FEATURE:
From East Wickham Farm to the Far East
Inside the Cover Shoot for Kate Bush’s Debut Album, The Kick Inside
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THIS is this the first time…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in an outtake from The Kick Inside’s cover shoot showing the metal bar and ropes that were constructed for the shot
I will dip into a recent edition of PROG that features on its cover the central image from Kate Bush’s debut studio album, The Kick Inside. Even if many consider the cover to be less impactful than future albums, one cannot deny it is intriguing and eye-catching. I shall come to a section in that PROG edition where we dive inside The Kick Inside. Words from the man who was responsible for photographing Kate Bush for the cover of The Kick Inside. To me, a debut album from Kate Bush should have her front and centre. Her face very much visible. Also, I wonder why there are suggestions of Asia and the Far East in the cover. Sure, Kate Bush did visit Japan in June 1978. She had an audience there, yet there is little within her debut that suggests relations and correlation with Asia. A dragon image on a kite. Bush hanging from some bars. It is definitely an alluring and unique image. I wonder how many people discuss the cover for The Kick Inside when they think of the album. One can objectively say there are finer covers on Never for Ever (1980), The Dreaming (1982), Hounds of Love (1985) and even 1978’s Lionheart. Standout because they either feature Bush in this image that reflects something within the album or on a theme. Maybe because there is this composition that tells you what the album is about. If you think about the album cover of The Kick Inside, does it really indicate what it on the album in terms of themes and sounds?! Perhaps the kite is a direct reference to a song from the album called Kite. There is a fierceness, confidence and sense of command on the album cover. The suggestion Bush is hanging from a kite from far above. This warrior or strong women commanding the sky.
I am going to highlight an article from page thirty of PROG where photographer Jay Myrdal discusses working with Kate Bush. It is interesting that there is another Jay in Bush’s life. Her brother John shortens his name to Jay. He was also photographing his sister in 1978, so it is cool she had two Jays working with her! Although Jay Myrdal’s association with Bush was temporary. Though it would have been a treasured time. If you think about Kate Bush’s other album covers, when it came to shots of her, it was mainly her brother photographing. Even if Gered Mankowitz photographed the cover for Lionheart, John Carder Bush took the cover shots for The Dreaming, Hounds of Love and The Sensual World. Never for Ever features artwork from Nick Price. You know the background of these talents. Jay Myrdal’s background is interesting to say the least! He arrived in England from the U.S. army in 1965. Always wanting to be a photographer, he started to make money ion 1968 where he was taking shots of naked women for men’s magazines of the day. By 1977/1978, Myrdal was transitioning into advertising. The cover shoot for The Kick Inside in 1977 (I am not sure of the exact date but, as the album was released on 17th February, 1978, I assume the cover was shot a little while before that) was an interesting time. Despite Myrdal’s background, the cover for The Kick Inside is very tasteful and restrained. Despite Bush sort of being buried a bit, I think the composition and design is good. Rather than Myrdal’s kite photographer being centre right, it would have been better focusing in on that image and making it much more central. The cover compromises Jay Myrdal’s photo right of centre. Flashes of red and black on a cover that is mostly orange and yellow. A big eye on the left-hand side of the cover that reaches to the centre. On the top-right is ‘Kate Bush’ and ‘The Kick Inside’ in a font that suggests Asian influence. I do like the colours of the album but I contest Myrdal’s photo concept should have been given more weight and prominence.
IN THIS IMAGE: Del Palmer’s original concept sketches for his flying man kite illustration
It does seem like this slightly random pairing. Jay Myrdal was recommended by EMI art director Steve Ridgeway. Myrdal was sent a tape of Bush’s music before the shoot. Whilst he feels it is accomplished, he did also feel it was shrill. A case of an American being very slow to connect. The country in general took so long to ‘get’ Kate Bush! Whilst it is a bit insulting he was not keen on her music but got to photograph her, he did at least get some inspiration and feel from the music when it came to his concept. As Bush was relatively unknown and a teenager, there were no real expectations when it came to cover. No other albums to reference. Jay Myrdal’s studio was in Paddington, London, and he got a visit from Kate’s father Robert the day before the cover shoot. Dr. Bush constructed a small kite using sticks and paper to give an impression of what was required for the cover photo concept. Jay Myrdal working off a rudimentary and lo-tech model and imagining something bigger and more real. The initial kite concept art by her then-boyfriend, Del Palmer. I never knew that the giant eye on the album cover was a reference to Pinocchio where Jiminy Cricket floated pasted a giant whale’s eye (looking for a swallowed friend). Bush referenced Pinocchio at other times in her career. The Dreaming’s Get Out of My House nods to it when Bush and Paul Hardiman donkey-bray (or ‘Eeyore’). It is a reference to Pinocchio (from the 1940 Disney film of the same name) and Lampwick being turned into a donkeys. Myrdal told EMI he was shooting the photo on a black background but didn’t know the final image would be a yellow/red backdrop. As such, Bush’s legs look a bit dirty.
IN THIS IMAGE: A still from Walt Disney’s Pinocchio (1940)
When it came to the day of the shoot, Bush was very hands-on. Polaroids were taken. Bush was taken into makeup and gold paint was applied to her skin. Very involved with the cover shoot and its look, it showed how keen she was to be involved with the entire album process. A very visual artist, Bush was then posed hanging from a silver bar in front of one of the black struts on the kite. It was easy for the EMI art department to comp out the bar so that it would not be visible and look like Bush was hanging from one of the black struts. When the shoot was done, Jay Myrdal went to his next job. Thought quite a quick process, it does seem like fantastic experience. I would be really interesting knowing about other album covers and what the creative process was. What it was like putting everything together! Jay Myrdal told PROG how Kate Bush visited his studio a few other times. One when she was visiting Syco Systems – which was across the road in London Mews – with an eager and excited eye on their synthesisers. Later, she would acquire a Fairlight CMI. The seeds and fascination planted years earlier. Bush also picked up the kite on another visit. Myrdal knows that the cover for The Kick Inside is striking and has a lot of fans. He still feels the comping issues are too obvious. To him at least. Not as perfect as he’d hoped. However, the fact that he was charged with photographing Kate Bush for her debut album is a huge honour that cannot be erased! The fact that The Kick Inside has appeared quite high in some best albums cover features is not lost on him. Jay Myrdal not knowing at the time how big Kate Bush would become. He is proud to have been a small part of her career. Because The Kick Inside is my favourite album ever means I am really interested in the cover and details about it. Even though various other covers were used for international versions of The Kick Inside (including a Gered Mankowitz photo for the U.S. cover where Bush is in blue jeans and has this great expression on her face). You can see it in this feature from 2018 that celebrated the iconic kite cover for The Kick Inside. If you are a fan of the Jay Myrdal photo and eye/kite combination on The Kick Inside or you prefer international versions, you cannot deny that the U.K. cover…
IS timeless.