FEATURE:
Walk Straight Down the Middle
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989
Kate Bush’s Music: Are the Deeper Cuts ‘Radio-Friendly’?
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I am not sure how the debate started…
PHOTO CREDIT: Denis Oregan
but I was on Twitter and discussing Kate Bush’s music with someone I follow. We were discussing singles and why particular songs were not released. I maintained that a couple from, 1982’s The Dreaming, specifically, Houdini and Get Out of My House, could have succeeded. Bush released at least three singles from that album that were not successes – There Goes a Tenner, The Dreaming and Suspended in Gaffa. In fact, Night of the Swallow was not that popular. One could say that this album was not designed for singles. I think we assume that this equates to no chart potential or radio play. Maybe that was the case in the 1980s. Today, there is a breadth and variety of radio stations beyond the commercial and riskless. Those stations that have no edge or any sort of acceptance for anything that isn’t easily digestible and single. That is why I get angry that Kate Bush songs are not played more. We assume that Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is played most and almost synonymous with her because it is easy to listen to. In fairness, Bush deliberately made songs from the first side of Hounds of Love more commercial and accessible after The Dreaming’s sound and critical reaction. I would not say that this is song is the definition of radio-friendly. I don’t like this assumption that anything not released as a single is not radio-friendly. I don’t like ‘radio-friendly’. Hounds of Love is more accessible than most of her albums. Most of Kate Bush’s singles are less experimental and strange than some of her deeper cuts. That does not mean that these songs should be ignored. If you think about British radio, you occasionally get deeper cuts played. Most of the time, it is a few songs from Hounds of Love – the title track among them -, Wow, Babooshka, maybe Sat in Your Lap and This Woman’s Work. These songs are seen as suitable for radio. Not that challenging or off-putting for listeners. I do realise that radio was much more restrictive in the 1970s and 1980s. Bush was a bit stuck when it came to releasing singles that would be played and chart.
I feel this attitude continues today. We naturally assume that the songs that were successful singles are the only ones people want to hear. Anything else would not be popular. I don’t think that the term radio-friendly applies to songs that are not instantly commercial or ‘safe’. In terms of language, lyrical content etc., that is where radio-friendly comes in. Stations like BBC Radio 6 Music are an example of people who play really any type of music. There are enough radio stations that have a broad palette and, therefore, could play any Kate Bush song. I have heard Slipknot on BBC Radio 1 I have heard obscure Jazz and showtunes on BBC Radio 2. You get complex and symphonic Classical music on BBC Radio 3. There are niche and lesser-heard Folk songs on multiple stations. Captain Beefheart gets played. Modern-day groups that are angular and eccentric get airtime. Kate Bush’s songs, by comparison, seem quite ordinary and inoffensive. Nothing that would cause a listener to switch off. Think about the songs that one might lazily think are not radio-friendly. You’d be looking at The Dreaming’s tracks (aside from Sat in Your Lap), a few from 1978’s Lionheart and maybe a few from 2005’s Aerial. I cannot really name a song that is so out-there it could not make it onto radio. There is this media perception that Kate Bush is weird; this artist that only has a few songs that you can play on the radio. I am struggling to remember the last time a non-single from Kate Bush was played on British radio. If something deeper is, it is usually suggested by the listener. To be fair, she released enough singles that means we will never only hear one or two tracks. Even so, perhaps the dominance of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) gives people the impression that this is the definition of Kate Bush. We need to stop assuming that most of her catalogue is unworthy of radio play. Listeners cannot make their mind up if they don’t have a choice. Stations assuming that the singles are the only think worth hearing.
I don’t think there is any mandate or directive from EMI or Kate Bush that particular songs are played. Old and inaccurate perceptions of her and her music pervade to this day. The fact that platforms like TikTok maybe make the situation worse when it comes to narrow definition regarding her catalogue and sound. How there is a world of music unexplored and unknown because it is seen as unplayable or inferior. That is not the case. There is really no such thing as a radio-friendly song or artist. Everyone has a place somewhere. Few more so than Kate Bush. For all that she has given to the music industry, her music deserves a lot more than it is afforded. The more that we learn about the full extent and brilliance of her music, the more it will reach generations. The more people of all ages will understand. I don’t like this notion that only a select few Kate Bush songs could be played on the radio. The more singular and reductive stations are, the worse the situation becomes. We risk walking down the middle. Picking songs that are tried and tested. Those most people have heard. Only the occasional rare gem coming through. All radio stations should do a lot more to celebrate…
THIS woman’s work.