FEATURE:
One Last Look Around the House Before We Go
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in Copenhagen in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Jorgen Angel/Redferns
Will Kate Bush’s Albums Ever Come Out in Cassette Form?
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I may have touched on this previously…
ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Adobe Stock
though, as I have written God knows how many Kate Bush features – actually, about 862 in all! -, I don’t think people will object me covering this subject again. I love how Kate Bush has reissued her albums on vinyl. She definitely wants people to experience her music physically. That is a commendable and noble quest. An ethos or attitude that many other artists share. Some have criticised Kate Bush for reissuing her albums a couple of times now. Most recently, she redesigned the vinyl for each of her studio albums for independent record stores. Even though they are distinct and different from the original albums’ look, the cost of each was quite steep. However, it does mean that the albums are being brought to new listeners’ attention. The fact there was a time now long ago when you could not get Bush’s albums on vinyl. Not all of them. At least not affordably. Now, we can get the studio albums and keep them for years to come. That is the same with C.D.s. Although they have not been given the same treatment and focus, I know that Bush values that format. You can access her albums on compact disc, though I don’t feel they have been provided the same prominence as vinyl. Maybe that is understandable. It is important that her albums are more portable. Even if new cars are being made without C.D. players, people still have cars that have them and devices where you can play C.D.s. You can go to Amazon or independent record stores and find Kate Bush’s albums on C.D. I don’t think there are ones that are hard to find. Even if the vinyl versions are perhaps a greater priority for Kate Bush, she has not neglected compact disc. That is great. As the format is still very much here and will sustain for years to come, restricting her albums to one physical format (vinyl) would be short-sighted and limiting. An artist that values the tangible nature of an album can appreciate that owning her music in a handheld format that you can play portably is very important. It allows the same sort of freedom as digital music. There is a third physical format that is almost neglected entirely when it comes to Kate Bush’s albums.
Are cassettes part of Kate Bush’s equation? When we think about her music and how it can sustain and impact physically, are cassettes viable and treasured enough? Sure, modern artists from Taylor Swift to Kylie Minogue offer new albums on cassette. In a range of colours or as part of various bundles – with vinyl, C.D., a T-shirt or any other combination. I think that the more we normalise and produce albums on cassette, the more choice it gives the listeners. They in turn will seek out devices on which to play them and be able to play albums portably. The benefit of being able to listen to music on the move but having something tangible. Where you cannot skip tracks easily. Some may argue cassettes are fragile and can easily break. That devices to play them in are rare or not attractive. Thinking about Kate Bush, I remember the buzz around Stranger Things and Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) and one of the characters on the show, Max, playing that song (which is on Hounds of Love) and how evocative that moment was. Rather than it being retro or of the 1980s, instead it gave that song more gravitas because it was being played on cassette. It was not in the background or on a record player in a room. This character was more entwined and connected with the album because they were playing a physical thing and was listening to it through headphones. An experience I don’t think you get with either C.D. or vinyl. I can understand that there is perhaps not the same demand for Kate Bush’s ten studio albums (you can throw in 1986’s The Whole Story and 2016’s Before the Dawn on that format too). I have said before how it would be a dream to have a Kate Bush pop-up again – similar to the one that was in London in 2018, where she raised money for charity and sold T-shirts with Never for Ever and Hounds of Love prints/designs, together with books like the Cathy photobook alongside biographies by Graeme Thomson and Tom Doyle. Maybe a tour poster replica.
I have said before how it would be incredible having a vending machine similar to what they have in countries like Japan. Where each of her albums would be on cassette. You would have a couple of rows of each. Maybe costing £10 each, you would then dispense them and they would be good to go. A novel and cool way of attracting people to those cassettes. Vinyl is for a particular place and time as I keep mentioning. People spending time dedicated to the album. C.D.s in cars allow people to listen on the go, but they (in-car C.D. players) are becoming rarer now. Listening to albums portability is a perfect way to experience Kate Bush, so that is why I think cassettes would be the best way to get that sort of connection. Allow people to affordably collect her albums, have physical products and listen to them at any time. Rather than rely on streaming and phones to get her music, people would have them something they can hold. Pass the albums down through the generations maybe. Some would say the volatility of cassettes would be an issue. At £10 each, people can replace them if they needed without breaking the bank. Also, we have to accept that cassettes have a place and there are plenty of artists releasing their albums on them. Others will say Kate Bush is not putting out new music and does not have the pull of someone like Kylie Minogue. Even so, Bush has reissued her albums to vinyl. That takes expense and a lot of time to get them pressed and out to shops. She also has no issue with revisionism and ensuring people know about her albums. She also adores physical music so could not object to cassettes. I think they would sell really well and could attract younger listeners. Those maybe not who are into vinyl yet and feel C.D.s are a bit old-fashioned. I think there is something different about cassettes. Their look and portability. How they are old technology but also attracting new and huge artists. Fans buying cassettes.
I come back to an artist like Kylie Minogue. Her upcoming TENSION II album is a companion to 2023’s TENSION. Its thirteen tracks features nine new cuts. The Coral Cassette version is £9 and looks amazing! It is affordable and a great buy. The more we normalise cassettes and make them affordable, that will encourage people to listen to them and collect other albums on that format. Most studio albums will fit on one cassette. Kate Bush has two albums that may require double cassette. 2005’s Aerial definitely would need to be on that format. As would 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. Bush could put out her albums through Fish People (her own label) and it would be a fresh venture. Not another reissue of the vinyl editions. People might balk at yet another reissue that would earn her money! Hankering for new music or something different. In lieu of Before the Dawn coming out on DVD (which is all but dead in the water), what can we see from her in the next year or two? I actually think cassettes are long overdue. You can find Kate Bush cassettes on sites like eBay and Discogs, though not through HMV, Rough Trade, Amazon or anywhere like that for the most part. You have to dig deep and explore. The prices can also be quite high too.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush with Rik Mayall
Having her ten albums out there, each in a different colour (The Kick Inside in pink; Never for Ever in silver; Hounds of Love purple; Aerial in yellow; The Red Shoes in red; 50 Words for Snow in white; The Sensual World possibly in orange or green) with maybe lyrics printed in the inlay. There is something almost foreign and unusual about Generation Z picking up a cassette. At the moment, the market for cassettes seems to be for contemporary artists. Normally bigger artists. Many legacy and classic albums are reserved for vinyl and also C.D. The demand for the cassette versions is unsure at the moment. With Kate Bush, I definitely think there is a market. Cassettes can last thirty years and, if treated well, they are not going to instantly get jammed in a cassette player or break. I personally would grab at least four of her studio albums on cassette, buy a decent portable cassette player, good headphones and spend more time outside listening to her music. It would connect me with the past but also lead me from streaming and ensure I experience her albums in full without distractions. Not a cash-in or novelty, it is another way we can keep her music alive and physical for future generations. If this was a possibility for 2025, I think we could have a whole new generation picking up Kate Bush’s phenomenal albums…
ON cassette.