FEATURE:
Kate Bush’s Before the Dawn at Ten
PHOTO CREDIT: Ken McKay/Rex Features
The Cast, Crew and Big Names in Attendance
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THIS will be the penultimate…
feature that I write about Before the Dawn. I have been fascinated by the whole experience. This whole residency that nobody really expected to happen! It was a great shock when Kate Bush announced this extensive run of shows at Hammersmith. Taking the original fifteen dates and then expanding it to twenty-two, this was a hugely acclaimed ‘return’ for an icon. I have covered so many different elements and aspects of the residency and how it was is important. The thoughts and feelings Kate Bush would have had when she took to the stage for the first time on 26th August, 2014. That sense of excitement and nerves. I will finish with a more general assessment and feeling. Maybe where Kate Bush goes from here. I wanted to use this feature to discuss the cast and crew. Those who were on stage with Kate Bush. Also, the fact that so many big names came and witnessed before the Dawn ten years ago. I will start with words from Kate Bush about why she decided to embark on this quite exhausting and committed residency:
“Kate about Before The Dawn
I’d got to a point where I’d down two albums very quickly, one after the other and I didn’t want to go in and make another album. So I thought maybe I should do some live shows. (Laughs) That’s what happened. I didn’t want to do the shows without Bertie because I thought he’d be a very valuable part of the process, which he was, and it needed to fall at a time that worked around his schedule and that happened to be a good time for him.
I thought the whole idea of putting a show together would be a lot of fun. Not that being in it would be fun, that was very frightening. But putting a show together was something I thought I could do. (…)
I really liked the idea of trying to move from what seemed to be a straight rock concert into a piece of theatre. And what I thought would be fascinating – which I’d not seen done before – was moving from obvious rock show, rhythmic lighting to theatrical lighting.
Jim Irvin, ‘Waving… Not Drowning’. Mojo (UK), January 2017”.
One of the big reasons the shows were so applauded was what was coming from the band. If you think about how important it is to get the right players connected, this is what Kate Bush did. It must have been quite a process deciding who would work well together. As she was piecing together the residency and how it would look, she almost had to approach it like an album. Which of her players would be best. Perhaps she did not want to rehearse loads of musicians and then whittle them down. Instead, she would have known those who were right for the show and then there was a lot of rehearsal. I would be interested to know what that process was like and whether Bush had this longlist of musicians that she did have to cut down. On drums was the magnificent Omar Hakim. One of the most essential and potent players on the stage, Hakim was responsible for some of the most driving, powerful and impactful moments during the residency. Also on percussion was Mino Cinélu. Those two incredible artists giving the heartbeat to the show. An old friend of Kate Bush’s, John Giblin, sadly died last year. He was on bass. He has worked with Kate Bush as early as Never for Ever in 1980. Rather than Bush choosing older band members she worked with before exclusively or going with those who she was fresh to, there was this mix. I like the fact that she worked with Giblin and his incredible bass work was heard by thousands. David Rhodes was one of the guitarists alongside Friðrik Karlsson (who also played bouzouki and charango). In October 2013, David Rhodes was invited to join the band for Bush’s Before the Dawn. The first rehearsals took place in March 2014 with Kate Bush, John Giblin and Rhodes. Band rehearsals started in April 2014. The live shows were recorded and released as Before The Dawn in November 2016. I will move on but, interestingly, David Rhodes spoke with Super Deluxe Edition in 2016 about working with Kate Bush. Also, some of the songs that were rehearsed and considered for Before the Dawn but not used:
“SuperDeluxeEdition: How was it? Can you sum up the whole experience of those six weeks performing in Before The Dawn?
David Rhodes: It wasn’t just six weeks of course, I found out about it, or I was asked about joining, last October [2013].
SDE: And how were you approached; how did that happen?
