FEATURE:
Inspired By black-ish’s Masterful Prince Episode, ‘Purple Rain’…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush on the set of Cloudbusting (the video was directed by Julian Doyle)
‘Cloudbusting’: Kate Bush
_________
THERE are a few reasons…
IN THIS PHOTO: The cast of black-ish (Yara Shahidi, Marsai Martin, Marcus Scribner, Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurence Fishburne, Jenifer Lewis, Miles Brown (August and Berlin Gross play baby Devante Johnson) celebrated their 100th episode by honouring the late Prince/PHOTO CREDIT: ABC
I am fusing different artists and worlds. For a start, before I get to anything Kate Bush-related, I have been thinking ahead to later in the year. 7th June, in fact. That should have been the date the world celebrates the sixty-fifth birthday of Prince. On 21st April 2016, the world lost the music genius at the age of fifty-seven. It was one of the most seismic, unexpected, and hugely devastating losses that the music world has ever witnessed. I am going to write various features in the lead-up to Prince’s sixty-fifth birthday. It would have been amazing if the man himself were here to see what day. He died before his sixtieth birthday, and I feel it is tragic that the world has been denied of these years of Prince gold. His final studio album, Hit n Run Phase Two, was his thirty-ninth. Released four months before his death, you just know Minneapolis’ Prince Rogers Nelson would have had album forty ready to go. There have been posthumous releases since his death. With his studio albums and posthumous music, we are learning so much about one of the most prolific and influential artists of all-time. Prince’s debut studio album, For You, turns forty-five on 7th April. The reason I am writing this feature has links to perhaps his finest album of all: the mighty and peerless Purple Rain. Released in 1984, it followed 1982’s 1999, and it came a year before Around the World in a Day. His sixth studio album, however, is considered to be his masterpiece. That defining statement that showcased his genius fully. Aside from the epic title track, it opens with Let’s Go Crazy. There is When Doves Cry, plus Darling Nikki and I Would Die 4 U.
Exploring so many influences and emotions, it is no surprise Purple Rain is seen as this milestone. Perhaps Prince’s greatest offering to the world, there will be a lot of celebration – and perhaps an expanded reissue – ahead of its fortieth anniversary on 25th June, 2024. Before linking Prince to Kate Bush (aside from the fact they appeared on each other’s albums in the 1990s), I want to get to the root of a thought. The magnificent black-ish is an American sitcom that ran between 2014 and 2022. In fact, the final episode aired on 19th April. It is sad that it is almost a year since the show ended. Starring Anthony Anderson (he played Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson in the series), Tracee Ellis Ross, Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Jenifer Lewis and Laurence Fishburne as the Johnson family, its finest episode (in my view) came during the fourth season. Turning five on 13th November, ‘Purple Rain’, was a tribute to and celebration of Prince. Written by Peter Saji and series creator Kenya Barris, it was directed by Charles Stone III. I think that ‘Purple Rain’ is right at the peak of black-ish’s power. Although I adore episodes like ‘Lemons’, ‘Hair Day’, and ‘Pops' Pops' Pops’, ‘Purple Rain’ is a creative, emotional, and comedic masterpiece! The series’ one-hundredth episode, the Johnson family is shocked to learn that Jack and Diane are not familiar with the iconic music of Prince. One by one, each member of the family works to explain Prince's tremendous impact on their lives through his music.
