FEATURE:
A Shared Deeper Understanding
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
Kate Bush’s Attitudes Towards and Relationships with Men
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WHEN writing about Kate Bush…
IN THIS PHOTO: An outtake from the Army Dreamers video shoot/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
I usually focus on her albums and songs. I also describe how she has impacted people around the world; the enormous legacy her music has. I am not sure whether I have written too much about this, but I wanted to look at her relationship with men and her attitudes towards them. In terms of the fact most of her interviews were men. Nearly every musician she has included on her albums has been a man. Not all the vocalists have been but, when you look at her discography and everything written about it, there is a lot of perception and interpretation from men. This may sound like Bush was avoiding women. From a musical stance, I think Bush was raised more around male sounds. By that, I mean she gravitated towards artists who were men. I guess, as an aspiring artist from a very young age, perhaps hearing too many women would have influenced her voice too much. She is a rare case in music of being this feminist icon and source of inspiration for women everywhere, without her actually embodying too many influences from other women. I shall come to the fact that, yes, Bush has worked with other women on her albums - though most of her collaborators were men. Some may say, during a sexist time when men were considered superior and got more attention, that this was a calculated move. I think, as I will also explore, it is Bush’s positive attitudes towards men and the depth of understanding she had about their complexities and depths that is a reason. Even if Bush, in decades past, did not actively identify herself as a feminist, she is someone who has influenced countless women in all areas of the arts and society. She is a huge role model - and someone who broke barriers and opened conversations.
I will break this up into two. I want to start out by discussing her peers and those she associated with. There was that division between her inner circle of friends and musicians and members of the press. Bush had plenty of female friends, though I think that she was more used to associating with men. When it comes to musical influences, maybe the media and industry were not promoting, highlighting and celebrating enough women. The Beatles, Steely Dan, and Peter Gabriel were among her influence – as were David Bowie, and Elton John. How many contemporary female musical role models were in her life during the 1960s and 1970s?! With the industry still very sexist and male-dominated, it is no surprise that Bush worked with male musicians, engineers and crew. When Bush started producing her own work (from 1980’s Never for Ever onwards), she was one of the few women producing their own music. She definitely gave inspiration to so many women in the industry. From setting records (Never for Ever was the first album by a British female artist to reach number one) to the way she was this unique voice who maintained such a long and successful career is a massive achievement and legacy. I feel Bush’s positivity towards men, in her personal life and through music, is a combination of her being in the studio with male personnel. Her homelife was also a factor. With two older brothers – Paddy and John (Jay) -, she did not have a sister or that similar-aged female presence at home; she felt bored or unchallenged at school.
If she listened more to male artists and bands during her career, I think that Bush’s music and career must rank alongside the most compelling and inspiring ever. In terms of how she is this incredible producer and singular voice that succeeded in a male-dominated landscape. As I say, if her relationship with the word ‘feminist’ or ‘feminism’ was not obvious or a little problematic at times – a young Bush once naively had a rather outdated visual interpretation on what a feminist looks like -, she is no doubt a pioneering and groundbreaking woman who paved the way for those who followed her. I feel Kate Bush literally worked with more male musicians to a point because there were more available. I don’t know whether there was a great visibility of female musicians as opposed to the singers. Also, when it came to backing vocalists, she wanted the attention to be on her voice. Maybe another female voice would distract or the blend would not be right. Up until The Sensual World in 1989 – where the amazing Trio Bulgarka were beautifully brought into her music (they also appeared on 1993’s The Red Shoes) -, she was singing all the ‘female’ parts and roles. She wanted to ensure her voice was the talking point, and she did that whilst maintaining a very positive attitude towards women.
There have been articles saying Bush had a calculated or colder approach to female journalists. She was interviewed more by men because the music media landscape was dominated by men. I don’t think it was a case of Bush trying to manipulate or seduce in any way. Maybe that is what some men were trying to do to her. Bush did have some awkward encounters with some female journalists - including this 1993 hatchet job. Some of the most interesting and heartwarming interviews I have seen or heard have been between Bush and another woman. Maybe, again, there was a case of Bush wanting to slightly control a narrative. Would other women see her in a colder or more condescending light than men?! It was definitely the case that she experienced plenty of sexism from male journalists. It has been an impossible situation. In spite of the fact that other songwriters wrote about love in a slightly angry or accusative way – in terms of placing blame on the other -, Bush was very positive. That is what I wanted to come to now. In addition to being a trailblazer and musicians who influenced a lot of women, I think her fanbase is so dedicated and large is because of the positivity in her songs. I have recently written about her song, Eat the Music. That is thirty years old. Bush uses fruit as metaphors for men and how they express themselves. They bleed too. They can be opened and reveal something sweet and nourishing. Consider these lyrics: “Does he conceal/What he really feels?/He's a woman at heart/And I love him for that/Let's split him open/Like a pomegranate/Insides out/All is revealed/Not only women bleed”.