DR: That was quite funny. I got a call from her [Kate’s] manager. No, it was an email from her manager and he said can you call me as soon as. So I called him and he said would you be interested in playing for Kate and I said “yeah, of course.” He then said “can she call you tomorrow?” and I was out on the road, I was in Dusseldorf with Peter Gabriel and so I said “yeah, if she calls me at nine o’clock her time, I’ll have had breakfast and I’ll be back in my room reading the paper.” I was back in my room reading the paper and I’d forgotten she was going to call and you know when you get an unknown number on your mobile, it’s PPI or it’s your own bank or it’s some shit and I picked it up and just went “AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?”And then she said, “Oh, it’s Kate” and I spent ten minutes apologising to her! She just sounded … well, it just sounded like a delightful project. I guess I didn’t speak to her then for quite a long time, but she sent me a list of songs to check out towards the end of the year.
SDE: When you first got that call in October, did she already have quite a clear vision of what she wanted to do?
DR: I think she was pretty damn clear, yeah. She knew the material late in the year, but very precisely. There was only one thing I’d started listening to – and I can’t even remember what it was – but something got ditched.
SDE: Really? Because The Ninth Wave and the second half of Aerial, A Sky of Honey, they’re obviously as is. You’re not going to leave anything off that.
DR: No, the first section … I can tell you if I look [David clicks around on his computer]
SDE: This is probably a stupid question, but you didn’t have any hesitation in accepting the offer to play…
DR: No, none at all… [David find’s the info on his computer] She was wanting to do Sat in Your Lap and then changed that for Top of the City. We never rehearsed Sat in your Lap. I learned it, but it never got as far as rehearsals.
SDE: If that had been done, that would’ve been the earliest track to be performed, because that was off of 1982’s The Dreaming.
DR: Yeah. Well, Never be Mine we rehearsed quite a lot, but only did it a couple of times.
SDE: Why didn’t Never be Mine make it into the show, then?
DR: I think Never Be Mine was just a bit too downbeat. And then the other thing we looked at briefly, what was it? The Big Sky, which we’d tried. We only tried it once with the whole band – once or twice – and it just sounded like a bit of a mess because she was thinking of that as the encore, maybe. I think both Bertie and I thought Cloudbusting would be better, so we pushed for that”.
Completing the band were Jon Carin and Kevin McAlea. Between them, they handled programming, guitars, vocals and uilleann pipes. Incredible musicians with a lot of experience between them, they worked magnificently alongside Kate Bush. The trust she would have put in her band. The KT Fellowship. Bush did some pre-recorded piano and synths. I like the fact there was this mix of artists who had never all played together before. Also, with the musicians were the singers and cast. This was a production that was much more than a live show. Like The Tour of Life in 1979, this was a theatrical production. In the chorus were Jacqui DuBois, Sandra Marvin, Bob Harms, Jo Serv and Albert McIntosh (Bush’s son). A rich and magnificent sound, again, I am curious how Bush decided on who to select as the chorus. Those voices that would blend together. How big the chorus was going to be. Especially moving and vital when performing on numbers from Hounds of Love. We do not talk about it a lot. It is important to nod to the rest of the cast and crew. The wonderful collection of people who were as pivotal as Kate Bush and her band. Part of the Fellowship:
“Backline Technicians:
Baz Tymms
Chris Lawson
Morten Turbo Thobro
Steve Grey
Sound Consultant: James Guthrie
FOH Engineer & Surround Systems Supervision: Greg Walsh
FOH Engineer: Davide Lombardi
Live Lead Vocal Engineer: Stephen W Tayler
Monitor Engineer: Ian Newton
Surround Systems Engineer: Davey Williamson
Soundscapes: James Drew
THE NINTH WAVE
Astronomer: Kevin Doyle
Witchfinder: Jo Servi
Helicopter Pilot, Harmonic Vocals, Fujare: Paddy Bush
WATCHING THEM WITHOUT HER
Ben: Albert McIntosh
Dad: Bob Harms
Poem at end of Jig of Life written and narrated by John Carder Bush
Astronomer’s Call, Helicopter Pilot, Watching Them Without Her
Written by David Mitchell & Kate Bush
‘Water Tank’ Lead Vocals
Researched & Recorded by Greg Walsh & Ian Newton
Chorus MD: Nick Skilbeck
Puppeteer: Ben Thompson
Puppet Created by Robert Allsopp”.
