FEATURE:
A Brilliant Start to 1979…
Kate Bush: Best New Artist of 1978
__________
AS we are near the end of the year…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Aris
there is not much news on Kate Bush to expect. Not many anniversaries to look into. I am going to look to one that is happening on 6th January, 1979. Forty-five years ago, Bush was rounding off her first professional year in music. Lionheart, her second studio album, came out in November. Even if December saw Bush doing a bit of promotion – on 9th December, 1978, Bush performed in the U.S. on Saturday Night Live -, she was wrapping up and looking ahead to Christmas. In a year when she put out two studio albums, Bush was thinking ahead to her tour in 1979. It was inevitable that, after such a busy 1978, there would be plaudit and congratulations. On 6th January, 1979, Kate Bush was voted Best New Artist of 1978 in the Record Mirror annual poll. In a previous feature, I did look at the events that happened in December 1978 and January 1979. I wanted to focus on 9th January, 1979, as this was a date where quite a lot of important things happened. It is especially notable this honour, as many still saw Kate Bush as a curio. Someone who was a novelty act. Remember, a month before that Record Mirror honour, Bush was in the U.S. on Saturday Night Live! That performance was pivotal in the sense it was U.S. exposure. However, I don’t think the American audience had seen anything like that. It was this introduction of a unique artist who would take a while to penetrate the market there. A month later, Bush was nodded to as a serious artist. Someone who could not be ignored in the U.K. This run of success continued. She would get the same award in 1980. Bush was voted Best Female Artist in the Record Mirror poll, Best Female Singer in NME. She was also voted Best Female Singer in Sounds. In addition, Kate Bush won Top Female Artist in the Music Week Annual Awards at the Dorchester Hotel, London; Top Female Singer at the British Rock and Pop Awards (later the BPI Awards) at the Café Royal (also London). At the Capital Radio Awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel (London too), she was presented with the award for Best Female Vocalist.
I think that 1979’s award was the start of this run. Approval that she was a worthy and brilliant artist. That was not always the case. Throughout 1978 – and far beyond -, there was a lot of mockery. Journalists not taking Kate Bush seriously. 9th January, 1979 was a packed day! Not long after Christmas, Bush was back on the promotional trail. She was guest of honour at the San Remo Song Festival in Italy. This is screened in most of Europe but not in the U.K. It was still a period where Bush was promoting two albums at the same time. I can imagine she was a bit tired of the two crossing over! There was focus on Lionheart, as that album came out a couple of months before. Bush performed live more extensively throughout 1979. Appearances like the one on Italian T.V. were important. I think the international performances were tricky in terms of translation. Not only Bush trying to navigate her way through interviews. There was also that thing of audiences trying to understand the words Bush was singing. If you though that American audiences were confused because of the originality and unusual nature of the music, it was extra hard to break through an extra layer – an audience whose first language is not English! She managed to (to an extent) in 1978 when she visited Japan. I think, on that trip, there was confusion and a sense of acceptance. A mixture that resulted in quite a strange and wonderful period. The Italian audience are quite warm regarding Bush’s performance - though you can tell that this was not a type of artist they were used to.
More importantly, on 9th January, 1979, Bush was proactive and hitting the grounding running! As I said in the previous feature, she was starting earnestly. There were sketches and ideas of what she wanted. Between this date and the first date of The Tour of Life – 2nd April, 1979 -, quite a lot had been achieved. Bush was also still recording and writing. Never for Ever was released in 1980. She was putting together various songs before that. For The Tour of Life, Bush would have been inspired by various live performances. She was at the final Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie) performance in 1973. No doubt channelling some of David Bowie, her dance concepts and training were planned to be supervised by Antony Van Laast (he appeared with Kate in the video for Hammer Horror). In Bush’s sketches and notes, she will be backed by a seven-piece band. At the centre is Paddy Bush (mandolin, backing vocals), Del Palmer (bass), and Brian Bath (rhythm guitar) of the KT Bush Band, supplemented by Alan Murphy (lead guitar), Kevin McAlea (keyboards, saxophone), Ben Barson (keyboards), and Preston Heyman (drum). Thanks to this invaluable source for providing the essential information. I think about that transition between the end of 1978 and the start of 1979. Bush was still working quite hard until the end of December 1978. She had some time with family over Christmas. Soon enough, there was this new wave of promotion and creativity. Getting that award honour from Record Mirror, combined with a performance on Italian T.V. meant that, right from the start of 1979, Bush was very much still in the spotlight and keeping momentum going! Whilst many people were slowing getting into 1979 after the Christmas downtime, there was no stopping Kate Bush! 1979 would see Bush go on her only tour; she released singles (The Kick Inside’s Strange Phenomena was released in Brazil in June; Wow was a huge success; Symphony in Blue was released in Japan and Canada); Bush started to record Never for Ever in September. Starting 1979 with success and some new exposure, that would kickstart a year that was…
A huge step in her career.