FEATURE:
Big Tour Dates
Hopes That the Annivesaries of The Tour of Life and Before the Dawn Will Be Properly Celebrated
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THIS year…
PHOTO CREDIT: Ken McKay/Rex Features
sees Kate Bush’s two extended live runs celebrate big anniversaries. The Tour of Life started in April 1979. Its forty-fifth anniversary is very soon. On 2nd April, 1979, Kate Bush embarked on the first date of her only tour. I feel that needs marking in some fashion. On 21st March, 2014, Bush announced Before the Dawn. Her only residency, this tenth anniversary is significant. Het two major live commitments have anniversaries very soon. Even though Before the Dawn kicked off in August 2014, the fact that it was announced months early makes me think how that can be marked. Both are magnificent and were distinctly the work of Kate Bush. The former arrived a year before her third studio album, Never for Ever. Bush had recorded two studio albums and they came out in 1978. It was a fantastic year where she was promoting a lot. The Tour of Life was her taking some control. A chance not only to promote her new material on the stage but also to get some time to create something truly in her vision – she felt The Kick Inside and Lionheart were not really her; she did not have enough say in the process -, she threw a lot into it. Creating this distinct and extraordinary live world, critics were bowled over! I am going to come to a feature around The Tour of Life. At the moment, there is not a lot available regarding the tour. No real 4K or HD video of a full set. There are some YouTube videos and attempts, yet nothing official that could be screened at cinemas or shown on T.V. In terms of the live recording, nothing on streaming platforms. There is the On Stage E.P. that contained some songs from the set. No official full album or anything really connected. No book about the tour in terms of its impact, feedback from people there - and its incredible influence. I think it is one of those great overlooked moments in Kate Bush’s career.
This feature was published in 2020. Talking about Bush’s The Tour of Life and the preparation that went into it makes me think that there should be appropriate salute of an event that was like no other. Taking Kate Bush as this studio enigma and fascinating artist into a bona fide live legend, I can only imagine the nerves and excitement she felt forty-five years ago:
“When Kate Bush announced earlier this year that she would be performing 15 dates at London’s Hammersmith Apollo throughout August and September (a figure since bumped up to 22 shows) under the banner Before The Dawn, the reaction was shock and awe. Shock that she was finally following up that original tour, a promise she’d made many times but all but her most optimistic fans had long given up hope on her ever keeping. And awe at the prospect of what a woman who broke so much ground could deliver with 35 years of artistic and technological advancements at her disposal.
But there was also a question of just how she could follow up the original spectacle, retrospectively dubbed The Tour Of Life. 35 years on, that extravaganza has grown to almost mythical status – a strange state of affairs given that it was witnessed by more than 100,000 people at the time.
Footage of an hour or so of the show is freely available to view on YouTube, highlighting a performance that bridged the worlds of music, dance, theatre and art. But there’s even more footage that has never been made public – including that of the magician Simon Drake, who played seven different characters during the show.
But in many other respects, the tour was utterly grounded in reality. The singer spent six months beforehand working herself to the bone as she attempted to forge a brand new model of what a live show could be, then another two months doing the same as she took it around Britain and Europe. And it was hit by tragedy when lighting engineer Bill Duffield was killed in an accident after a warm-up show, his death almost bringing the whole juggernaut to a halt before it had even started.
But all that was in the future when the idea for the tour was conceived. Ironically, Bush herself was the first to admit that there was no need for her to do it. “There’s no pressure,” she said in 1979. “But I do feel that I owe people a chance to see me in the flesh. It’s the only opportunity they have without media obstruction.”
“Kate was never at ease in the public eye,” says Brian Southall, who was Artist Development at Bush’s label, EMI, and had worked with the singer since she was signed. “Whether that was performing on Top Of The Pops or doing interviews. She was very reserved, very wary, I think by nature shy. So this spotlight on her was new.”
The singer was fully aware that anything she did would have to raise the bar on everything that came before. But even then, she was trying to manage expectations – not least her own. “If you look at it, it’s my reputation,” she said 1979. “And yes, I hope that it’ll be something special.”
EMI were unsure what the show would involve, so the costs were reportedly split between the label and Bush herself. In return, they got an artist who threw everything into her biggest endeavour so far.
