As if |>oug would _ever_ post a 4600-line posting--or _any_ posting!

[IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]

 To: Love-Hounds
 From: Andrew Marvick (IED)
 Subject: the KompleTe _newsletter_ writings of kate bush

     <This posting contains all of Kate's contributions to the
Kate Bush Club _Newsletter_ since its inception in January of
1979. As compiled and read in their original chronological sequence,
these writings offer, in IED's view, new and clearer insight
into the development of Kate's character and ideology.
     <For completeness' sake IED has incorporated the three short
stories and recent interviews which he posted in Love-Hounds
several months ago, making it possible to understand these texts
in their original chronological context.
     <IED should add that, in addition to the following, there are
several other small works of prose by Kate Bush which are not included
in this collection because they were not written for the _Newsletter_.
These are: the Tour of Life message; the two taped messages, addressed
to Japanese and Canadian fans, respectively; the brief comments written
by Kate for the publication _The_Best_of_Kate_Bush_;
the personal letter to a childhood friend which was recently
published in _Kate_Bush:_The_Whole_Story_, and posted in Love-Hounds
by IED last month; and the half-dozen or so poems by Kate which
were found in the magazines from her old school and which were
subsequently re-published in several of the unofficial biographies.
     Kate's article "How can you eat meat?", which appeared in an issue
of _Women's_World_ magazine, was based upon an article simply called
"Vegetarianism" which was published in the fifth issue of the
_Newsletter_ (and which is included here). There is also
an article from an old English music magazine which purports
to be a written piece by Kate detailing her activities on one day during
the recording of _The_Dreaming_. It seems to be authentic, but there are
a few suspicious lines that indicate some kind of editorial license.
All of these missing examples of Kate's writing will eventually be
appended to this collection.
     <As usual, all comments in parentheses are Kate's, all those
in brackets (<>) are IED's.>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here are Kate's writings from the Kate Bush Club _Newsletter_, issue
Number 1 (January 1979). Following the article is a brief "interview"
with Kate, in which she responds to fans' written questions.>

                           _Kate's_Songs_

     "Well, I wrote <_Wuthering_Heights_> in my flat, sitting
at the upright piano one night in March at about midnight. There
was a full moon and the curtains were open, and every time I
looked up for ideas, I looked at the moon. Actually, it came
quite easily. I couldn't seem to get out of the chorus--it had
a really circular feel to it, which is why it repeats.
I had originally written something more complicated, but I
couldn't link it up, so I kept the first bit and repeated it.
I was really pleased, because it was the first song I had
written for a while, as I'd been busy rehearing with the KT Band.
     I felt a particular want to write it, and had wanted to
write it for quite a while. I remember my brother John talking
about the story, but I couldn't relate to it enough. So I borrowed
the book and read a few pages, picking out a few lines. So I
actually wrote the song before I had read the book right through.
The name Cathy helped, and made it easier to project my own
feelings of want for someone so much that you hate them. I
could understand how Cathy felt.
     It's funny, but I heard a radio programme
about a woman who was writing a book in Old English,
and she found she was using words she didn't know, but
when she looked them up she found they were correct. A similar
thing happened with _Wuthering_Heights_: I put lines in the
song that I found in the book when I read it later.
     I've never been to Wuthering Heights, the place, though I would
like to, and someone sent me a photo of where it's supposed to be.
     One thing that really pleases me is the amount of positive
feedback I've had from the song, though I've heard that the
Bronte Society think it's a disgrace. A lot of people have read
the book because of the song and liked it, which I think is the
best thing about it for me. I didn't know the book would be on
the GCE syllabus in the year I had the hit, but lots of people
have written to say how the song helped them. I'm really happy
about that.
     There are a couple of synchronicities involved with the song.
When Emily Bronte wrote the book she was in the terminal stages
of consumption, and I had a bad cold when I wrote the song. Also,
when I was in Canada I found out that Lindsay Kemp, my dance teacher,
was in town, only ten minutes away by car, so I went to see him.
When I came back I had this urge to switch on the TV--it was about
one in the morning--because I _knew_ the film of _Wuthering_Heights_
would be on. I tuned in to a thirties gangster film, then flicked
through the channels, playing channel roulette, until I found it.
I came in at the moment Cathy was dying, so that's all I saw of
the film. It was an amazing coincidence.
      <This is certainly a confusing account of Kate's
process for the writing of _Wuthering_Heights_. On other
occasions she said that she had seen "a BBC film" called
_Wuthering_Heights_--apparently, then, the Timothy Dalton
telefilm of about 1972--_before_ she read the book.
      The trip to Canada was apparently undertaken after
the initial success of _Wuthering_Heights_, and may have coincided
with the trip to New York for the appearance on _Saturday_Night_Live_,
which took place in October of 1978. Perhaps Kate was referring in
this article to the original 1930s production, which starred
Lawrence Olivier and Merle Oberon.>

