FEATURE:
The Kick Outside
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
Kate Bush: The Conflict Between the Image of Her As a Serious Artist and the Press Perception
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THIS is something…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
that I have covered before. I wanted to revisit it. Like I will mention in many features at the moment, I am re-reading Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush. It has been reissued, and I am getting all sorts of new inspiration and influence. Thinking about Kate Bush in new ways. Some of the most interesting sections of the book take us to the beginning of her career. When the teenage artist was just starting out. Right from the off, Kate Bush was caught in this conflict. She wanted to announce herself as a serious artist and be taken on her own merit. There was no zeal for fame or anything like that. From a family that was very supportive, there was a lot of art and culture around the Bush household. There was never any suggestion that she would be a novelty act or someone here for a short time. This was someone who was vastly mature and developed on her debut album. If you think about teenage artists of the 1980s and 1990s, what Kate Bush delivered in 1978 was so much more advanced and sophisticated. Unfortunately, from her debut single onwards, there was this pull between critical perception and how others saw Kate Bush. Wuthering Heights was released in January 1978 and climbed to number one. Largely on the strength of radio play and the public, there was this mix of ridicule and amazement How Kate Bush was perceived in 1978, and how she would be viewed for many years after, came after that debut single. Instantly fodder for satirists and impressionists, Bush had a good sense of humour and took it in her stride. It seems heartbreaking that someone who should have been adored and seen as an innovator and hugely original voice, instead, was often derided and sent up. Seen as something of an oddity by many!
That feeling that Kate Bush was instantly reduced to being a target. That she was somehow stupid or weird. The media, not used to an independent and singular female artist making music on her own term, instead of valuing her music and what she said, boiled everything down to her age, gender and class. As such, when The Kick Inside was released, it was not really judged on merit and depth. Many had already written Kate Bush off or labelled her a caricature or punchline. The media focused heavily on Bush’s age. She was nineteen when her debut album and single came out. It was not like she was extremely young and rare. Many artists around her were similar age. The fact she came from a comfortable family made her another target for those who felt she was spoiled or privileged. It has nothing to do with her music or personality. Bush was incredible grounded and modest. Not someone who got into the industry because of wealth or connections. It was the sexual side that was hugely focused on. Sexist and misogynistic, the media were fixated on Bush’s looks and body rather than taking the time to listen to her music and go beyond the surface. With no comparable peers, the media did not know what to make of Kate Bush. Many thought that a man must be behind her success. How could a young woman with such talent and originality do it without some guy behind her?! Almost like journalists today accusing female artist of being industry plants, Kate Bush was seen by some as being led by others.
Bush was caught in an awkward position in early interviews. With the media over-sexualising her and there being this perception of her, Bush played down her sexuality in interview. Coquettish or dismissive, as Graeme Thomson writes in his Kate Bush biography, it was nonsense she should play it down. Sexuality and her sensual, poetic side was integral to her work and being. Bush was never shy or ashamed about expressing her sexual desires. Her sexual urges and lusts were a huge part of her writing. That does not mean that who she was purely. The media missing the point entirely. That instinct to sexualise and fetishize a female artist when they would never do that for a male artist. Some early photoshoots and pictures did not help things. One, shot by Gered Mankowitz, for the Wuthering Heights cover, was a big talking point. A pose of Bush in a pink leotard where we could see her nipples unfortunately was shared and appeared far and wide. It was scrapped as the single cover and an inferior image used. The image could have been cropped and, to be fair, was not explicit or suggestive. People focusing on sex and prurient rather than the expression on Kate Bush’s face and the artistic merit of an iconic shot. It is no surprise that her brothers Jay and Paddy became very protective of their sister. Jay particular was unhappy with the way his sister was sexualised and it was distracting from her music. With them – and the family – being referred to as the Bush Family Mafia by some, it was this tussle between the label and outside forces…and the need to protect family. Gered Mankowitz actually took a series of shots at Great Windmill Street. It was about the reaction to Wuthering Heights and reacting with images. He mixed leotards with woollen socks. Unfortunately, advertising agencies choice the shot with her nipples showing and plastered it on buses and billboards. In a way, from that moment on, the way she would be perceived by the media was set in stone. I think that the public has a different view. Not focusing on her sexuality and gender.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in March 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Kent Gavin/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix
Jay particularly was strong-willed and clashed with the record label. EMI were not as concerned about the Gered Mankowitz shot and the way it became this defining image of Kate Bush. There started this years-running tussle between the Kate Bush family and labels/the press. This conflict between those seen as not viewing Kate Bush as serious, and her family protecting their sister/daughter as a serious artist. The Bush family were very effective and efficient when it came to protecting the artist. There weas a brief moment when Bush had a manager. He was soon let go. This need to have some sort of discipline or figure that could help manage and temporise a lot of the media frenzy and tabloidisation. In the end, it was about the art and ensuring that Kate Bush was protected and allowed to fulfil her vision. Anything periphery and inessential was jettisoned. Things did eventually improve when it came to the media perception of Bush. Maybe after 1985 things changed. That is seven long years that Kate Bush had to answer questions regarding her looks. It was good that John (Jay) Carder Bush photographed his sister a lot, as that allowed some natural protection. Some positive control.
Gered Mankowitz shot Bush until 1979. Guido Harari came in and was trusted. He worked with Kate Bush into the 1990s. John Carder Bush being the most long-running and stable sensei and guide when it came to forging the image the world had of Kate Bush. It is annoying that it took so long for people to respect and understand Kate Bush! Not to focus on her family background and sexuality. That quest to change the conversation and perception. I don’t think that her fans and record-buyers saw her in the same terms as the media. Bush herself was comfortable with her sexuality, though I feel albums like Hounds of Love (1985) and The Sensual World (1989) – made and released when she was in her twenties and early-thirties – was a deliberate shift towards something perhaps more sensual and grown-up than sexual and naïve. More artistic. That might seem unfair. One can say Bush never played into the media intrigue and odd angle. She was making music that was meaningful to her. Each album different. After 1978, photoshoots did change. The image of her being addressed and shifted. Her debut album is beautiful and awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, there was this battle to let the music speak and define who she was. That was not the way. With The Kick Inside, Kate Bush faced…
THE kick outside.