FEATURE:
From a Landline in England…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images
Revisiting the Joy of Kate Bush’s Woman’s Hour Interview
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I have been looking back…
IN THIS PHOTO: Woman’s Hour’s Emma Barnett
at Kate Bush interviews from through the years. I have been listening to a lot to interviews she gave to promote 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. There has not been a lot since then. The odd bit here and there. Whilst we have read updates from Kate Bush on her official website, we have not heard her voice a lot. In terms of interviews, there was a 2016 chat she had with Matt Everitt for BBC Radio 6 Music. That was when she discussed the live album of 2014’s Before the Dawn. We did not really know what would come after that. I am reminded now of a bombshell that happened on 22nd June, 2022. Just over two years ago, we were treated to hearing from Kate Bush once more. There was really no warning! I guess it is not a shock that she would have something to say about the success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). Used on the Netflix series, Stranger Things, it went to number one in the U.K. Introducing Bush to a new generation of fans. Because of the new success, we heard Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) played widely across radio. It is her most-streamed song. Perhaps the song that people associate with her. That defining moment. Given how there was very little audio from Kate Bush after 2016, we sort of assumed that, if she had anything to add to her website updates, she would do that in writing. We might get a printed interview with her. That would have bene a gift. Instead, and without much warning, there was this spoken interview. We take music interviews for granted. Artists do this all of the time. You get YouTube and Spotify interviews. Plenty of radio interviews. More than enough chance to hear an artist discuss their music. When you think about Kate Bush, there has been this real absence of interviews for about a decade or so. Of course, her voice has not changed that much. She is still the same warm and down to Earth human. Even though we might never get another filmed interview, just hearing her voice was a tantalising thought.
As we have just past the two-year anniversary of this huge moment, I wanted to spend some time with it. The interview was conducted by Emma Barnett for Woman’s Hour. I will drop in the interview below. You can also listen here. There was so much to unpack and enjoy. For a start, it was that suddenness. No real tease or huge build-up. We saw an announcement shortly before broadcast that Kate Bush would be talking with Woman’s Hour. Despite the fact there was no new album or anything like that, it was a joy imagining Kate Bush speaking at all! Few fans thought we would hear unless there was a new album. June 2022 was also during the pandemic. Still quite a tough time for us all. There was something unifying and uplifting knowing we would hear from Kate Bush. The main reason for the interview was to talk about Stranger Things. Bush having this chance to thank fans. How Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was this totemic moment in the episode. How it meant to much to Max. A song that saved a life. It resonated with fans. The genuine sense of pride and passion in Kate Bush’s voice as she thanked fans and the show’s creators! It was a smart choice speaking with Woman’s Hour. Rather than have a couple of minutes on another BBC station, this was a longer interview that was wonderful to hear. Genuine respect and love from Emma Barnett. I am not sure exactly where Kate Bush lives though, as it is her, there is that sense of the peaceful and English. A nice garden and home. Not that many mod cons I would imagine. Keeping things nice but fairly basic. One of the first things to note about the interview is that Kate Bush was speaking on a landline.
Almost obsolete, it is refreshing and typical that Kate Bush has a landline! She did explain how she had this old, brick-like mobile phone that she could make calls from. She did not want something modern because of the distracting nature. Checking emails on the go was not her style. Instead, she wanted to go outside and not have to feel at the mercy of a smartphone. Emma Barnett did not ask about a new album or material – a missed opportunity I feel -, though Kate Bush did say that she was spending a lot of time gardening. Many fans took this as a sign that she was retiring. As I pointed out when I discussed this interview in a previous feature, it is no shock that Bush enjoys gardening. It is not an activity solely for retired people. Bush grew up on East Wickham Farm and would have been gardening as a child and young woman. She gardened before making Hounds of Love. Something relaxing and an interest of her. Rather than it being a sign of slowing down, gardening is useful when it comes to creativity and rest. Caitlin Moran introduced the interview (there was this separate audio recording). She talked about Kate Bush. Bush talked about Stranger Things and how it was this great moment. Thinking that the whole world had gone mad because of the success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), this whole new audience discovered her. I liked how Bush, when talking about the song, always felt that its title should be A Deal with God. She discussed how many of her songs had strange working titles. I would love to have known some of them! Bush said how she does not listen to her older music. Bush reiterated how her song was used in a very special place and was a powerful thing. Music has this way of touching people, as she said. Despite the fact Kate Bush was speaking on a landline, she said how today is a very exciting time because of the advances in technology. Emma Barnett praised how Bush was so far ahead of people she was in terms of studio technology. How Before the Dawn, her residency, was phone-free. Bush wanted there to be a strong connection between those in the audience and those on stage.
So much to enjoy and adore about the interview. Throughout, Kate Bush sounded engaged and warm. Bush said how she spent a lot of her day on the laptop. That need for peace when she goes out. Emma Barnett said how there is WitchTok, a subset of TikTok, inspired by Bush’s look in the video for Babooshka – to which Bush laughed and said it sounds ridiculous! Even if it was not a hugely long interview, it was a compassionate and very heartwarming moment that we were not expecting. Emma Barnett said at the end of the interview how Kate Bush can come back anytime. She did say that at the very end of the interview. It would be incredible if that were to happen! I guess there would need to be a new album or something big for us to hear her voice again. Even so, two years ago, we got this amazing moment we didn’t really think would happen. From somewhere in England, on a landline, the legendary Kate Bush spoke with Woman’s Hour. Social media was awash with people saying how happy they were hearing Kate Bush’s voice. As humble and relatable as she was back in the 1970s, it was refreshing knowing that not a lot had changed. It also means there is an appetite for something more. We all really want to hear from Kate Bush again. A reason for that to happen. Until that happens – if it does at all! – go and listen to that Woman’s Hour interview. Kate Bush sharing her thoughts on Stranger Things and how it helped bring Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) to the world. Getting this whole legion of new fans. I still think about the Woman’s Hour interview. Even though it was a fairly brief chat, it was this revelation and thing we never imagined. This treat for everyone. Hearing Kate Bush speak is almost therapeutic and calming. For that reason alone, we all hope that we can hear from Kate Bush…
VERY soon.