                           _Interview_

     When were you born, and where?
     "Lots of people want to know this, and there's been a lot
of dispute about whether it is the same date as Emily Bronte,
who wrote _Wuthering_Heights_. I was born in a nursing home
in Erith, Kent, while my parents were living where they are now,
in Welling. The date was July 30th, 1958."
     Is that you singing with the female vocalists at
the end of Dave Gilmour's _There's_No_Way_Out_of_Here_?
     "I can see how this question came up, as I'm so indebted
and grateful to Dave Gilmour for everything he's done for me,
but the answer is no, it isn't me, though I'd love to work with
him some day."
     In _Strange_Phenomena_, what do the words "om mani padme hum"
mean?
     "Club member Matthew Toreson has sent in an explanation,
which he found in an encyclopaedia. It is a form of adoration
of the Buddha, and means, "Oh, the jewel in the lotus." Thanks,
Matthew.
     Is your single _Wuthering_Heights_ issued with a picture bag?
     "Yes, it is."
     Thanks, Kate. We're looking forward to another interview next
issue.
     "Great! Thanks, everybody, I'm looking forward to more questions,
too."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here are Kate's contributions to the second issue of the
_Newsletter_ (summer 1979).>

                      _Hello_Everybody_

     I must start by thanking you all for the masses of
wonderful letters, and for all the slips that were left on the
theatre seats that you took the time and trouble to send in.
And the drawings, paintings, and poems have been great, too.
     The tour was an incredible experience, and I'll never forget
it, nor the reception we got from the audiences. In a way, the
first night at Poole <this was the preview show held in Poole,
near Liverpool, where the official premiere was given the next
evening> was the most important, as it was the first real test
as to whether it was going to happen or not, and the reaction
really surprised me--it was lovely, and the greatest encouragement
I could have possibly had. In fact, they all surprised me. I never
expected such warmth. Some audiences wanted to be convinced,
but that's only fair. In Europe people were a bit more reserved
to start with in some places, especially where I wasn't well known,
like France, but it was lovely--too good, really.
     I really hope people understand why I didn't talk to the
audience during the show. It would have been out of place. On
stage I'm not me, I'm trying to create a mood and character,
and to speak is, I think, unnecessary. I was speaking in so many
other ways that words were not really worth their money. I'd
rather something complete and tight, than a few words that
couldn't be heard clearly anyway because of the sound system.
I was really thrilled that so many people have commented on the
dancing, and I loved the things that were thrown on stage,
especially the green frog that landed at my feet at such a perfect
moment in _Peter_Pan_, and a UFO t-shirt that I've been wearing a lot.
It was a lovely surprise when people clapped when they recognised
a song, especially the album tracks. Normally it's an honour to
have the singles clapped, and it's great that people recognise
the songs and know the music so well. All the audiences were
very respectful, and that's the most one can expect. In the solo
numbers I wondered if they were still there, they were so quiet.
     A lot of people have wondered why they couldn't use their
cameras at the shows. I can understand why people want their
own shots, but when the flash bulbs go off it's seen all over the
auditorium and destroys the lighting effects on stage, spoiling
it for everyone else. It's a bit selfish, like someone getting up
to go out in the middle of a number, or shouting out.
     I'd like to be able to answer all your queries about live
recordings and the video film, but at the moment not enough is
known for me to say anything. But I'll let you know when something
definite happens.
     What I really hated were the ticket touts. I wish something
could be done to get rid of them, and I'm sure it could, as you
don't see them on the Continent. It's really sickening to hear
of them selling forged tickets at obscene prices. Everyone was
really upset by their disgusting presence everywhere we went.
     But that was the only negative thing about the tour. I
was so sad when it was over, it was such a great time I never
wanted it to end. Although it was right that it ended when it did,
because we'd all paced our energies to that timing. I couldn't
imagine a greater group of people to work with, and I think we
all felt that it had been really worthwhile.
     Now I want to write some new songs and get together with my
piano again--I feel I've neglected it for too long. I also want
to learn how to cook pizzas, something I can't do at the moment,
and want to be able to do.
     I'll end by saying thank you to all the people who came to
the concerts and made it such a wonderful experience, and to all
those of you who couldn't come--I wish you had.
                         Lots of love,

