FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Tour of Life
ALL PHOTO: John Carder Bush
In My Garden: Photographing the Young Prodigy
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I have recognised…
the importance of the Cathy book from John Carder Bush. Kate Bush’s brother published photos he took of his sister when she was a child. Originally published in 1986 in a limited run, there was a reprint in 2014. You can get it on Amazon, though it retails for a lot of money! It shows Kate Bush (or Cathy/Catherine as she would have been known) captured during her childhood. In the garden of East Wickham Farm and around the property. I would hope a new run would be published that is more affordable for fans as it is a treasure trove. These incredible black-and-white photos with accompanying text from John Carder Bush. It is great that we have these photos. It was only natural that John Carder Bush would photograph his sister. As a photographer, he saw an intriguing subject. However, did he know even then – in the 1960s – that she would be a star?! It seems like she was born to be this incredible talent. You can see her in the photos and you can tell she has this gravitas even then. Some special quality! He would continue to photograph his sister right up until 2011 for Director’s Cut (though I always thought he took images of her for 50 Words for Snow too). I wonder whether he will take promotional photos if Bush releases another album. Amazing to think they have had this collaboration that has lasted six decades or more. I think 1966 was the first year when we get shots of the young Catherine/Cathy. In interviews since, John Carder Bush recalled how willing his sister was. How she would cooperate. Sure, there are photos of her looking sad or grumpy, though this was natural for a child. She would always have the time, even if school work or something else demanded more of her precious time. I wanted to return to this part of her life because it was crucial in terms of her career.
The fact Bush was photographed heavily in 1978. After her debut, The Kick Inside, came out, she was already used to be photographed. The experience she got from posing for her brother in part prepared her for a professional career of being photographed. There was this protectiveness from her brother. Making sure that his sister was not being exploited or made to do anything too risqué or inadvisable. Sometimes it was the case a photographer would fool her into something overly-sexual or suggestive. However, it was expected John Carder Bush would be wary of photographers and what their objectives were. I think her brother’s photos are among the most natural and memorable. Getting the best from his sister. As Tom Doyle wrote in his book, Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush, John Carder Bush has recalled how his sister was very quiet but not withdrawn. She was a sweet companion but needed to be pushed forward. Someone who was this extraordinary photographic subject. John Carder Bush was inspired by the pre-Raphaelite children’s book illustrators and the “pen-and-ink Peter Pan fantasias of Arthur Rackham”. John Carder Bush noted those Rackham’s Peter Pan illustrations has something menacing or dark in the background. Rather than capture something cutesy or innocent, her brother was trying to lure something odd and eerie from his shots. Bush wanted something sinister to come through. Tom Doyle writes how John Carder Bush shot his sister using a 35mm camera that allowed two shots for every frame. A thirty-six exposure roll would produce seventy-two shots. John Carder Bush was attracted to the camera as it was cheap. He said it diminished the “potential end quality”. Limited potential for blowing up these images. However, for such a cheap tool, the image quality was really strong! Taken when Kate Bush was aged between eight and twelve (around 1966-1970), these shots show her otherness and otherworldliness. Whether she was whirling or in a dancer’s arched-back pose with a poncho on, there was this incredible fascination. The hippie influences from her brothers (John and Paddy).
One particular standout shot sees her sat on the bonnet of a car with her head in her hands (above). A sort of sullen look but one that projects this incredible sense of star quality. Something radiating from that shot! There are poses of her scruffy or impish. So many different sides to his sister. John Carder Bush said how he was not instantly aware of his sister’s innate musical gifts and ambitions. He was photographing her because he wanted to document her life. He said how his sister would come back from school but wouldn’t chat for hours about it. She has to be coxed to an extent. In 1986, five-hundred copies were printed and mail order-sold. He did not know there was this fixation and demand when he limited the run. John Carder Bush was annoyed that the books came from the printers in this tight yellow slipcase. It was too late to do anything, because some people could not take the book from its slipcase. That was rectified in 2014 for the new run I believe. When it was reissued in 2014, copies of the original were selling for over £1,000. It stunned him! Still amazed that people would want to see these photos. Tom Doyle notes how the collaboration lasted to 2011 for Director’s Cut, though I believe John Carder Bush also photographed her for 50 Words for Snow (but I may be mistaken). Like the Cathy photos, when John Carder Bush shot his sister for album covers – most notably for Hounds of Love in 1985 – it was always at one of their houses. Not a professional studio. He would just have to move all his kids’ toys out of the way first! There was this relaxed bond because they were so used to one another. You can feel her relaxed and trusting in these shots. There was no commercial pressure too. They could take their time shooting a cover and getting the mood right. The images would also not be sold or find their way into the tabloids because John Carder Bush would never do that. Being able to trust the photographer was so important.
When John Carder Bush spoke about Cathy and the reissue, he noted how nothing had changed. Sure, Bush was a lot older than when he first photographed her, but the eyes and smile were still the same. The most prominent focal points of a photo are the eyes and smile. When you get older, they are unchanged really. The eyes for sure but also the shape of your mouth. In many ways, you can feel similarities between those very early photos and the ones he shot in 2011. “As soon as I look through the lens, she’s back, through all the photos I’ve taken of her over the years”. I am also revisiting this subject because I hope that we a) get another run of Cathy and it is less limited and it retails for somewhere between £50-£100. B, I know that there will be other shots of Kate Bush from throughout the years that I hope will be published. Surely there is another book in him. John Carder Bush did produce the incredible KATE: Inside the Rainbow that was originally published in 2015 and then reprinted in 2021. I love that book and will source from it for future features. I also wanted to go back to Cathy and those incredible photos when Bush was a girl. I wonder if Kate Bush recalls those photos and what she was thinking at the time. It is no wonder fans want to see these photos. They are so evocative and stunning! Imagining what the atmosphere was like at East Wickham Farm. Being able to own a copy of Cathy and leaf through these wonderful pages. Let’s hope another run does come out at an affordable price. That would be good to see that…
ONE day soon.