FEATURE:
Do Bears…?
IN THIS PHOTO: Rowan Atkinson and Kate Bush sing a duet, Do Bears…?, at Comic Relief Live, a live comedy show presented on the evenings of 4th, 5th and 6th April, 1986 at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's West End/PHOTO CREDIT: Comic Relief/Comic Relief via Getty Images
Kate Bush and a Notable Charity Connection from 1986
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IN a recent feature…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate with Lenny Henry and Dawn French (out of shot) at the launch of the Comic Relief book and VHS video in 1986
I asked why Kate Bush was not invited to perform at Live Aid in 1985. Even though this was a couple of months before Hounds of Love was released, it is not like she was obsolete. However, many of those in the press were writing her off. It was a case of poor timing I guess. If Hounds of Love was released earlier in 1985, I am sure Bush would have been included to perform for Live Aid. In 1984, the Band Aid single, Do They Know It’s Christmas?, was released. Again, Kate Bush was not asked to be part of that. This might suggest she turned down the offers or did not want to be involved. She has said since how she probably would have agreed if she has been approached. Even if Bush was not involved in two of the biggest charity endeavours of the mid-1980s, this would be corrected in 1986. Kate Bush was part of the Comic Relief line-up. Maybe disappointed she was not part of the and Aid/Live Aid collective, Bush was more visible than ever shortly after doing work for charity. Kate Bush fans know how much she has given to charity through her career. Even recently when Little Shrew (Snowflake) was released last year to raise money for War Child. Kate performed Breathing (from 1980’s Never for Ever) and a brilliant duet with Rowan Atkinson, Do Bears...? Recordings appear on the album, Utterly Utterly Live at the Shaftesbury Theatre: Comic Relief. After releasing Hounds of Love in 1985, there was a lot of new critical love and respect for Kate Bush. Rather than tour or taking time off, Bush spent a lot of the period after its releasing engaging in charitable events. Comic Relief is memorable, not only because it was the one and only time she performed Breathing on television. The duet with Rowan Atkinson allowed Bush to display some natural wit and comic timing.
A great pairing with Rowan Atkinson, it must have been a thrill for her singing with an actor who was best-known at that point for his role of Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder II. Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Live took place on 4th, 5th and 6th April, 1986 at the Shaftesbury Theatre. It wasn’t until 1988 when the first Red Nose Day and Comic Relief took place. Blackadder II aired its final episode on 20th February, 1986, so audiences would have been quite surprised to see Rowan Atkinson out of period costume performing alongside an artist who, until that point, had not been too involved with comedy. Do Bears…? is one of the highlights of Utterly Utterly Live at the Shaftesbury Theatre: Comic Relief. 1986 was a busy year for Kate Bush. I shall return to her charity work. Kate Bush was also an award winner in 1986. When she attended the BPI Awards (which would become the BRITs), where she won two awards, including Best Female Solo Artist. She also performed an amazing version of Hounds of Love that evening.
The same year, her brother John Carder Bush released the Cathy photobook. Black-and-white photos of his sister taken when she was a girl, it was a moment when there was a lot of commercial success and critical acclaim for Bush, so this release found a more willing audience. That book was meant to be the first of a trilogy but, respecting his sister’s privacy and owing to production problems, only one volume was released. Bush featured on Peter Gabriel’s album, So, on the incredible duet, Don’t Give Up. She also appeared on a Big Country track, The Seer (from the album of the same name). Enjoying a great relationship with EMI, David Munns suggested a best of compilation Bush was reluctant at first. Munns argued it would buy her time between albums; it was a great commercial moment to ‘cash in; it would reengage fans who dropped out after 1982’s The Dreaming but also provide new fans a glimpse back at her previous singles. Munns let Bush know she would have to do little promotion but did want a new song for the album. Offering a big-budget video, this appealed to Bush. EMI mounted a big T.V. and print campaign. Bush agreed and insisted that the album cover be a simple black-and-white photo that was to be shot by John Carder Bush. After providing the world her masterpiece in 1985, the following year saw this mix of retrospection and charity work. Bush wanted to give something back.
On 25th May, 1986, Bush participated in the Sport Aid mini marathon in Blackheath, south London. I look back on the Richard Curtis-written Do Bears…? Comic Relief was co-founded by Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry. Curtis, who co-wrote Blackadder II with Ben Elton, knew Rowan Atkinson would be perfect for the song. However, he would not have known whether Bush would be able to match Atkinson’s chops. She did! Even though Atkinson and Bush definitely looked the part – Atkinson in a gold lamé jacket; Bush in her shoulder-padded suit jacket -, the song wasn’t especially funny. The joke being they were avoiding singing the word ‘shit’. Instead, substituting the words with ‘sha-la-la’. However, it was great to see Bush in comedic mode. Giving up her time for a worthy cause. This comedy connection carried into her music. For Experiment IV, the newly-written song for the greatest hits collection was The Whole Story. The video featured, among others, Dawn French and Hugh Laurie (who appeared on the same Comic Relief bill as Bush). This 1986 appearance lit a bit of a fuse. Bush back on stage. The following year, in 1987, Bush performed at the Secret Policeman’s Third Ball, raising money for Amnesty International. On stage alongside David Gilmour and his band, although Bush seemed nervous or on edge to start, she soon relaxed in and delivered a stunning rendition of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). In think 1986 was one of her busiest years. One where she was still promoting Hounds of Love and very much in the public eye, there was her greatest hits album and the Sport Aid mini marathon that must have been a lot of fun. It was that appearance with Rowan Atkinson and their duet that really strikes me. It proves that Kate Bush had…
A wonderful heart and sense of humour.