the latest update on KT fanzines, to Mark Semich and all the L-Hs

[IED0DXM@OAC.UCLA.EDU]

 > I have only recently discovered (thanks to the net) that there are
 > other people out there who acknowledge Kate's divinity.  I am
 > anxious to find out more, so i humbly ask IED if he could help me
 > out: If i wish to subscribe to _Homeground_, how much should I send
 > in U.S.$?  If i want to find out more about the KBC Newsletter, who
 > should I contact?  How much is it?  Do you know the address?

 > Thank you for your time, and welcome back.

 > -- Mark Semich
 > UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsb!mas
 > ARPA:           mas@bucsb.bu.edu

Hi, Mark.

These were the addresses and subscription rates (air mail, one year
to the U.S.) as of the last issues of the _Kate Bush Club Newsletter_
and _Homeground_:

 _The Kate Bush Club_
 P.O. Box 120
 Welling
 Kent DA16 3DS
 England
  Airmail subscription to U.S., one year: 10 Pounds, 50 Pence.
  (Surface mail subscription, one year: 6 Pounds. Warning: surface mail can
  take up to two months or even longer.)

_________________________________________________________________________

 _Homeground_
 Peter and Krystyna FitzGerald-Morris and Dave Cross, editors
 Sharon May, secretarial assistant
 P.O. Box 176
 Orpington
 Kent BR5 3NA
  Airmail subscription to U.S., one year: 9 Pounds, 30 Pence.

     NOTE: The Kate Bush Club asks for payment in U.K. (Sterling)
money.  They prefer the money in the form of an International Sterling
draft, but my experience with those is that they can now cost as much
as twenty dollars extra, on top of the already extremely high
conversion rate. My recommendation is that payment be made in U.K.
cash, which you can get at airports, or at some banks and currency
exchange offices.  The commission is not much, and if your envelope is
carefully sealed and can't be seen through, it'll stand a pretty good
chance of getting there. U.S. dollars are frowned on by the KBC, but
they might work if you are very careful to pay at the current exchange
rate PLUS at LEAST 7 1/2 percent extra to cover conversion costs. (As
you know, the Dollar is worth diddly these days.) _Homeground_ will
accept U.S. currency, but only at the going rate plus exactly 7 1/2
percent.

     It should be added that the _KBC Newsletter_ is published only
very irregularly, and very, very rarely, as well. The last issue came
out in the first month of 1987, and since then not a word has been
heard. In 1983, members had to wait an entire year and then some
between Newsletters. In other words, the Club is for _real_ fans, the
kind who can tolerate waiting months and months at a time for word
from Kate. The advantage is that the KBC publishes the only authorized
news and information about/by Kate. All the other fanzines -- and
there are a LOT of them -- are unofficial and receive no direct input
from the Bush family. By contrast, _Homeground_ puts out between four
and six issues a year (they claim it's six, but they get behind), plus
a little update flier once in a blue moon.

     _Homeground_ a lot better than it used to be, but it's still a
more or less low-budget, black-and-white affair. The _KBC Newsletter_,
on the other hand, is very luxurious, though quite brief. It's got a
good deal of exclusive photography, much of it in colour, most of it
taken by Kate's brother John Carder Bush. The _Newsletter_ usually
features either an introductory letter, article or interview by/with
Kate; articles by John and/or Paddy, Kate's two brothers, with a note
from Del sometimes, as well; a Pen Pals page and a Swaps page; Kate's
own comic strip (about the misadventures of her cats, Zoodle and
Pyewacket -- this is IED's favourite section, by the way); a
puzzle/competitions page; news bits (usually out-of-date by the time
it reaches subscribers); and one-off articles and/or comic strips by
fans.

     _Homeground_ features an exhaustive record of press, radio and
television coverage of Kate during the quarter preceding each issue,
called "Medialogue"; an indispensible ongoing series of facts, dates
and biographical info from the co-editor Peter FitzGerlad-Morris,
called "Five Years Ago"; essays on Kate's music and related (and
sometimes not-so-related) matters, by fans and the editors; comic
strips; poetry; and letters from readers. _Homeground_, unlike the
_Newsletter_, publishes readers' comments very frequently.

     FYI, here is a list of all the other Kate Bush fanzines currently
in operation:

 _Still Breathing_ (successor to _Breakthrough_)
 T. R. Somerville, editor
 11588 72nd Avenue
 Delta, British Columbia V4E-1Z1
 Canada
  Subscription, three issues: $9.00 (some back issues of _Breakthrough_
  may be available, as well).

 _Under the Ivy_ (note: no new issue in six months, may have folded)
 55 Burnside Way
 Dagenham
 Essex RM8-1XH
 England

 _Blow Away_ (the Scottish Kate Bush fanzine)
 Ms. Jackie Bain
 117 Leeward Circle
 Westwood
 East Kilbride G75-8NZ
 Scotland

 _After the Party_ (may have a new name by now)
 c/o Alan and Maura Balliot
 Intergalactic Garage
 P.O. Box 7323
 Washington, D.C. 20044
 (703) 241-0473

 _N'Abandonne Pas_ (the French Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel fanzine, 2/3 in
 Fanch Oriant, editor                        French, 1/3 in English)
 B. P. 389
 75962 Paris
 Cedex 20
 France

 _Dreamtime_ (the Australian Kate Bush fanzine)
 Gaye Godfrey, editor
 46 Gladstone Avenue
 South Perth, 6151
 Western Australia

 _Japan Kate Bush Club_ (may or may not be a branch of the official KBC)
 5-6-14 Shimomeguro, Meguro ku
 Tokyo 153
 Japan

 _Kate Bush Club Nederland_ (the Dutch Kate Bush fanzine, published in Dutch)
 Postbus 2177
 4800 CD
 Breda
 The Netherlands

 _Watching Storms_ (the U.S. KT "apazine")
 Erni Heramia, Central Mailer
 167 Central Avenue
 East Providence, RI 02914

 _Cariad Kate_ (the Welsh fanzine)
 28 Millbrook Street
 Plasmarl, Swansea, SA6 8LY
 Wales
 United Kingdom?USA

_________________________________________________________________________

There you have it. Hope it keeps the curious occupied for a while.

-- Andrew Marvick