“She was very determined about how her music was presented and performed – that was pretty obvious from her first album,” says Southall. “So no one saw any reason to step in and stop it. The rock’n’roll story was that you put singles out, you put albums out, you went on Top Of The Pops, you toured. But she wasn’t prepared to do the conventional thing.”
In fact no one realised just how unconventional it would be – with its choreography, dancers, props, multiple costume changes, poetry and in-house magician, there was no precedent with which it could be compared.
Rehearsals began in late 1978. Bush had already trained with experimental dancer/mime artist Lindsay Kemp, one-time mentor of David Bowie. But this tour would entail a new level of aptitude entirely, and the stamina to simultaneously dance and sing for more than two hours every night.
Dance teacher Anthony Van Laast was brought in from the London School Of Contemporary Dance to choreograph the shows and help hone Bush’s abilities. Van Laast brought with him two protégés, dancers Stewart Avon Arnold and Gary Hurst. Van Laast put the singer through the equivalent of boot camp at The Place studio in Euston, working with her for two hours each morning. Bush’s own input was crucial to the developing routines.
“Kate knew what she wanted, she had very specific ideas,” says Stewart Avon Arnold today. “What she wanted was in her head, and she wanted people around her who could help her put it into movement. She had so many hats on at that point – artistic, creative, musical.”
If the mornings were for the dance aspect of the slowly coalescing show, then the afternoons were for the music. As soon as she was done with Van Laast, Bush would make the eight mile journey to Wood Wharf Studio in Greenwich, south London, where she would meet up with a band that included Del Palmer, guitarists Brian Bath and Alan Murphy and her multi-instrumentalist brother, Paddy Bush. Also present was her other brother, John Carder Bush, who would perform poetry (and whose wife would provide vegetarian food for the tour). It was hard work for everyone involved and as the show neared, Bush would work 14 hours a day, six days a week.
“You have to make things more obvious so people can hear them,” she said of the live interpretation of her songs. “Maybe make them faster.”
While Bush was utterly in command, sometimes necessity was the mother of invention. With the singer literally throwing her whole body into her performance, holding a traditional mic would be difficult. So a mic that could be worn around the head was devised.
“I wanted to be able to move around, dance and use my hands,” she said. “The sound engineer came up with the idea of adapting a coat hanger. He opened it out and put it into the shape, so that was the prototype.”
In early spring 1979, the various creative wings finally came together at Shepperton Studios. There was the odd stumbling block. Del Palmer, Bush’s bassist and boyfriend, was less than impressed with some aspects of the choreography when he first saw it.
PHOTO CREDIT: Rock Archive
“In those days, dance wasn’t as popular as it is now, and I don’t think Del was clear on what we were doing,” says Stewart Avon Arnold. “There was a bit where we picked Kate up. I remember him going, ‘What they hell are they doing to Kate! They’re holding her between the legs!’”
In late March, a week before the tour was due to start, the whole production moved to the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, north London, for dress rehearsals. Like everything over the past six months, the whole endeavour was undertaken in secrecy.
“It’s like a present that shouldn’t be unwrapped until everyone is there,” reasoned the singer. “It’s like hearing about a film. Everybody tells you it’s amazing – and you could end up disappointed. You shouldn’t get people’s expectations up like that.”
By the time the tour was due to start on April 3 in Liverpool, everyone drilled to within an inch of their existence. If Bush was nervous, she wasn’t letting on.
“There was no suggestion that Kate was scared about going on the road,” says Brian Southall. “I certainly never got a sense that she was nervous about the financial aspect of it. If money was her concern, she’d have been out making albums every year rather than every 10 years. It’s not something that crossed her mind. The creativity was all-important”.
