50 Words For Kate: #25 - Experimenting

"I was concerned that it would be like a "K-tel" record, a cheapo-compo with little thought behind it. It was the record company's decision, and I didn't mind as long as it was well put together."

Following the blockbuster success of Hounds Of Love, it was perhaps inevitable that EMI would want to capitalise on Kate Bush's success by releasing a "greatest hits" album. An early report in the UK music trade paper Music Week, suggested the album would be called Many Faces. Wisely, this was changed before release to The Whole Story.

The album would go on to sell over a million copies in the UK and is, to date, Kate's only compilation album. Although a release like this is clearly not aimed at fans, Kate was careful to provide something new for us. Those that think Director's Cut was Kate's first makeover of old songs has clearly forgotten the "new vocal" she recorded for Wuthering Heights for this project. While at the time some critics questioned the need for such a move, the new vocal is undeniably richer. It also allowed Kate to let rip on a brilliant extemporised ending over the classic guitar solo. Kate also remixed the song to make it sound less "seventies". Interestingly, she said at the time she considered doing it on a couple of other tracks... Director's Cut II anyone?

"Directing is a new experiment for me - actually, it was Experiment III - and with this track I had such strong visual ideas while I was writing the song that I wanted to give it another go."

The other treat was a brand new song. Experiment IV was like a science-fiction movie brought to life in a five-minute pop song. Kate played a scientist recounting her work on a secret project, which had the aim of creating a lethal sound. Everything about the track screams ambition, from the intricate production, to the eerie violin from Nigel Kennedy. It sounds like a lost movie soundtrack. Kate was back on Wogan to promote the single. She must have been working hard, as she clearly needed a good sit down.

The best thing about Experiment IV is the video. Kate made what amounts to a mini-movie, with amazing sets and locations, A-list guest stars Dawn French and Hugh Laurie, and impressive visual effects. It proved Kate's belief in her nascent skills as a director were justified.

The Whole Story provided a triumphant close to Kate's most commercially and critically successful period to date. Of course, the only problem with having a big success is working out how you follow it up...



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50 Words For Kate: #26 - Soothing

There is a simple way to separate a fan from a casual listener: drop the name of an obscure B-side and see what happens. I suppose these days they're called "bonus tracks", but it amounts to the same thing. These are the songs that didn't make the cut; they either didn't fit the "feel" of an album, didn't work out quite as the artist hoped, or scratched an itch of experimentation. Sometimes they are the chance to cover a track they wish they'd written. Occasionally they're an early demo of a song, a chance for fans to see the sketchbook of ideas before the gloss is applied.

Regardless of why a track becomes a B-side, it would be wrong to assume they are throwaways. An artist like Kate Bush does not release anything that fails her stringent quality assessments, so over the years we have been treated to some true delights on the obverse of her better known A-sides. These gems used to be hard to find, but many now live again on YouTube and are worth the effort to locate. Here are three of the best of Kate's B-sides.

Under The Ivy (B-side to Running Up That Hill, 1985)

Given the all-conquering brilliance of its A-side, it could be easy to overlook Under The Ivy, if it were not one of the most beautiful songs Kate has ever written. At just over two minutes long, it is a perfectly formed story of secret tryst. It is, for me, the ultimate example of one of Kate's piano ballads. There is something so pure about those songs where she just sits at the keys and pours out her soul. This is not just Kate's greatest B-side, it is among the best songs she has ever recorded. Here she is performing it live at Abbey Road studios. Doesn't that smile at the end just floor you?

Warm And Soothing (B-side to December Will Be Magic Again, 1980)

Another piano ballad, this time Kate is in reflective mood. Given she was in her early twenties when this tale of wistful nostalgia was written and recorded, she manages to perfectly capture the ache of a tired relationship and a quiet desperation at the all-too-swift passing of time. As well as a precocious insight, Kate delivers one of her most haunting vocals on this track. Worth a listen if just to hear Kate purr the word "boozy"...

My Lagan Love (B-side to Cloudbusting, 1985)

Kate has often talked about her love of traditional music. For this track she took the well-recognised Irish air and, with the help of her poet brother, John Carder Bush, created a new set of lyrics to accompany it. It is remarkable amongst Kate's recordings as the only a capella performance she has given. This allows us to truly appreciate Kate's voice for the unique and extraordinary instrument it is.

I like to think of Kate's B-sides as little love letters to her fans, a "thank you" for our devotion. They show us sides of her craft we might not otherwise see and add to the richness of her body of work. The A-sides might hog all the glory and the limelight, but for me, Kate's B-sides will always burn brightly.




