FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts
Delius (Song of Summer)
__________
I have not done a new…
Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts for a while. I thought, as so many of her most interesting songs are not played on radio, to give another great example of a song that should be better known and played. It has been a while since I talked about Delius - or, to give it its full title, Delius (Song of Summer). There are a few reasons for including this song now. The track is taken from Kate Bush’s third studio album, Never for Ever. There are a few big anniversaries next year. 1979’s The Tour of Life turns forty-five. Also, in September 1979, Bush began recording Never for Ever. I am thinking about that album and how, without much explanation, the reviews for the album were not that great. It is a beautiful mix between the more eccentric and unusual sounds of her first two albums (1978’s The Kick Inside, Lionheart) and something a little more ‘conventional’. This is explained and explored in Delius (Song for Summer). It has the sound and tone of an older track. Something choral that you might have heard centuries ago. Even so, there is that (then) modern production and Bush’s distinct vocal. A song I rarely hear played or discussed; it is one of the standouts on Never for Ever. I am going to give my personal thoughts about the song and why it is one that deserves a lot more attention and airing. Like so many of Kate Bush’s greater and most interesting songs, there is something unusual and rare when it comes to the inspiration for Delius (Song for Summer).
Before carrying on, and thanks to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia, here is some background information on the song and its music video. Not released as a single, it was a live video (Bush mimed to the song on a T.V. show). I think that Delius (Song of Summer) could have been a very interesting single. Such a shame that this song is not known more widely. It is a really beautiful and interesting one:
“Song written by Kate Bush as a tribute to the English composer Frederick Delius. The song was inspired by Ken Russell’s film Song of Summer, made for the BBC’s programme Omnibus, which Kate had watched when she was ten years old. In his twenties, Delius contracted syphilis. When he became wheelchair bound as he became older, a young English admirer Eric Fenby volunteered his services as unpaid amanuensis. Between 1928 and 1933 he took down his compositions from dictation, and helping him revise earlier works.The song was released on the album Never For Ever and as the B-side of the single Army Dreamers.
Music video
A music video for ‘Delius’ exists, which was shown on television at least twice: during a Dr. Hook television special on 7 April 1980 and during the Russell Harty Show on 25 November 1980. The setting is a quiet, lazy English riverbank filled with reeds and grass. By the bank is a wheelchair-ridden old man, his body covered by a throw-rug, his head obscured by a large yellow disk resembling a sun. This figure presents an image of Delius much like the one which was depicted in the BBC television film by Ken Russell. Gliding along on the river is a young swan-girl, represented by Kate in a gossamer white gown with wings”.
Maybe one reason as to why Delius (Song of Summer) was not released as a single, played that much on radio, or indeed was taken that seriously by a lot of people, as some viewed it as pretentious or too arty. Maybe this odd Pop artists trying to step into Classical. There is evidence of this attitude when Kate Bush appeared on the Russell Harty Show in 1980 (as you will see in the video above). This clash of an original and bold young artist meeting stuffy and slightly ignorant views:
“Kate shows her video for Delius; and discusses the music of Frederick Delius with Harty, Eric Fenby and Julian Lloyd Webber.
The program begins with Kate meeting Harty on stage, hiding a large hammer behind her back, and slyly promising not to hurt him. {A reference to Harty being hit by Grace Jones - CDW}
Later the Delius video is shown, and afterward Kate joins the group discussion about the British composer. Fenby is pressed for an opinion of Kate's song, and politely suggests that Delius would have applauded Kate for "at least doing her own thing." Harty patronizingly accuses Kate of intellectual pretensions in her choice of subjects for her songs, to which she ably and devastatingly replies that "music is pure emotion." Unfortunately Julian Lloyd Webber does not join in the brief and hurried discussion”.
I have a lot of time and respect for the majestic and divine Delius (Song of Summer). Not only is it part of a group of very beautiful songs on Never for Ever (including Blow Away (For Bill); it is one that would have made people aware of English composer, Frederick Delius. Again, this is a songwriter whose influences were far from ordinary! Standing aside from her peers, this is a song that nobody else would have come up with. Even though she was twenty-two when most people heard that song, that is not to say she deserved to be patronised or seen as someone unqualified to talk about the composer and write music like that. Most of the eleven tracks from Never for Ever are not played much (or at all!) on radio. Or known wider afield. Delius (Song of Summer) is a terrific and beautiful track that everyone should know about. The second track on Kate Bush’s third studio album, this gem of a song is…
FIRST class.