FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Tour of Life
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush whilst filming The Line, the Cross and the Curve in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
The Line, the Cross and the Curve: Sweetness and Lives
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THIS is a subject that I have touched on before…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1981/PHOTO CREDIT: Clive Arrowsmith
but I wanted to spend some more time with. Go into more depth. When thinking of Kate Bush, a number of adjectives come to mind. There is no doubt she is a wonderful producer and fierce talent. Someone ambitious who takes control. Bush is also someone who has this incredibly hospitable side. Even as a producer guiding her album, there is always this consideration and time for other people. The balance between her sweetness and generosity and this need for a private life. An artist that did not want to play into the fame game. She had her small circle of friends and family. I am recalling her being at Abbey Road Studios for a celebration – I think a studio anniversary – and people being more interested in her than the occasion. Bush having to retreat to one of the smaller studios for space and privacy. However, people soon discovered her there and the moment passed! When she was a guest at Elton John’s wedding, she was also one of the most popular people there. Hard for her to be out and stay under the radar. I think that is a reason why she took time out after releasing The Red Shoes in 1993. For most of her career, Kate Bush has worked out of the studios, promoted her albums and been in demand. She promoted her albums professionally but, outside of that, her main focus was on her private life and space. Even after gigs during The Tour of Life in 1979, she would crash and be in her bedroom. I think there was one messy night where there was a lot of water. And pillow feathers everyone. I would have loved to have seen Kate Bush then and the expression on her face! For most of the time, Bush has wanted to keep her professional and personal lives separately.
Kate Bush has been called a recluse ever since her career began. Because she was driven by family and wanted to keep a low-profile, there was always this assumption that she was holed up and hiding from the world. Whilst many of her peers were at events and parties, Bush was focused on the work. A hugely disciplined person who was very down to Earth. That is what people miss when it comes to Kate Bush. The fact that she has always been grounded and relatable. Keener to focus on work and spend her spare time doing what she wanted. Not leaning into celebrity or doing what others did. The mislabelling of Kate Bush because she was not seen as a typical artist. The fact that she did stay out of the spotlight and was about the music and eschewed the fame aspect was actually a big reason why she has always been so respected. Disciplined and focused, it is sad that the media chose to label her. Create this image of some strange woman holed up and being this reclusive weirdo. Alongside this continued and well-grounded normalcy and privacy, Bush has also got this reputation for her hospitality. Whether that is meeting an interviewer or greeting musicians, you do feel that Bush took a lot from her parents. Especially her mother. I have discussed this about her. The environment she created. If other artists were guarded or had to cultivate this shield, Bush was different. Her natural warmth and openness meant she has been talked about in such lofty tones for decades. Most of her recent interviews – from 2005’s Aerial onwards – have been at her home Bush always taking the time to open her home up to people and giving as much as she could.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
This is not a new thing. If Bush occasionally had to be strict as a producer or was quite clear about what she wanted, that was a professional necessity. Being clear about her vision or needing to be a particular way to communicate and ensure she was understood. There was never any sense of this being a ruthless or uncaring artist. In the studio or on tour, Bush knew everyone’s name and would treat them like family. It is no surprise that there was this unfortunate attention her way in terms of lust and attraction. The media over-sexualised Bush and focused on her looks and body. That was the misogyny that came in the 1970s and 1980s. Throughout her career, Bush would have to face objectification and being mislabelled and insulted. Those who work with her talk about this sense of the devotional. Some artists or producers not able to work with her because they have this attraction and fall in love with her. That mix of her incredible beauty and this warmth and protectiveness means they are unable to handle their feelings. When Bush was in the studio and in a relationship with Del Palmer, you would get this jealousy from other male musicians and crew. If, around 1985, the press thought of Bush still as this air-headed artist and did not give her enough respect, those working with her saw her very differently!
I have talked about Bush being very private and not this traditional star. I think that is a reason why people were drawn to her. Youth (Martin Glover) worked on Hounds and Love and admits that he was a bit of a wally when he got drunk once and made some indiscretions. He wanted to be Del Palmer and could not get over that jealousy. Glover was not the only one. He could not be objective and admitted that the heartstrings are plucked and played with when you worked with Bush. She has this aura and magnetism that meant some who worked with her were overwhelmed. Male journalists constantly fawned over her and seemed to flirt and court her rather than interview her! This idea that they were in with a shot. It was a hazard that she had to face for years. Those who worked with Bush knew how she valued her privacy and they would not divulge secrets or talk out of turn. Bush inspired this loyalty from friends and colleagues. The tactility and genuineness that Bush inspires meant that there was this idolisation. She was a very normal and smart person but one who had this incredible kindness and warmth at heart. Bush is someone who also inspired such hard work from people she was in the studio with because of the exceptional work she produced. Reading Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush, I saw a few examples of where Bush’s musicians and friends showed their admiration and affection. When she was making The Line, the Cross and the Curve, as a director and star, there was a lot on her plate. The entire crew would fall over themselves to do her bidding. So much respect to her. It was not just the men who fell under her spell!
Borimira Nedeva, who worked with Bush during her sessions with the Trio Bulgarka (who featurd The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993), explained how the trio loved Bush and has great affection for her. Daniel Lanois explained how Bush was down to Earth yet she was this incredible goddess and very sweet person who everyone fell for! It is interesting reading how Bush made people weak at the knees and brought something out of them besides musicianship and the technical. Journalists had their agenda and were not always professional, though things were different in the studio. Maybe this unavoidable lure and magnetism that I guess Bush took in her stride. Rather than highlight any prurient, I wanted to explore how Kate Bush’s hospitality, professionalism, incredible talent and sweetness has been highlighted by so many people. Also, how she wanted to keep her private life private and had this enormous trust. She expected loyalty from those around her. One particular incident stays in my mind. If people became too emotionally involved with Kate Bush, I think it was as much to do with her incredible work rate and talent. In awe of someone who was human and deified at the same time. This phenomenal producer that was not like anyone else. She could be in control and focused but also so sweet and considerate. Nick Launay, who was one of the engineers at Townhouse Studios on 1982’s The Dreaming, recalls being bought a big box of chocolates by Bush with a note that thanked him for making her music come alive. How she could not have done this without him. People perhaps thinking there was this attraction that Bush had to them. In fact, this was just her being herself! She was kind and very thoughtful when it came to those who she worked alongside. I think she also bought gifts for those she worked with on Never for Ever.
I wanted to explore Kate Bush’s extraordinary capacity for devotion and loyalty. How her natural personality and richness of spirit, together with a wonderful heart, meant that she often left people speechless. Her kindness and great gifts, together with that phenomenal drive and exceptional professionalism was a potent cocktail! It would have been wonderful being in the studio with Bush. Seeing her work and being one of those people who received a sweet gift or was helpless to deny her brilliance and beauty. So different to the way the media poured over her and had this unprofessional approach, there are numerous cases of people being spellbound and hypnotised by Kate Bush. As an artist, a lot of this was kept private. Bush had this inner circle and did not want people to blab any secrets or personal information. That was expected of everyone. Apart from the occasional indiscretion – Peter Gabriel revealing in 2000 that Bush had as son, which was not public news; in 2014, he almost revealed that she was working on a new residency! -, everyone has kept quiet. It showed how much people respected Kate Bush. The fact that she was so relatable and did not pull rank or show any ego. This wonderful human being had and has this rare and undeniable quality and spirit. It was very much about work with Kate Bush. So dedicated to her craft and, as an extension, those who helped her with it, I wanted to explore this for this Kate Bush: The Tour of Life. Proof that our favourite artist is…
A special and divine human.