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50 Words For Kate: #27 - Talking

"I don't see myself as a famous person, as a personality. It's really just me pushing my work. You know, I have to kinda promote my work, not me."

I guess in olden days if you enjoyed a particular ditty from a minstrel or a pretty piece of poetry from a bard, you could engage them over a jug of mead and discuss its finer details. Nowadays though, with our artists working on a global scale, we rely on the media to reach out across the divide and be our proxy, asking the questions we would love to have answered to our favourite artists about our favourite things.

Or at least ideally that's how it should work. For somebody like Kate Bush, who spends months, if not years, perfecting her work, interviews are a necessary evil. If you've spent all that time working, you want people to know your art is available, so you have to promote it. Sadly, for every informed, interested and dedicated journalist that carefully prepares for an interview, researches their subject and poses thoughtful, articulate questions designed to elicit similarly considered answers, there are at least three that couldn't give a monkeys about the who, what and why of it all.

At the start of her career, Kate was everywhere in every medium. Now, she carefully selects the newspapers, magazines and radio shows that will treat her and her work with a degree of empathy. They may not have the widest readerships or biggest audiences, but they will arguably reach more receptive eyes and ears. It's not that she doesn't want people to know about her work, it's just that there is a limit to how much she is willing to expose herself, and a balance between her artistry and her privacy. I know I'm not the only person that finds this incredibly refreshing in these Kardashian days.

If there was a moment when Kate thought "bugger this for a game of soldiers", then most fans think it was an infamous interview she gave around the time Hounds Of Love was released to an American cable TV company. Somehow, the unedited 37 minute rushes began circulating among fans. It is excruciating to watch the entire calamitous encounter. Here are the "highlights", so you can get the gist:

As a contrast, Kate did a lovely interview on BBC Radio 2 with Jamie Cullum when 50 Words For Snow came out. Speaking to a fellow musician allowed Kate to relax and really open up about her music in a way I've rarely heard. Here's a short clip:

Predictably, Kate has been completely silent about her live shows up till now. None of us fans expect to hear from her beforehand, what would be the point? She's already sold all the tickets. Kate won't want to spoil the show, she'll want people to be surprised and thrilled. I do hope that when it's all over, Kate does find time to sit down with a worthy interviewer and give us a little insight into the whys, the hows and the wows. Because when Kate talks, we all listen.


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50 Words For Kate: #28 - Katemas

Happy Katemas everyone!

You look puzzled... let me explain. Today is Kate Bush's birthday, a day of great celebration not just for Kate and her friends and family, but also for the thousands of fans she has reached through her music. On this day each year, we give thanks for the gift of Kate. Some of us may even gather together, throw a party, or raise a glass in her honour. Being a Kate Bush fan is like being in the loveliest, gentlest and most enthusiastic secret club. Yes we can sometimes fall out over little things, like who loves Kate the most (it's me, by the way), but mostly we are bonded together by the knowledge that there is another person in the world who get's it.

Of course, fans come in many shapes and sizes, and I'm not suggesting that Kate fans are any better than fans of say, One Direction. I'm joking: of course I'm saying that. To be a Kate Bush fan requires levels of fidelity and insanity that a teenybopper can only dream about.  In years to come they will look back with nostalgia and maybe a little embarrassment at their teenage crush, but we'll still be waiting for Kate. Always waiting.

I remember when four years between albums seemed like a lifetime. Kate would disappear into her studio and we'd [figuratively] lurk outside, hoping for scraps of information. Finally she would emerge, usually when we were on our last shred of hope, with something beautiful that made the absence feel like mere seconds.

We've weathered 12-year gaps between albums and 35 years between live shows. We think we have Kate all worked out, then she does something like release two albums in the same year. That is the best thing about being a Kate fan. We just never know what's coming next; we just know it will be brilliant.

The fan community around Kate has many clans, but they are not competitive or warring tribes: we are a nation of friendly states. For me, those many long gaps were made bearable by the regular arrival of Homeground magazine. Launched in 1982,  it was a carefully crafted and always loving tribute to everything Kate. Its founders, the "strange twins" Peter, Krys and Dave, were so welcoming of other fans and still are to this day. Homeground has ended its life in print after 79 glorious issues, but lives on as part of the Kate Bush News and Information website, created by Seán in 1998. There is also a great online forum attached to this site, where all the latest tidbits on her Kateness are shared.

Earlier this year, Peter, Krys and Dave published two meticulous anthologies, gathering together the best material from Homeground. It stands as a fine testament to Kate and her fans. It's available on Amazon (hint, hint).