Although all of the performances from the cast are magnificent, I think Tracee Ellis Ross (Dr. Rainbow ‘Bow’ Johnson), Marcus Scribner (Andre ‘Junior’ Johnson, Jr.), Marsai Martin (Diane Johnson) and Yara Shahidi (Zoey Johnson) are the standout. The episode sees the family discussing Prince. The grandparents, Earl and Ruby Johnson, explain how Prince affected them and how he changed the world. The parents Dre and Bow talk about the way Prince brought them together and was important. As Jack and Diane (the youngest children; Devante is technically the youngest, but he is a bit too young to understand Prince yet) were unaware of his music, it was up to their siblings, Junior and Zoey to help relate an artist they feel is obscure to the modern time. It is an intergenerational episode where Prince’s music and legacy means a different thing to each family member. As part of the episode, each family member features in a video interpretation and one of his iconic songs. I think that Zoey (performing Sign O’ the Times), and Diane (performing Purple Rain) stands out the most. As a long-time Prince fan, it was an episode that resonated with me. I also learned a lot watching it. As a Black artist, Prince’s rise and success impacted and inspired the Black community in a different way. Prince overcame such much and was raised on very little. During a career where he battled his record company and rose to become the most important musician of his generation, black-ish produced a fitting and amazing episode that did him proud. Broadcast just over two years after his death, it was both a tribute to his gifts and legacy, but it also – through its plot and airing – brought to life his eclectic songs in a very creative and original way.
It seems ludicrous that the youngest children (who were very young yet would have encountered Prince in some form at some time one would imagine) were unaware of a music colossus that has penetrated so many areas of modern culture! The more I think about it, it is possible for someone as huge and well-known as Prince to escape younger listeners. So much of today’s music is driven by playlists and streaming. It can often focus heavily on new artists or those more commercial. This is often mirrored on radio stations. Unless young listeners tune into stations that feature more classic and legacy artists, or they dig out playlists that include Prince and artists from their generation, then they can miss out. It seems problematic, but one knows that Miles Brown (Jack Johnson) and Marsai Martin (Diane Johnson) knew who Prince was. In the episode, Diane is attracted and hooked to Prince because Purple Rain is a song about raining blood (she also liked the fact 1999 is about the apocalypse!). That darkness spoke to her. A character that has an edgier and more sinister side (in a comedic but brilliant way), that was her sold. An artist who was unexpectedly dark and intense, even on a song as beautiful and anthemic as Purple Rain. Jack was the last of the family to fall in love with Prince (and he beautifully started singing Nothing Compares 2 U). Here is one review for the spectacular ‘Purple Rain’ episode:
“It is always a huge accomplishment when a show hits the 100th episode milestone. It proves that the series is a success with viewers and is designed to go the distance. This can also be a time for the creative team to reflect on what allowed the show to make it to 100 episodes. Black-ish chooses to spend this landmark episode not by focusing on some aspect of the Johnsons' lives that has been very apparent over the course of the entire series. Instead, it chooses to honor the legacy of a musical icon. This is such a simple episode in its design. The entire family is trying to teach the importance of Prince to Jack and Diane. The twins don't know anything about the musician. That's insane to the family. It's something that they need to rectify right away. But it also highlights what this show has always done best. It is acutely aware of the conversations happening amongst real families at the moment. Prince inspired an entire generation in so many ways. But it's also up to the world to keep his legacy and memory alive by inspiring others to recognize the contributions he made to the world at large through his music.
Sure, Dre can just yell at his children until they just listen to the songs and smile along. But it's much more meaningful when each member of this family can articulate how Prince inspired them in some aspect of their lives while also allowing them to perform some of his songs in an epic homage. It allows the show to be both funny and heartfelt. Sure, viewers of Grown-ish can question just how politically active Zoey is given that she is always called out by her friends for not doing enough to make a difference in the world. And yet, it's still empowering to remember how Prince used his voice and musicality to make a statement to those listening. He wasn't just trying to craft a song that would be at the top of the charts for the longest time. He didn't aspire to have people just mindlessly dancing along. He still inspired that. The family is able to just jam out to a good song by their favorite artist anywhere in the house. It's important to them that Jack and Diane also form this connection to the legacy of Prince. It's slightly odd that they just expect it to happen by sitting them down and having a serious discussion with them. It's not because of anything they say that Jack and Diane change their minds.