                         Kate

                            _Wow_

     _Wow_ is a song about the music business--not just rock music
but show business in general, including acting and theatre.
People say that the music business is about rip-offs, the rat race,
competition, strain, people trying to cut you down and so on,
and though that's all there, there's also the magic. It was sparked
off when I sat down to try and write a Pink Floyd song, something
spacey; though I'm not surprised no-one has picked that up, it's
not really recognisable as that--in the same way that people haven't
noticed that _Kite_ is a Bob Marley song, and _Don't_Push_Your_Foot_
on_the_Heartbrake_ is a Patti Smith song.
     When I wrote <_Wow_> I didn't envisage performing it--the
performance when it happened was an interpretation of the words I'd
already written. I first made up the visuals in a hotel room in
New Zealand, when I had half an hour to make up a routine and
prepare for a TV show. <IED has found no other record of Kate
performing _Wow_ in New Zealand or Australia. He only knows of
a performance of _Hammer_Horror_ in N.Z. and Australia. If anyone
has information about a TV performance of _Wow_ in these countries,
could he/she please alert Love-Hounds?>
I sat down and listened to the song through
once, and the whirling seemed to fit the music. Those who were at the
last concert of the tour at Hammersmith must have noticed a frogman
appear through the dry ice--it was one of the crew's many last-night
"pranks", and was really amazing. I'd have liked to have had it in
every show. Luckily we got a picture of it for you, which also gives a
view of the stage set, for those who didn't see the show.

                         _Interview_

     Is it true that you are a vegetarian?
     "Yes, and I have been for some time now, and I feel a lot
better for it."
     What do the initials K.T. stand for in the K.T. Bush Band?
     "It's a sound thing, really. If you speak the initials, you
get Katy, my name."
     What does "O.D.'d" mean on _Don't_Push_Your_Foot_on_the_Heartbrake_
and "2-D" in _Kite_?
     "'O.D.'d' means 'overdosed' in the sense of someone taking
a drug overdose, and '2-D' means 'two-dimensional', in the way
that the kite appears to be."
     Is the child in the picture sleeve of _The_Man_With_the_Child_
in_His_Eyes_ you when you were younger?
     "Yes it is, and the photo was taken by my brother John,
at the same time as the picture of me and 'someone' in this
issue's competition."
     Did you use the first of Eric Satie's _Trois_Gymnopedies_
to lead into _Symphony_in_Blue_ in your concerts, and if so, why?
     "It's really marvellous that people have recognised this, and
it is so. At the time, some of us were really into the piece,
and Paddy and the band were working on a version of it. We all
really liked it, and as it seemed a good way of leading into the
song, I decided to use it. I'm glad you liked it. Funnily enough,
at the same time the band were working on it, several other versions
were coming out, so it seems a lot of people were discovering him
at the same time."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here are Kate's contributions to the third issue, called the
"tour issue" (November 1979).>

     I hope it doesn't seem too strange having a special issue
about the tour four months after it's finished. I think it's nice
to have a chance to remember it all, especially as it's been
uppermost in my mind recently, as I've been doing the mixing for
the EP, which is out now. I've been in the studios a lot recently,
recording new songs for the next album, and that has meant
working with a lot of the band again, and I was really happy to
work with Gary and Stewart <Gary Hurst and Stewart Avon-Arnold, two
dancers who have worked with Kate as dancing partners over the years>
again when we did the video for _Top_of_the_Pops_ <the video for
the live EP version of _Them_Heavy_People_>. I hope to be able
to tell you about the songs I've been writing and recording soon.
Take care.
                           Love,