More recently I have been welcomed into the pond. FishPeople is an online community of fans on Facebook, named in honour of Kate's record label, where the only rules are:

[1] Be nice. [2] No ads & commerce. [3] Be a FishPerson - in the best Katy way you can be.

Us Fishies are regularly swapping rare photos, clips and sharing our thoughts on all things Kate.

So as you can see, we're not just Kate fans, we're family. This year's Katemas is particularly sweet, as in a few short weeks we will get the chance to breathe the same air as Kate again and witness what comes Before The Dawn.

Happy Birthday Kate x

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50 Words For Kate: #29 - Waving

"I see it very visually. I would eventually love to see this as a piece of film..."

Prior to the release of Kate Bush's fifth album, Hounds Of Love, a lot of the publicity had been focussed on the fact that half the album would be a "concept piece". I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, being slightly too young to have experienced the heyday of prog rock, which had brought the concept of "concept" into being. I knew it meant that the tracks on side two were part of a whole piece, telling a single story. Apparently it was the tale of a woman lost at sea after some unknown disaster. At the start of The Ninth Wave we find her alone, floating in the cold water, on the edge of consciousness.

Let me be weak, let me sleep...

How casually we half-listen to those safety announcements on planes. There's a light and a whistle for attracting attention. We smile to ourselves; as if that tiny light could be seen, or that whistle be loud enough to be heard. But that's all we have. That tiny light on our face. We're so tired and so cold. Our imagination is playing tricks, but we won't join in. We'll just close our eyes...

Under the ice... moving... under ice... through water...

A child skates on a frozen pond, the sharp steel carving through the ice. What's that? Something's moving under the ice! It's a person... quick, someone help them. I can see their face... it's... it's... it can't be...

Bless me father, bless me father, for I have sinned...

We're snapped awake. We stand accused. Weren't we warned this would happen? Why didn't we listen? We're being pulled down, deeper. If we're innocent we'll drown, but if we're guilty...

Can't let you know what's been happenin', there's a ghost in our home...

I'm here. Watching. You must see me. Waiting. You have to talk to me. You have to help me. I need you. You have to...

Now is the place where the crossroads meet, will you look into the future...

Who is that old woman? Her face is so familiar. Why is she so angry with me? I'm killing her, she says. I'm killing my children yet to be. She's forcing me to fight. To swim. To breathe. To live...

Can't do anything, just watch them swing with the wind out to sea...

I'm still here. It's just me and the elements. Not sure I can do this much longer. There's something in the sky, so bright. Is it getting closer? I'll just close my eyes. It's still there. I'm so cold. I'll just close my eyes. There's a storm coming. I'll just rest my eyes. Why did I go?

Do you know what? I love you better now...

What would I do if given a second chance at life? Is this what is happening... is this the end? Or a new beginning...


It only took that first listen to understand. Kate had created a whole life in less than half-an-hour of music. It was a fully-realised tale, like a motion picture for the ears. You could taste the ambition and the painstaking craft in every track, but nothing felt forced, it flowed like water. Wave after wave, each mightier than the last.

Back in 1985 Kate wanted to make a film of The Ninth Wave, she saw the piece very visually. How far those ideas progressed to reality, we'll never know. But now, perhaps, we will finally get to see Kate's visualisation of The Ninth Wave. The only officially confirmed information about the forthcoming live shows, is that part of it is centred around this piece. We've heard the rumours about filming in a water tank. The very title of the show, Before The Dawn, is suggestive of peril and rescue: it's always darkest...

29 years later, The Ninth Wave is about to come crashing down on our heads once more.



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50 Words For Kate: #30 - Hunting

"...this album for me is like two quite separate pieces of work..."

As a fan waiting to hear a new Kate Bush album, you're never quite sure what to expect. Kate's voice is a constant, of course, but even that has changed and matured over the years. After the dark intensity of The Dreaming, and the drama of Running Up That Hill, I remember expecting another exciting and challenging listen from Kate's fifth album. Instead she delivered something that was instantly accessible, stirring and powerful.

The publicity surrounding the release of Hounds Of Love made it clear that the album contained two discrete suites of songs. The first side (and they were physically separate in those days, no CDs or downloads, you had to turn the record over or flip the cassette) had five separate songs, each telling their own story. As for side two, well, we'll deal with that tomorrow...

I remember placing the album on the turntable on day of release and settling down to listen. I was glad Running Up That Hill was the first track, as I knew that inside out by now and it gave me a chance to calm down. My relaxed state lasted about three seconds into the next track.

It's in the trees! It's coming!

