Catherine “Kate” Bush born 30 July 1958 is a British singer, songwriter, musician and producer who came to fame at the tender age of 19 with her self-penned single Wuthering Heights. But the story starts a few years earlier so I shall record what I remember from my young days.
The story that did the rounds was that Kate Bush was playing the piano in some Hong Kong night club at the age of 17 when David Gilmour (he of Pink Floyd fame)discovered her. He sponsored her to the tune of $5000 to further her music studies and she not only wrote her own material but produced her album “The Kick Inside” after graduating
Fantastic number and brings back great memories
Now for the real story. Kate Bush studied piano and violin while at St. Joseph’s Convent Grammar school in South London. From her early teenage years she was writing songs of her own. A friend of the family, Rick Hopper brought her music to the attention of Dave Gilmour, who insisted she make a demo tape. With Gilmour’s help Kate Bush signed to EMI records at the age of 16, and EMI encouraged her to further her studies in the arts which she did
During this time she pondered which of the 200 songs she had already written would go on her first album
In 1977 the song Wuthering Heights was released and went to Number One on the UK charts and Kate was an instant sensation. From allmusic.com
Her debut album, The Kick Inside, a collection of material that she had written from 15 onward, some of it displaying extremely provocative and sophisticated sexual references and images, reached number three and sold over a million copies in the U.K.
Quite a girl our Katie.
The Man with the Child In His Eyes
EMI wanted to capitalize on the first albums success and rushed out a second called Lionheart which peaked at number 6 on the charts but was not a great commercial or artistic success. In 1979 she did her one and only tour, involving 17 costumes, theatrical scenes, dancing and complex lighting. The tour was exhausting and financially a disaster. To date she has not done another tour, supporting the odd charitable live concert.
Babooshka from her album Never for Ever which was released in September 1980 entering the charts at number 1, making Kate Bush the first female solo artist to achieve this.
Army Dreamers from the same album…. Watch the video…
Our little army boy
Is coming home from B.F.P.O.
I've a bunch of purple flowers
To decorate mammy's hero
Mourning in the aerodrome
The weather warmer, he is colder
Four men in uniform
To carry home my little soldier
(What could he do)
(Should have been a rock star)
But he didn't have the money for a guitar
(What could he do)
(Should have been a politician)
But he never had a proper education
(What could he do)
(Should have been a father)
But he never even made it to his twenties
What a waste
Army dreamers
Ooh, what a waste of
Army dreamers
Fast forward a bit. Bush installed her own 48-track home studio and this is where she recorded her next single after a two year absence. Running Up That Hill was released in 1985 and became her second biggest selling single
The album Hounds of Love entered the charts at number one and stayed there for a month. At this time Kate Bush was rated alongside Madonna for musical impact in the UK, Running up that Hill having bumped Like A Virgin off the top of the charts.
From Lionheart, one of my favourite tracks highlighting Kate’s whimsical voice
Song title Wow…and my reaction…Wow!!
Kate Bush had long gaps between recordings and only brought out another album in 1989 The Sensual World which reached number two in the UK charts and received a strong promotional push in the US, resulting in her signing for Colombia for her next album. That album was The Red Shoes released in 1993 and debuted in the US Billboard Top 30 .... a first for her.
Eat the Music from The Red Door…. An album which featured guest artists like Prince, pianist Gary Brooker (Procol Harem) and Eric Clapton but not a collaboration… purely Kate Bush.
A summary of her much later musical career from Allmusic.com, and a final track
In March 2014, Bush shocked her fans by announcing she would be returning to the stage for the first time in 35 years.Bush revealed she would perform a series of concerts at London's Hammersmith Apollo Theatre in August and September of that year. Bush initially booked 15 shows, all of which sold out after just 15 minutes on sale. Another seven nights were soon added, which were also immediate sellouts.Bush's concerts, featuring an ambitious blend of music, dance, and drama, received enthusiastic reviews, and the show received the Editor's Award at the London Theatre Awards.
Any other evidence needed to label her legend?
One of the best songs I have ever heard from two of my favourite artists, Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. Please turn up the volume, still your mind and listen to the quality of these two fine artists
Thank you for reading
Credits:
www.allmusic.com
www.metrolyrics.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Bush
I am featuring artists from the 60’s and 70’s from diverse genre’s over the next few months. If you love music … FOLLOW and take the journey with me..it is going to be one thrilling ride !! Furthermore I will only be featuring artists from MY vinyl collection, and I shall start all of the posts with a photo of an album cover to authenticate
Previous Music Legends
Leonard Cohen
The Doors
Bob Dylan
The Rolling Stones
60’s Protest Artists
Janis Joplin
And many more right here