                           Kate

                         _Hammer_Horror_

     The song is not about, as many think, Hammer Horror
films. It is about an actor and his friend. His friend is playing
the lead in a production of _The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame_, a part
he's been reading all his life, waiting for the chance to play it.
He's finally got the big break he's always wanted, and he is the star.
After many rehearsals he dies accidentally, and the friend is asked
to take the role over, which, because his own career is at stake, he
does. The dead man comes back to haunt him because he doesn't want him
to have the part, believing he's taken away the only chance he ever
wanted in life. And the actor is saying, "Leave me alone, because
it wasn't my fault--I have to take this part, but I'm wondering if
it's the right thing to do because the ghost is not going to leave
me alone and is really freaking me out. Every time I look round a
corner he's there, he never disappears."
     The song was inspired by seeing James Cagney playing the part
of Lon Chaney playing the hunchback--he was an actor in an actor
in an actor, rather like Chinese boxes, and that's what I was trying
to create.
     Making the video of _Hammer_Horror_ was the first time I had
worked with a dancer. I wanted to do something different with it,
using a dancer, and I was sitting in a hotel room in Australia when
it suddenly came to me--the whole routine happened before my eyes--and
the next morning at 9 a.m. the dancer turned up to start work. We'd
never met before, and in ten minutes we were haveing to throw each
other around. He was so inspiring that we did the video that same
afternoon. I did it again in New Zealand, when we arrived late,
so I went straight into the routine with a dancer I'd never met
before who had learnt it from the video. It was the strangest
experience--I got to the chorus and suddenly this total stranger
appeared behind me doing the routine perfectly. I just couldn't
stop laughing, and we had to do about three takes.
     In the show I wanted to use the same routine, but I couldn't
possibly sing it and dance at the same time, and I thought it
was important not to mime it, as I wanted it to be a dance number,
totally dedicated to dance, so I could let rip more. It was important
that everyone should know that it wasn't a cheat, so I dedided to
dance to a backing track, and it was the only number in the show
that wasn't live.

                          _Interview_

     Who is John Carder Bush? Where were the photographs on the
"Moving" and "Lakeside" posters taken?
     "John is my brother, the eldest in the family. I have
one other brother, Paddy, and no sisters. John took the photographs
used on the posters, and they were taken in Holland."
     Why did you leave the echoing "He's here!"--on the single
of _The_Man_With_the_Child_in_His_Eyes_--off the album version?
And was the mix of _Wow_ on _Lionheart_ different from that on
the single?
     "It was the other way round with _The_Man_With_the_Child_in_His_
Eyes_: I added "He's here!" to the single. Otherwise, the mix of
all the singles has been the same as on the albums."
     What is the noise at the beginning and end of _Moving_?
     "The noise is whale song. Lots of members have written
to ask what I think about whale hunting. Well, I'm dead against it.
It would be a terrible tragedy if those beautiful and noble animals
were wiped out by our greed."
     In _Them_Heavy_People_ you mention Gurdjieff. Do you follow his
teachings?
     "I've read some of his work, and recently saw the film _Meetings_
With_Remarkable_Men_, and had tea with Peter Brook, the director,
afterwards. Pa and my brother John are into him seriously, and
I'm hoping to persuade John to write an article about him for a
future _Newsletter_." <John has so far not done so.>
     Is it true that you're going to make a film called _The_Gold_
Plated_Dream_Machine_ with the motorcycle stunt rider Eddie Kidd?
     "No, it isn't, and I've never even heard of it. You mustn't
believe everything (or anything?) you read in the papers. Quite
a lot of articles irritate me because of their inaccuracy. It
would be so easy for a journalist to send me the copy of what they've
written so I could check up on the facts--not of their opinion,
which is their own business--but on the facts; and so far, not one
has done so. Nearly every interview is distorted in some way.
That's one of the reasons for starting this club, so that I can
give you the genuine facts that you want to know."
     Is it true that _Saxophone_Song_ was written about David
Bowie, and do you know him personally?
     "The song isn't about David Bowie. I wrote it about the
instrument, not the player, at a time when I really loved the
sound of the saxophone--I still do. No, I don't know him personally,
though I went to his "farewell to Ziggy Stardust" concert and cried,
and so did he."
     Why, Oh why didn't you turn up at the Cricket match at
Paddington on September 16th, as advertised, when so many of us
came just to see you?
     "I'm really upset about this. I really wanted to go. It
would have been such fun. But it shouldn't have been advertised,
and it was very naughty of whoever did it, because it was never
confirmed. Again, you mustn't believe all you hear through the media.
That was the day I was making the video for _Them_Heavy_People_,
from the _On_Stage_ EP, for "Top of the Pops". I'm really sorry
for those who had a wasted journey.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here are the article and story that Kate contributed to issue
number 4 (Christmas 1979).>

