Kate Bush fandom mailing list

[Doug Alan <nessus>]

I'm not sure the mailing list was set up correctly when I sent these
following messages, so I'm going to send them again.  You may want to
drop me a note telling me that you got this so that I will know if
everything is working (also tell me if you had already received these):

>From nessus Fri Aug 16 23:29:26 1985
Subject: Kate Bush fandom mailing list

Okay, okay!  I'll do it.  All this bouncing around of moderation is
making me dizzy!  But who needs a moderator?  I've set up an unmoderated
mailing list at mit-eddie called "love-hounds".  Any requests to be put
on or taken off the list should be sent to me or to
"love-hounds-request".  Mit-eddie is on the ArpaNet and talks to genrad,
harvard, and ihnp4 among others.

> From Valerie

> I really like the new song. I think the heavy rhythm is appealing, and
> quite different from her work before.

I like "Running Up That Hill" a lot too.  But I'm somewhat disappointed
-- it's definitely a move towards being more commercial, which I'm not
so wild about.  It's the first song of hers I've ever heard with a
catchy melody, or with any type of real "hook" in it.  Also, it's
simpler than anything on "The Dreaming" and I'm really fond of the rich
layered complexity of "The Dreaming".  The lyrics for "Running Up That
Hill" I find stunningly good though.

The B-side, "Under The Ivy", is very simple, but I think it's really
great!  It's very very sad, and powerfully emotional musically and
lyrically.  The lyrics are perfect.  The whole song is just about as
good as anything Kate's ever done.  My only complaint is that it is so
short.

> The interesting thing is that radio stations are actually playing this
> one.  Maybe it'll be a hit (?)... which would surprise me, but it is
> looking more and more possible, at least out here in S.D. where I hear
> the new song about twice every three days so far...

They are playing RUTH in Boston on WFNX every now and then.  I was
driving in my car last Sunday, and they played it.  I nearly crashed!
I'd NEVER before heard a Kate Bush song on the radio when I hadn't
requested one or played one myself (I do a radio show for WMBR, MIT's
radio station once or twice a month).

We can always hope it will become a hit, but I'm really not wild about
the idea of Kate becoming as big as Michael Jackson or anything (though
she once was in England).  There are many Kate Bush fans who want
nothing more for her to be the number one popular musician in the world.
I think that this will never happen, and certainly couldn't without Kate
making more artistic sacrifices, which I couldn't bear to think about.

> If I send somebody a blank cassette would they tape Kate's live album
> for me?

Sure, I'll do it.  It's not actually an album, but rather a 4 song E.P.
You can often find this as a 7 inch for $2 or $3, but the Jappanese
import 12 inch I have I'm sure sounds a lot nicer.  Do you have Kate's
non album singles and B-sides?  There are a whole bunch, and they're all
great of course.

				"We let the weirdness in"

				 Doug
			

>From nessus Sat Aug 17 00:02:31 1985
Subject: Reply to discussion topics

> From: ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!r032 (SamR - Sam Rebelsky)

> 1)  Does anyone think she'll tour the US in support of the new single/album?
>     Has anyone heard any tour news at all?

Kate Bush hasn't done a concert even in England since 1979.  The only
concert tour she ever did was for "The Kick Inside" and "Lionheart" and
it was the most elaborate production possibly imaginable.  It took
months of preparation and then toured around England and Europe.
Basically, it took up a year, and at Kate's current rate of making
albums once ever two or three years, it seems unlikely that she can
afford the time for another concert tour.

Even if she did, it seems unlikely that she would bring it to the United
States.  It would probably be too expensive.  The last one invloved more
than 40 people, and all sorts of sets, etc.  Also Kate doesn't fly in
airplanes (something about an ear problem that occurs during the
pressure changes that occur in airplanes).  She was going to come to the
U.S. in 83, I think, via the QE2, in promotion of the Mini-LP to do TV
shows and record signing things, but the QE2 was broken or in the
Fauklins or something (when was the Fauklins fiasco?).

> Anyone want to talk about some neat rare stuff they have (live tapes
> or whatever) ?

Well I have all the non-album singles and B-sides. I have a bootleg
concert record, a tape of the concert she did where Peter Gabriel and
Steve Harley were guests, several hours of interviews on audio tape, the
concert video tape (and a bootleg record of this soundtrack), the
"Singles File" video tape, and 4 or 5 hours of other Kate Bush video
stuff (that is all badly converted by camera from PAL to NTSC) including
her Xmas special (I also have a bootleg record of the sound track to
this), a Dutch special of videos for six songs on "The Kick Inside",
interviews, etc.  I also have all seven issues of Break-Through, the
most recent issue of Homeground, the most recent issue of the Kate Bush
Club newsletter, and a pile of xeroxes of many articles that I got from
Hugh Maher.

> 3)  What do people think of the new song (has she sold out or
> whatever)? 

I think it's much more a matter of taking what the vile British critics
said too seriously than selling out.  Besides, it isn't really selling out if
you still produce something that good.  I might change my mind, though,
if the whole album is as commercial as "Running Up That Hill".  I
seriously doubt that it is, though.

> 4)  Will she do well on the US charts (ha ha ha ha ha ha).

Probably not, but anything's possible.  The U.S. music press (unlike the
British music press) seems to adore Kate Bush -- at least since "The
Dreaming", that is.

			"If I only could
			 Be running up that hill
			 With no problems"

			 Doug