FEATURE:
I Want Alchemy
Why I Want to Own an Expensive Purchase or Prized Item Relating to Kate Bush
__________
I wanted to ask a question…
for this Kate Bush feature. If we had a few hundred pounds set aside for a rare Kate Bush piece of memorabilia or item, what would that be? I got to thinking about it after looking at an old lot that advertised some early handwritten lyrics. Included were the original lyrics for The Man with the Child in His Eyes. For anyone who knows anything about Kate Bush, this is something of a treat! She wrote this song at the age of thirteen. That might explain why it is in pink felt tip. I like to think that she was at school at the time and was daydreaming! Her first real love, Steve Blacknell, claims the song was about him. I believe he was the one who may have allowed it to be put back up for auction (as I understand he did have the lyrics in his possession). I would not let them go! It is an incredibly mature song, and I love the fact that The Man with the Child in His Eyes was written in hot pink felt tip, complete with Bush’s putting little circles where the dots should be for the letter ‘I’. I think handwritten lyrics would be very hard to come by now. If you are a fan, it is worth looking on 991.com to see what comes up. I am not sure whether there are many original lyrics circulating. I know Bush has written fan letters that go to auction sites, but there is something more precious about handwritten lyrics. To frame those and have them for the rest of your life would be something amazing! Not that I necessarily have hundreds to spend on a Kate Bush item, but I recently asked about merchandise and offering a new range for fans.
It would be great to have this special memorabilia or piece that you could preserve and show off to people. I know there are coffee table photobooks that retail for quite a lot. They are pretty great. I guess what I mean is something rare. I have written features about Before the Dawn, as the residency is eight next week (the first date of twenty-two was 26th August, 2014). Having a piece of the set or something from that residency would be awesome! I think maybe having a prototype or early design of the poster or programme would be a must-have for fans. That takes my mind to 1979’s The Tour of Life. There must be rare memorabilia from that time, in the form of posters, programmes and that sort. I think there are websites where you can buy these, but I wonder if there is something a little rarer from that time that people might not know about. I wonder how many outfits from that tour are available and have not been discarded. I know that she had quite a few costume changes. To own the outfit that she wore for James and the Cold Gun or Wuthering Heights. The clothing side of things is interesting. Consider all the videos and live performances. It would seem foolhardy to bin all of these, and one suspects Kate Bush herself does not own many of these. I guess costume designers and friends might have these but, as a piece of Kate Bush history, having something she actually wore would be very exclusive. Not in any weird way either. This is not about fetishising or being sexual. It is a connection with an artist who made this ground-breaking tour. You would keep it somewhere specials. I don’t know. I am not sure how much there is in the way of anything more extensive than handwritten lyrics such as journals or Bush’s writing. I feel some demos on cassette would also be must-own.
Bush’s early recordings from 1975 and before would be a prized possession. I know The Cathy Demos were bootlegged and you can hear them on YouTube. I wonder what happened to the tapes that she recorded on at East Wickham Farm as a child and young teen? I can imagine that many are still in the family, but you can only imagine how much has been collected through the years. Album cover designs and early tracklistings would also be really great. I think that rare (non-personal) photos would be treasured by fans. There have been photobooks – including her brother John Carder Bush’s essential KATE: Inside the Rainbow -, but there will be others that have never seen the light of day or the right project. From a personal level, any polaroid or early photo of Bush at her home whilst composing songs for The Kick Inside would be near the top of my list. Though you’d think they’ll be in her hands at the moment. All of this got me thinking what that one item would be. The one that you’d pay good money for and ensure that it never left your possession. I would love anything related to The Tour of Life or Before the Dawn, whether that is reissued merchandise, drawings, private sketches, outfits, or anything Bush has handwritten (stage directions or any drafts or scripts). My favourite album is The Kick Inside, so the very first copy of that would be gold dust I mean the very first copy of the album that was made for vinyl.
Although the handwritten lyrics for The Man with the Child in His Eyes is right near the top of my list, Wuthering Heights is a song that endlessly fascinates me. I am not sure what memorabilia would be available for it. I know the song was recorded quickly, so there aren’t going to be demos or various takes floating on tape. Although Bush wrote the song one summer’s night at her piano whilst looking out of the window, you have to image there are lyrics somewhere. Anything in the way of studio notes or anything handwritten relating to that song. I would pay pretty much anything for that! The fact Wuthering Heights is her debut single makes it very rare and treasured. Something jotted down even from Kate Bush regarding the song. We will never get video or audio of the conversations happening when she recorded and oversaw the mix late into the night. It is great that we have memorabilia and there are auction sites where fans can purchase something lesser-known and hard-to-find. One wonders just what is in the archives, Bush’s collection and somewhere in the world. I think every Kate Bush fan has an idea of what they would want to own if there was something rare available. I would like nothing more than to own a rare sketch, early cover or tour set design or, as I said, handwritten lyrics for a classic song. If your chosen Kate Bush items was available for purchase…
WHAT would you go for?