                       _Them_Heavy_People_

     The idea for _Heavy_People_ camme when I was just sitting one
day in my parents' house. I heard the phrase "Rolling the ball"
in my head, and I thought that it would be a good way to start
a song, so I ran in to the piano and played it and got the chords
down. I then worked on it from there.
     It has lots of different people and ideas and things like that
in it, and they came to me amazingly easily--it was a bit like
_Oh_England_, because in a way so much of it was what was happening
at home at the time. My brother and my father were very much
involved in talking about Gurdjieff and whirling Dervishes, and I
was really getting into it, too. It was just like plucking out a bit
of that and putting it into something that rhymed. And it happened
so easily--in a way, too easily. I say that because normally it's
difficult to get it all to happen at once, but sometimes it does,
and that can seem sort of wrong. Usually you have to work hard for
things to happen, but it seems that the better you get at them
the more likely you are to do something that is good without any
effort. <In fact, however, Kate says even now that her music still
comes very slowly, generally speaking.> And because of that it's
always a surprise when something comes easily.
     I thought it was important not to be narrow-minded just because
we talked about Gurdjieff. I knew that I didn't mean his system
was the only way, and that was why it was important to include
whirling Dervishes and Jesus, because they are strong, too. Anyway,
in the long run, although somebody might be into all of them,
it's really you that does it--they're just the vehicle to get you
there.
     I always felt that _Heavy_People_ should be a single, but I just
had a feeling that it shouldn't be a secod single, although a lot
of people wanted that. Maybe that's why I had the feeling--because
it was to happen a little later, and in fact I never really liked
the album version much because it should be quite loose, you know:
it's a very human song. And I think, in fact, every time I do it,
it gets even looser. I've danced and sung that song so many times
now, but it's still like a hymn to me when I sing it. I do sometimes
get bored with the actual words I'm singing, but the meaning I
put into them is still a comfort. It's like a prayer, and it
reminds me of direction. And it can't help but help me when I'm
singing those words. Subconsciously they must go in.

                         _Interview_

     Where did you get the happy/sad face earrings in the club photo?
     "I've had a lot of enquiries about those, and a lot of people
would like to ge a pair. I'm afraid I can't help anyone to find a
pair, as I was given them by a fan."
     Do you henna your hair?
     "Yes. I use henna wax. Otherwise I don't do anything special.
I sometimes plait it and let it dry to make it curl, and for the
Christmas TV show I used crimping irons, which was amazing."
     In _James_and_the_Cold_Gun_ did you refer to anyone in particular?
     "I've had lots of letters about this, many from people called
James, with plenty of suggestions for identities of the "James",
but the answer is: nobody. When I wrote the song, James was the
right name for it."
     In _Coffee_Homeground_, you mention Crippen. Who is he?
     "He was a murderer who was arrested after he had escaped
from Britain by ship, thanks to the use of ship-to-shore radio.
It was the first time that radio was used in this way, so he has
a small place in history for that reason."
     Is it true that you live in a flat with your brothers?
     "I get lots of questions about where I live, usually prompted
by inaccurate information in papers. You really can't believe
everything you read. We all three live in the same house, but
we each have separate flats, which are connected by intercom
for ease of communication. <Kate has since re-moved to a house
of her own, outside the city. IED believes that John has also
moved out, but that the apartment building is still owned by
the Bush family.> To find the house you take the second turning
on the right and keep straight on till morning."
     Why did you call your cats Zoodle and Pyewacket?
     "Paddy says that Zoodle is a German word for snoot, and I
got the name from him. I don't know where the name Pyewacket came
from--it just seemed a good idea at the time, as they say. We
actually call her Pye." <Kate may or may not be speaking candidly
here, but for the record "Pyewacket" is the name of a very popular
fictional cat, the "familiar" of Kim Novak's witch-character in
the 1958 film _Bell,_Book_and_Candle_, from the play by VanDruten.
Based on the wonderful atmosphere and subject of this movie, and
the really important role of the cat in the story, it seems very
likely that Kate got the name from this film, or from the play on
which it is based.>

