is the best. Even though Bush sees it as a bit of a silly Pop song, it was recorded at a time when she was going through a tough time. I think she was experiencing a bit of strain in her long-term relationship, and the lyrics do seem to point to Bush and her need to bounce back: “A rubberband bouncing back to life/A rubberband bend the beat/If I could learn to give like a rubberband/I'd be back on my feet”. I would love this song to come to life on the stage as part of a Kate Bush gig.
One reason why I love Rubberband Girl is because I remember the song first time around. At the age of ten, it was an early Bush discovery for me. I love the video for it (which was also part of the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve). I would remember back to childhood and hearing Rubberband Girl for the first time. A song that not a lot of people know about, I love Bush’s work in 1993. She recorded The Red Shoes from 1990 to 1993, and the album got some positive reviews. Its first single and opening track is one that is very special to me. I would place it high in my list of favourite Kate Bush songs. I think, if I were ever on Desert Island Discs (which will never happen!), this is the song of hers that I would select. As she said in a BBC Radio 1 interview in December 1991:
“This was a troubled time for Bush, who had suffered a series of bereavements including the loss of her favoured guitarist, Alan Murphy, as well as her mother, Hannah, who died the year before the album's release. Bush's long-term relationship with bassist Del Palmer had also ended, although the pair continued to work together. "I've been very affected by these last two years", she remarked in late 1991. "They've been incredibly intense years for me. Maybe not on a work level, but a lot has happened to me. I feel I've learnt a lot – and, yes, I think [my next album] is going to be quite different... I hope the people that are waiting for it feel it's worth the wait”.
I have a lot of love and respect for Bush’s resilience, determination, strength, composure, and professionalism. The Red Shoes is an underrated album and, leading its charge, Rubberband Girl is a terrific song. If I ever was in the position to select one Kate Bush song to take with me to a desert island, then this would…
BE the one.