Has any song ever had such a gripping introduction? I shot up and inched to the edge of my bed, my hands gripping the mattress. Kate was being hunted! She was afraid and running for her life. Cellos and drums created an urgency that swept you along, side-by-side with Kate, looking nervously over your shoulder. You pause for breath and find a fox on the edge of life. You throw your shoes into the lake, but the Hounds Of Love are still on your tail. They're going to catch us! But then Kate realises the truth. She faces the hounds, and her fears, and is rewarded with love love love love love love yeah.

You never understood me, you never really tried...

We've barely caught our breath before Kate taps us on the shoulder and points us towards The Big Sky. This song is a glorious release of all the tension, disappointment, criticism and expectation that Kate must have felt after The Dreaming. It's a rallying call for anyone who's ever needed a renewal of faith in themselves. Forget what others think of you, what do they really know? Look up at the clouds, let your imagination fly, dream big. Up! Up!

Am I the cat that takes the bird? To her the hunted, not the hunter...

The sound of smashing glass alerts us to trouble. The lies come tumbling out, the child is pulled into more mischief, but this time it's gone too far. Never fear, Mother Stands For Comfort. Has the bond between mother and child ever sounded so unsettling?

You're like my yo-yo that glowed in the dark, what made it special made it dangerous...

We escape that troubling parent-child relationship and are faced with another that also has its problems. This time though the child is trying to make sense of what happened to their father. There is confusion, hurt and mystery. There is also hope and belief and, eventually, joy. The song grows organically from a single voice and hypnotic strings. The sounds become richer, there are drums, multiple voices, we rally, we march, we sing, it rains and rains, we collapse, spent and warm with love.

Side one is over, what a journey that was. I need to hear it again. And again and again. So many questions, so many new sounds and perspectives and riddles. But first I need to hear side two...


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50 Words For Kate: #31 - Running

After being pretty ubiquitous since her debut in 1978, the sudden absence of Kate Bush through 1983 and 1984 led many to assume her career was on the rocks. Various bizarre rumours were in circulation: she'd ballooned in weight, moved to France, been dropped by EMI. In August 1985, NME even ran a "where are they now" article on Kate, but just days later that question would be decisively answered.

On that summer day in question, I was 14, and sat up in my bedroom on the third floor of our terraced house, probably mastering the intricacies of Kate's routine to The Dreaming, when I heard a screech coming from two floors down. My mother, who by this point was fully aware of my Kate-o-philia, was yelling "Kate Bush is on TV". I can still recall those 2.7 seconds it took me to descend two flights of stairs. My heart stopped beating and a rush of adrenalin propelled me down. What greeted me was quite literally beyond belief.



It was Kate! Live! Now! Really, really her. She was performing a new song. I knew it must be new, because I'd heard everything else she'd released. She was standing at a lectern, wearing a long, military style coat. She looked totally gorgeous. What was she singing about? She had her hand raised to make an oath. The band were dressed like Kate and in a V formation behind her. They were moving forward. The beat was insistent. The effect was dramatic and menacing and I just stood in the middle of the living room transfixed. Something about deals with God, hills, exchanging the experience. Then Kate removed a bow from her back, took an arrow from Paddy's quiver and knelt to the ground, aiming at the sky. Every hair on my body stood erect. Every goose was pimpled. I finally let out the breath I'd been holding for five, far too swift, minutes.

Oh, the agony and the ecstasy of that night. The record shops were closed. There was no Internet to find out what was going on. I didn't know any other Kate fans I could call. She was back! Out of nowhere. And all I could hear in my head was that insistent drumming, repeating over and over again. If only I'd had the presence of mind to press record on the video, but no, all I had was less than total recall of what had just passed.

The next morning I raced to my local record store and there on the counter was a special box with Kate's picture on it, filled with singles. The song was called Running Up That Hill and there she was on the cover, with the bow and arrow primed. My hands shook as I picked one up. It was a gatefold sleeve, the inside cover had the lyrics and Kate with her back to us, and words written across her arms and shoulders. It was a thing of beauty, an artefact to treasure. And there was a 12" single too! A first for Kate. It had an instrumental version and a remix that was about to blow my mind even more. More good news, there would be an album soon too. I raced home with my precious cargo and I don't think I surfaced from my room for a good few days, as I absorbed the joy of this surprise gift from Kate.

Over the next few weeks more joy, as the single climbed to number 3 on the charts, erasing the disappointments and silencing the doubters. The video was indescribably gorgeous. Kate and a male dancer wrapped around each other in choreography that was sensual and impressively elaborate. The final shot of Kate was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

Kate was back, and I only had to wait a few short weeks to have a whole new album to explore...


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