                         _A_Could_Be_Story_

    When the Shades went into Priory Street Studios to make their
third album they were working on a very tight schedule. Their first album
had made the top sixty but their second had hardly done anything at all,
and now their third one had to be good or they would have difficulty in
getting another recording contract. They felt they needed to find a
Christmas single that would help them out of their troubles, but they
only had until the end of November to get this together. Any later
than that and the record company would be unable to bring a single
out--even November was cutting it pretty fine! They had decided
to try something different on the new album and had become interested
again in the music that was around in the middle 50s.
     They had come across a song that none of them had ever heard of
before, and it could be the one they were looking for. The song was
called _I'm_Riding_With_Santa_Tonight_, by someone called Billy Smith.
They decided they would give it a very genuine Bill Haley treatment,
with saxophones and lots of shoo-bops-doo-wah-woo-bops-di-wops.
     They worked on the rhythm track the first day, putting onto tape
the drums, bass guitar and some funky rock-and-roll piano, with
a rough voice-track to keep it all together. Late that night they played
the various takes they'd done, to choose the one they would keep. Half
way through listening to the first take the recording engineer started to
look worried and began pressing buttons and pulling down slide controls
on his mixing desk where all the sounds were controlled. When he was
asked what was the matter, he said he was starting to pick up
interference on the track that certainly hadn't been put on there by any
of the band during the day. This was the first time he had worked in
Priory Street Studios, and he was not used to the equipment. He played
back the bit that he thought was wrong, and there was quite clearly a
whining sound breaking in on the track. It could have been a loose
connection, or even one of the band's stomachs rumbling.
    They listened to all the takes, but the interference was there
on each one, and the engineer couldn't find a way of shifting it.
This meant a whole day of studio time had been wasted, and feeling
pretty disappointed with their first attempt at a comeback, the
Shades slid back home in the early hours to get some sleep before
starting again the following day.
    At two o'clock the next afternoon they turned up at the studio and
did the rhythm track once again. But on listening to it that evening,
instead of the interference having been cleaned off, it was now even
more noticeable, and the engineer could not understand what was
happening. It put him in a difficult situation because the band were now
talking about using other studios; but he'd been booked for the next
two months to do the album, and he was determined that was what he was
going to do. After a lot of arguing and shouting the Shades were sitting
on one side of the studio and the recording engineer and his assistant
on the other and they weren't talking.
     At that point the roadie who looked after the Shades' equipment
came bouncing into the studio hoping to get an earful of what had
been going on for the last couple of days. When he saw the glum faces
he knew something was up, and had great difficulty in persuading the
engineer to let him hear the tape. Eventually he was persuaded, and the
roadie sat back and listened with a critical ear. The Shades knew that
he never missed spotting a potential hit single and they often used him
as a test of their music.
     When the track came to the bit with the heavy interference the
roadie began to brighten up, much to the surprise of everyone else in
the room. When the track had finished, he said it was one of the best
things he'd ever heard, and how on earth did they get the amazing
effects? The engineer had to say that it was a mistake, and they'd
been trying to get rid of it. The roadie said that that was ridiculous,
and he managed to persuade everybody that if they pretended it wasn't
interference but a very interesting form of synthesiser, it could be
the hook needed on the record to make it sell. So it was agreed that
the Shades would come back in the next day and put down some guitar
work and talk about the vocals.
     On the third day, at the end of the evening, they played back an
almost completed track, apart from the lead vocals. Once again, the
interference was there, and once again, if anything, it seemed to be
a lot more dominant. But they had to agree with the roadie that it
certainly did give the song a lot of crackle and bite. When the lead
vocal was put on and the track finished and ready to go off to the
record company for their approval--and hopefully then for release
as a single--they all gathered for one final listen.
     The odd thing was that the interference now seemed to have
mellowed out, and was almost adding a very strange sort of harmony to
the lead singer's voice. But everyone agreed that the track was good,
and that it could work.
     When _I'm_Riding_With_Santa_Tonight_ eventually reached number ten
on the hit parade, the Shades arrived at the Top of the Pops studio to
appear for a Christmas edition and sing their hit single. While they
were waiting in the canteen to be called up to perform, they talked
with a producer friend and mentioned that they had recorded the single
at Priory Street Studios. He nodded his head to show that he knew the
studios, and then asked them if they'd had any trouble with the ghost.
     The Shades looked at each other, and went whiter than the white
make-up they wore on stage. The producer explained to them that Priory
Street Studios had a reputation for its ghost, and that at one time
the owners had thought of closing down the studio because of the
electrical interference they kept getting on takes. They had gone as
far as taking out all the equipment, having it thoroughly looked at
and put back in again, but this had made no difference. In the early
70s the Studios had been completely re-modernised, and he'd assumed
that the troubles were over, but he had heard that occasionally they
still had problems.
     The Shades didn't say anything, but after doing a strong
appearance--though it was a rather shaky one--on the television,
they went for a celebration party at a friend's house. They now had
a good talk about the ghost story they'd heard, and they were all
wondering whether it was the ghost that had made the single a success.
     The following day they sent their roadie off to the publishing
company where they'd found the song, with the job of looking through
the catalogues and finding anything he could about the song and the
songwriter. That evening he met them at the studio with some very
interesting news. It seemed that Billy Smith, who had written
_I'm_Riding_With_Santa_Tonight_, recorded his first and only album at
Priory Street Studios. All the songs on the album were his own
compositions--this was quite unusual in those days, as most of the
early rock-and-roll singers in England sang other people's songs.
     Unfortunately, just after the album had been completed he'd
been electrocuted in the Studios when something had gone wrong with
his electric guitar. The record company hadn't thought much of his
album anyway, so it was shelved and eventually completely forgotten.
     The Shades thought this was a pretty good reason for a ghost to
hang about the studios and, wondering how they could best express their
thanks to the dead rock singer, they decided to put a credit on the
album--"Ghost Synthesiser by Billy Smith".
     Apparently there has been no more trouble with interference at
Priory Street Studios, which probably goes to show that a ghost
is quite content when his music has eventually reached his public.

