Among the pop, dance, and rap tunes of the past year, viewers of MTV may have noticed a slightly different beat in the download charts. “Running Up That Hill” was originally released in 1985 by Kate Bush. Newly popularized through its inclusion on Netflix’s Stranger Things, it reentered the charts and cast a retrospective look on an outstanding but seldom spoken about performer: Kate Bush.
Part of this may be due to the fact that despite her achievements, Bush has retracted from the limelight. A recluse for 35 years, she is notoriously secretive. She does not appear in interviews unless she has something to promote, which is rare. However, she has an untouchable legacy that spans not just music but technology and wider artistic mediums.
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10 She Shared a Dance Teacher with David Bowie
David Bowie was a huge influence on Kate Bush’s work, and if you can’t hear it musically, then you can see it in her evocative dance routines and expression. While Bowie is not known as a dancer, his theatrical stylings were due to the tutelage of Lindsay Kemp, a dancer, mime artist, and choreographer.
Kemp grew up in the industrial north of England, spending time in Liverpool and South Shields. Before completing a dance scholarship, he first had to do military service before studying under the famous mime artist Marcel Marceau. Bowie saw him perform in Covent Garden when he was 19. They would go on to have a relationship and collaborate on many of his most famous characters, such as Ziggy Stardust.
When Bush took up dance lessons with Kemp, he believed her to be a timid mouse that came alive when performing. The track “Moving” from her first album was dedicated to him. Kemp returned home one night to find she had pushed a copy under his door upon its release.[1]
9 Her Collaborations Have Been as Eccentric as Her Music
In today’s release schedule, it is hard to find a track that does not have a collaboration somewhere. The names of rappers and producers often trail after the main artist in most pieces. However, Kate Bush rarely did collaborations, but when she did, they were exceptionally well chosen.
Her most famous was with Peter Gabriel, former frontman of the progressive rock band Genesis and most well-known for his hit single “Sledgehammer.” She often did live tracks with him, and “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” is their most well-known duet.
However, Kate Bush was not opposed to a comedy routine either. One track had her singing the song “Do Bears…” with Rowan Atkinson, known to many as Mr. Bean. A verse included the line, “He’s an utter creep, and he drives me around the bend. To alleviate the boredom, I sleep with his friends.”
One of her most poignant and leftfield collaborations is with actor Stephen Fry. On her tenth studio album 50 Words for Snow, the final track holds the same title. In it, Fry and Bush recite the word snow in a myriad of different languages.[2]
8 “Wuthering Heights” Was Written About the Film Adaptation, Not the Book
Kate Bush’s first single was the dramatic ballad “Wuthering Heights.” Written at the tender age of eighteen, it was composed in March 1977 and then released a year later in 1978. It made her the first woman in British chart history to reach number one with a self-penned track.
Many people assume Bush wrote the song after reading the book by Emily Bronte. This was not the case, as she took inspiration from the television adaptation. Created by the British Broadcasting Corporation, it was on screens in 1978. Only after watching this did Bush write the song, then finish off the novel.[3]
7 Bush’s Impactful Use of the First Synthesizers
Sampling is so endemic in modern songwriting and production that it seems strange to think of a time when it was not used. The first commercial device that allowed people to play recorded sounds was the Fairlight CMI. Developed by Peter…
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