Diane is reading about Prince online while her family is trying to get her to appreciate him. It's through that that she realizes how dark and moody some of his music could be. That perfectly sets up her "Purple Rain" performance. Meanwhile, it takes longer for Jack to understand it. That has to be perfectly fine as well. One person can't force another to see the world in the same way. Dre and Bow feel a responsibility to teach their children about the legend of Prince. But it's also so inspired that Jack understands the hype in the moment when he least expects it. That too proves that this music comes along in the precise moment when a person needs it the most. Dre and Bow used it to feel confident in acting on their attraction to each other. And now, Jack uses it to feel more confident when he has a girl over for the first time. It's all played as such an appreciation amongst this family that extends through the generations. It's an honest discussion that addresses everyone's different perspectives while still all coming together in the end to honor a man who changed the world with what he did through music”.
My favourite black-ish episode is one that got a lot of positive reaction. The one-hundredth episode, it had to be big! Rather than focusing on something more political, instead we got this affectionate and impassioned episode that explored the many sides of Prince. It brought the family even closer together. Sweet and silly in equal measures, it was a very authoritative and loving nod to an artist that not only meant a lot to the Johnson family, but to so many sectors and communities through America. Of course, there was the 1984 Purple Rain film. That album and its songs have been brought to life. That masterpiece album was something that soundtracked a magnificent, beautifully acted and directed episode of a comedy series that I dearly miss. I know it will not happen, but you hope a black-ish film of some sort happens one day. I am trying to write and pitch a comedy film with a lot of influence from black-ish (and I very have a character in mind that is inspired by Yara Shahidi). It is a series that I could talk about all day! Instead, I want to link one of its mightiest episodes to an artist who has a link to Prince. Born in the same year (1958), Kate Bush worked with Prince on a couple of occasions, though they never shared a studio space. Both were/are very private artists, and they are gorundbreaking and hugely accomplished, inventive and original musicians. No wonder there was a connection and mutual respect there. Bush wrote about Prince following his death. The black-ish ‘Purple Rain’ episode was compelled and motivated by very young family members not knowing Prince. The shock that he was foreign at a time when everyone should know his name and music. The same could be said of Kate Bush…
There are obvious differences between Prince and Kate Bush’s music. Both are geniuses - but they took very different paths. Prince was a lot more prolific than Kate Bush in terms of album releases, and their musical styles are not quite the same. That said, ‘Purple Rain’ highlighted the fact that even a legend like Prince is not going to be known by everyone. Almost seven years after his death, there will be people who do not know much about his work. The same is definitely true of Kate Bush. Even if she did not impact and penetrate the American market in a huge way, it seems angering that there is very little knowledge of her work and decades-lasting career by so many. Courtney Love Cobain recently called out the organisers of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame over their ignorance of many female artists, and the fact that relatively few of the inductees are women. The fact that Kate Bush has alluded entry and acknowledgement for so long does not seem to make sense. Sure, she would not perform at the ceremony were she inducted, and maybe there is a generation in America only now discovering her music. Also, perhaps songs like Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) featured on Stranger Things last year. That has dominated and rightly gained success, but how many went away and explored her catalogue deeply? It is a complex debate that has a lot of different perspectives, but it is clear that even in the U.K. (where Bush was born), there is not as much awareness of his music as there should be – especially by a younger generation maybe discovering her fresh now.
The B-side to Prince’s Purple Rain single was called God. Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is about a man and woman swapping places so they can better understand one another. Swapping Prince and Kate Bush. There is something in the ‘God’ word and the fact that Kate Bush definitely deserves an episode like black-ish’s ‘Purple Rain’. The problem is that we do not have sitcoms in the U.K. as good and ambitious as they do in the U.S. Black-ish was a hugely important and masterpiece comedy that kept the quality high during its eighth and final season. We have nothing like that here. At a time when Kate Bush is hugely relevant and yet is either defined by a song or two and is not known by so many people, I long for the sort of visual treats and beautifully constructed comedy that we saw in 2018 for the ‘Purple Rain’ episode. Even if Bush’s legacy and importance is different, there is no doubt she is a genius and has influenced so many people around the world. If Purple Rain was the standout and title of the black-ish episode, I think one – for a theoretical one-off or comedy episode -for a Kate Bush-related one should not be as obvious as Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). Both stirring and from her most popular album, Cloudbusting would link to Purple Rain. Hounds of Love came out a year after Purple Rain. The 1985 work of brilliance has a conceptual second side suite, The Ninth Wave, and incredible songs on the first side.
