maundering boringly as usual...has he learned nothing from Katemas?

[IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU]

Neil, you backtrack too far. IED agrees that there may be more hype
associated with a popstar like Elton John than is altogether equitable,
compared with the amount of press/publicity accorded someone like Ferry
(although not Bowie -- talk about SELLING OUT! He's now doing smarmy
Pepsi commercials with Tina Turner on U.S. TV, tarting up his own
song "Modern Love" for the almighty greenback: greasiness of the lowest
order -- and that pathetic perm of his! Jeez...). But IED would be
willing to wager that if a tribute LP to Ferry were ever proposed, Kate
would be ready to contribute to it, as well. For the record, though,
Roxy Music's twentieth anniversary isn't due until 1991, whereas
John/Taupin started out in 1968. So perhaps justice may still be served.

Peter, your priorities are at cross purposes. You feel that
those short stories of Kate's aren't very good -- stories that
Kate obviously dashed off at one sitting each. Then in the same
breath you say that you wish she would "hurry up" with the next
album! The LAST thing you -- or anyone who appreciates
Kate's music -- should want is for her to hurry up!

About the stories, IED wouldn't describe them in quite the
unforgiving terms you used, but he agrees with the substance of
your criticisms. The stories don't work too well on the level
that was intended, i.e. as clever stories with tense plots
and unexpected, "spooky" endings (although the plot in the one
about the log in the road, which was written last -- about five years
ago, by the way -- was exposed pretty well, especially in the last
paragraph).

But they ARE interesting from the point of view of the
student of Kate Bushology. The imagery and the prose style are
particularly illuminating, in relation to various songs. And parts
of each are really quite effective, not for their story content but
for their creation of atmosphere. The same has been said of a number
of less than successful stories by some of the best short story writers
in history. Some of Poe's "horror" stories which fail to horrify, for
example, are nonetheless much admired for their effects of atmosphere and
power of language, both of which qualities are present to some degree in
Kate's little stories, as well.

About the first Vermorel book, Doug: Where did you hear that the Bush
family actually filed suit against the Vermorels for "Princess of S."?
IED had been under the impression that the worst that happened was that
the Vermorels were quietly warned or threatened with a suit.
The mere fact that the first book is out of print
doesn't in itself constitute evidence of a lawsuit. Is there something
IED has missed here?

And if there ever was a poster based on the UK cover for The Kick Inside,
yours is the first mention of it. You may be right that one
might have been made in limited quantities by EMI at the time, but if so
it never became commonly available. EMI did make a number of posters
promoting Hounds of Love and the single "Cloudbusting" which never
even appeared on hoardings for promotional use, so nothing's impossible.

-- Andrew