Right from the start of her career, Bush’s attitude towards men has been one of respect, understanding and affection. If a relationship goes bad or she is hurt by a man, there is that ability and desire to see the story from both sides and display patience. This extended to her interviews. Often asked insulting or personal questions, Bush would never lose her temper or be unprofessional – replying in a very considered and impressively calm manner. Think about The Man with the Child in His Eyes. Bush feeling, with the title, that men have this child-like wonder and innocence to them. If many of Bush’s songs between 1978’s Lionheart and 1989’s The Sensual World were relating to fictional scenes, inspired by film/literature or were more fantastical, she was still not portraying men as nasty or vindictive. From her sympathy towards young soldiers sent to war in Army Dreamers (Never for Ever), or the compromise, mutual understanding and iconic Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) from Hounds of Love. That is literally about men and women swapping places so they can better understand one another. Not blaming men or casting them in a negative light, Bush highlights a more calm and diplomatic way that conflicts can be resolved and relationships can be bettered. Some of Bush’s most devastating, beautiful, remarkable and memorable songs put men at the heart of them.
Many think that The Sensual World’s This Woman’s Work is around a mother and the woman’s role. In fact, it is sort of the end of the sentence. You could put a parenthesis in there that says (Now Starts the Craft of the Father). Never belittling the man or being insincere, I feel This Woman’s Work is both encouraging the father to grow up and take responsibility. There is a lot of sympathy placed on him: “I stand outside this woman's work/This woman's world/Ooh, it's hard on the man/Now his part is over/Now starts the craft of the father”. He is going through a tough time in the song – his wife/the mother suffers a breach and the pregnancy means they could lose their baby -, and he now has to be the tough one and step up. It is understanding - though it also highlights how strong women are and, in times like this where there is potential loss and tragedy, they have to carry a lot of that hurt and responsibility. In Love and Anger (The Sensual World), the chorus is about the heroine. Bush wanting this anger to be taken away. Maybe it reflects a love breaking down. There might be something less personal. I feel there could be something acrimonious and blame-shifting. Instead, the whole song does seem to be about making things better and an extension of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) – swapping places or trying to create harmony and a common mindset: “To let go of these feeling/Like a bell to a Southerly wind?/We could be like two strings beating/Speaking in sympathy/What would we do without you? “.
There is great compassion and tolerance through her music. Think about The Red Shoes’ And So Is Love (“All you're doin' tonight/All for love (life is sad and so is love)/Just for the sake of love/(Life is sad and so is love)/You set me free, I set you free/(Life is sad and so is love)”) and You’re the One (“The only trouble is/He's not you/He can't do what you do/He can't make me laugh and cry/At the same time/Let's change things/Let's danger it up/We're crazy enough/I just can't take it”). On one of her most personal albums, Bush does show this need to see things from a man’s point of view – never submissively – and not leap to blame and anger. That positivity towards the men in her lyrics bled into the studio and the wider world. I think we often feel love songs or ones where one is hurt need to cast blame at the other party. Whatever the gender of the anti-hero, there is still so many songs where an element of vengeance and intolerance is displayed. Maybe that is earned - though I think many could take a lesson from Bush’s writing. Perhaps that need to swap places and see the world from each other’s view not only enriches and strengthens bonds; it makes fall-out and fracturing of hearts easier to cope with. That positivity and strength of heart she showed towards men, I feel, is a big argument as to why she is a feminist icon and someone who has inspired many other women – even if Bush herself would have a very different take. When so many of her peers wrote songs castigating lovers or angrily lashing out when things ended, Bush always maintained this ability to be understanding without compromising her strength and dignity. One of the great defining features of her work, career and personality, you have to salute her for possessing…
A hugely admirable quality.