IN THIS PHOTO: Courtney Love Cobain recently called out the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for their exclison and ignorance of female artists like Kate Bush/PHOTO CREDIT: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
Cloudbusting could be the song that provides a revelation for a character. I think an episode or short film should be U.S.-based. Not only would it allow Bush’s catalogue to be explored and visually represented similar to what black-ish did in 2018. I think it would genuinely open eyes and minds in the U.S. and other countries. Even her in Britain, so many do not know about the depth and variety of her catalogue. A single-episode comedy or a short film where a group of friends in America discuss Kate Bush or there is this lack of knowledge by some would lead to a black-ish-inspired dissection of her music. How it impacts various members of the group. I was awestruck by the black-ish episode and, having rewatched it a few times recently, some of its themes and inspirations can be tied to Kate Bush. Discussions about how huge artists are ubiquitous to older music lovers, recently discovered by teens and are almost invisible to the very young even at a time when their work is as accessible as ever is intriguing. Documentaries have been made about Prince, and black-ish’s one-hundredth episode dedicated to Prince was huge! I cannot recall a film being made where someone portrayed Prince, but I am sure we will get more documentary and Prince-related films in the future. As of 2023, so little has been done to ensure wider knowledge and awareness of Kate Bush. A U.K. one-hour documentary came out in 2014 but, when it comes to something more visually arrested, ambitious, and deep…that has not come to light.
If Stranger Things did at least feature prominently Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) as a song that was especially powerful and meaningful to one of its characters, Max, then it shows that there is this affection and appetite for her music. The knowledge that she is a hugely important artist. Kate Bush turns sixty-five in July. That is a month after Prince’s sixty-fifth birthday. Her debut album (The Kick Inside) was release the same year as his (1978), and her masterpiece came out a year after Prince’s. Many would argue Prince is a bigger artist who changed the world in a way Bush could not – not least because Bush rarely visited America and had a much smaller fanbase there -, but there is a disparity and gulf that needs to be narrowed. At the very least, it would be a unique project. I have been thinking about black-ish and their ‘Purple Rain’ episode. That turns five later this year. Prince himself would have been sixty-five in June. It is an important year in that sense. It reminded me how much I miss black-ish. Such a groundbreaking and important show! I love the whole cast (and always laugh hugely at Earl and Ruby’s interaction), but I think young cast members Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Marsai Martin and Miles Brown have huge things ahead. It would be awesome if they all appeared together in something. I also think that Tracee Ellis Ross is magnificent and a force of nature! Anthony Anderson is a magnificent comedic talent. Anyway. This is about Kate Bush! Thanks to that dazzling and inspiring episode of black-ish, I wonder if it can be applied to Kate Bush and her undeniable influence.
Even if Hounds of Love and Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) have brought her to new people and seen her reach number one around the world, is there this awareness of her studio albums and brilliant songs? Hounds of Love’s Cloudbusting would make a great episode title and focal point, and it is not as played and known as, say, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) or Wuthering Heights (Bush’s debut single). In thinking the much-missed Prince, it has summoned a thought about Kate Bush. Another genius who has touched countless lives. It does seem strange that, even though we can all access any music at any time, maybe there is not the same digging and exploration as once there was. Legendary artists are still new to people even though their music is played around the world. The U.K. is where Bush was born, and yet there is still a narrow focus on her biggest hits, without people understanding her catalogue and what a pioneering artist and producer she was. A visual discussion and representation of her music would be amazing in a ‘Cloudbusting’ episode. When it comes to a show or short film that illustrates and Kate Bush’s songs, a lyric from Cloudbusting seems relevant when it comes to a desire to have something like it exist: “But just saying it…
COULD even make it happen”.