Kate Bush, as a studio artist in 1979, could have felt cautious about going on stage. If critics felt she was a bit kooky or weird, would they take to her live shows?! Sell-out shows and success across the U.K. and Europe meant that fans at least were eager to see her. She need not have worried.! The reviews, bar one or two, were wildly positive! Proclaiming her to be a star and a sensation, it seemed that Bush’s instinct about being in control and directing her own music was on the money. She would take this further when she returned to the studio not long after completing The Tour of Life. Producing Never for Ever with Jon Kelly, The Tour of Life as a pivotal moment when it came to her direction, autonomy and desire to produce. Thirty-five years since The Tour of Life started (well, April!), and you can feel its influence in modern Pop. Think about Madonna and her use of the head microphone. That was first used by Kate Bush in 1979 as a way of being able to sing live and dance. That mix of theatre, mime, and various artistic elements into a traditional live show was quite new. At least for female artists. Bush’s 1979 revolution and revelation needs to be archived in a way it has not been done already. Apart from a documentary around it and some live videos, there is not a great deal. Dive deeper into The Tour of Life and how it came together. Podcasts, books, photo collections – though Max Browne’s book is available - and a new album/full set would be welcomed.
Before the Dawn’s tenth anniversary is also a major thing. There is a live album available on physical formats and Apple Music. There is no visual representation of it. Again, podcasts, books and photo collections are absent. Not too much around. I wonder whether Bush would be tempted to release something around its tenth anniversary. There will be articles written about it. I was not lucky enough to get a ticket for Before the Dawn. For those who were not there, we only have the live album. Maybe something in terms of a documentary where we can get exclusive live video from the residency. As it turns ten, it does warrant some form of proper salute and retrospection. I will end with a review. The Standard gave a five-star review to a magnificent and unforgettable night:
“Much has happened in the 35 years since Kate Bush last played a full concert. The fresh-faced girl with a precocious talent is now a matron of 56. That precocious talent has matured and she is British music’s most significant female artist. No wonder then that when she led her backing singers on stage in a slow motion conga, surfing in on a tidal wave of goodwill to open Before the Dawn, her 22-date Hammersmith residency, the ovation was long and standing. Almost three hours later, after the closing Cloudbusting, the ovation was still standing, but much, much longer.
Such was the level of secrecy and anticipation that almost nobody knew what to expect. Just four hits — Running Up That Hill, King of the Mountain, Hounds of Love, Cloudbusting — might seem a skimpy return after all these years, but much as Bush never did things by halves, she never was a crowd-pleaser. All the same, this extraordinary mix of magical ideas, stunning visuals, attention to detail and remarkable music left this crowd well-pleased.
After an opening quip (“Where’ve YOU been?”) and the glistening opener Lily, her stage fright seemed to evaporate and she appeared to actually be enjoying herself. She moved slowly, as did the cast around her including her son Bertie, credited as “Creative Advisor”, but the years have strengthened her voice and Among Angels (the only time she was alone with her piano) was four minutes of aching beauty.
She settled herself and the giddy crowd during a relatively conventional first half hour, before the stage became a sunken ship for The Ninth Wave suite, Bush turned into a fish and a cast of 20 wrapped themselves around The Morning Fog. A Sky Of Honey, the second half of 2005’s Aerial, formed the second half: Bush rocked, turned into a bird and kissed a wooden puppet.
The audience so desperately wanted Bush to be brilliant that by simply turning up, she had triumphed without trying. That she did try so very, very hard and that she was so obviously, so unambiguously brilliant, made last night something to tell the grandchildren about”.
I do feel it is only right that Kate Bush’s The Tour of Life and Before the Dawn are marked this year. Turning thirty-five and ten respectively, it is a good time to organise adequate and deserved love for this titanic and hugely important events. I know, as I said, articles will be written. March 2014 is when Bush announced her stage return. April 1979 was the start of The Tour of Life. Hearing some special release, programme or podcast about these dates would be wonderful. It is highly unlikely Kate Bush will return to the stage in any form. For that reason, we do need to cherish The Tour of Life and Before the Dawn. I think that we are going to perhaps see an end to Kate Bush’s recording career. With the death of her engineer Del Palmer, it seems unlikely we will record again. Maybe nothing new from Kate Bush. It make it more important that we can still connect with her through her music of the past. That she is happy to engage with that too. The Tour of Life on an album and getting some cleaned-up video or a new documentary. Something more about Before the Dawn would also be embraced. Even though her two enormous live shows were thirty-five years apart, prior to going on stage for the first night of both, Kate Bush must have felt nervous. The roar and anticipation from the audience! It would have been quite magical being in attendance. They have big anniversaries this year. It is only right that we mark them…
WITH as much love as possible!