I am going to end with a bit of an interview Bush was involved with in 2016. Looking at those names above, there is that mix of old friends, family and new people. I guess The Tour of Life was mostly composed of those Bush knew and had worked with. She needed that sense of support and familiarity. Before the Dawn, a bit more daring in that sense. In interviews, Bush did not really talk much about the selection and those working around her. Rather, she talked about the experience of performing and what it was like being on the stage. Sadly, I did not manage to get there. I can only imagine how stunning it would have been hearing the band come together and create something stirring. The wonderful cast and crew who helped bring everything to life. The dedicated hours ensuring it was all exact to Bush’s specifications. I guess it is not possible to name every celebrity that saw Before the Dawn. We all know Kate Bush has many high-profile fans. Whereas the vast majority of the audience were regular fans, there were these familiar faces that were standing alongside them. I guess most came for the first night. Seeing that unique performance. It also makes me feel how the performances differed. Whether that first night – 26th August, 2014 - was more moving and arresting than later dates. If Bush’s nerves were on show that first night. The raft of positive reviews seem to suggest that she was near-flawless. However, she had this incredible audience cheering on her on. The passion and love from the crowd. In 2014, we did see celebrities take to social media to talk about being at Before the Dawn. Witnessing something they would never see the likes of again.
IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne was among those high-profile names who attended Before the Dawn
If you think about how diverse Kate Bush’s fanbase are, that was highlighted with the high-profile guests. I know that David Bowie was rumoured to be in the audience but was not. Even so, look at this list: Lily Allen, Marc Almond, Gemma Arterton, Bjork, Peter Gabriel, Dave Gilmour, Guido Harari, Holly Johnson, Lauren Laverne, Annie Lennox, Paul McCartney, Caitlin Moran, Frank Skinner and Ricky Wilde. Pete Paphides was also there. So many more celebrities. If you go and get Graeme Thomson’s excellent Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, you will get more details about Before the Dawn. All the build-up and the people who were there in attendance. He gives a longer list of famous names. I can only imagine too what it was like for normal and regular fans spotting some big names. Chatting with them before going in. Of course, there was a hospitality package that fans could buy. I am not sure how many of the celebrities went for that. I don’t think there was a sense of them divided from the rest. Thinking they were V.I.P. Instead, this was more of a congregation. Brand new fans and diehards alongside celebrities. A real eclectic mixture. This beguiling and overwhelming electricity and awe that Bush received across twenty-two dates ten years ago. I want to finish bringing in some of an interview with FADER.
In 2016, when the live album was released, Bush was asked about Before the Dawn and her recollections. I think she must still have been taking it all in. That feeling of energy and nerves still running through her, two years after the final date:
“As a performer, do you you get lost in the moment or do you focus on the technical intricacies?
I had to stay really focused as a performer because I'm quite nervous, and I wanted to make sure I was really present when I was performing so that I could try and deliver the character of the song. And actually, the first set was the most difficult part to perform for me, because almost each song is from a completely different place.
Before the 2014 shows you hadn’t toured since 1979. When your return to the stage was so well-received, did you wish you’d done it sooner?
I don't know really. The original show was of the first two albums that I’d made, and I had hoped that to do another show after I had another of two albums’ worth of material. And as I started getting much more involved in the recording process, it took me off into a different path where it was all about trying to make a good album. It became very time-consuming, so I moved into being more of a recording artist. And every time you finish an album, there's the opportunity to make visuals to go with some of the tracks. So I became very involved in that, as well”.
On 26th August, it will be ten years since that first Before the Dawn date. I think that there may be some sort of acknowledgement from Kate Bush. Posting something about being on stage and how she feels about it now. Maybe nothing like a special release or DVD of the residency. Instead, people will take to social media to talk about their thoughts and feelings. I wanted to shine a light on the musicians, cast and crew who were with Kate Bush for Before thew Dawn. Those who we may not think about when discussing the importance and excellence of that residency. It is important to recognise their massive contributions. Ten years ago, they helped create something…
TRULY life-affirming.