-- Kate

    <Perhaps it's worth mentioning that this story came out at about
the same time that Kate was working on the early version of
her Christmas recording, _December_Will_Be_Magic_Again_, a song
that she also performed on two British television programmes during
the same period. (The song was finally released a year or so later.)
Also, Kate has commented more than once since that time
on the powerful sense of history she experienced while
working in Abbey Road Studios.>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here are Kate's contributions to issue number 5.>

                          _With_love_from_Kate_

     Hello. Can you feel spring beginning to happen? Every day
on the way to the studio I go past a winter tree, surrounded by
lots of yellow and purple crocuses, and it makes my eyes spin
with the colours.
     Things are going well with the album. Although we've still
got lots to do, we can feel the tracks speaking to us more and
more--telling us what we want to hear. It's very exciting being
so involved in something you love. Doing the production with Jon
Kelly is a fabulous combination and the room is always full of Jons,
as our assistant engineer is called Jon, too, and often our visitors
are donned the name Jon!
     The next visual event is a Dr. Hook special. I hope to depict
two new songs from the album, with the help of Paddy for one. It
should be lovely to meet Dr. Hook as I've heard nothing but
praise of them as people. One of the things I've enjoyed this last
year was to work with other artists on their projects. Isn't Peter
Gabriel's single <_Games_Without_Frontiers_> fantastic? I can't
wait to hear his new album <_Peter_Gabriel_ #3>. Peter is an
extremely talented and lovely man, and to work with him was
really fun and a great experience--as it was to do some vocals
on Roy Harper's new album <_The_Unknown_Soldier_>. I've been a
fan of Roy's music for years, as have all my family, and to work
with him on his music was very special.
     I really hope you enjoy being in the Club. As long as you are
all happy, that's all that matters. Thank you to all of you who
voted for me in the various awards. Each vote means, "Yeah, go
on, do it!", and that gives me the courage to go on.

                   _Interview_

     If vegetarians are against the killing of animals for food,
why don't they object to them being killed for leather?
     "I think there are a lot of vegetarians who are against
animals being killed to make leather, and they do go out of their
way to wear rubber and plastic shoes and belts, but I think that
there is a practical side to it, as well. Leather is very warm,
and it's nice to look at, but it does require a lot of effort for
most of us to make a different choice from the normal, and I find
myself that I do wear quite a few leather shoes. Not that I consciously
buy them because they're made of leather, but I do have a few,
and I think it's something to do with the tradition of leather
being used in clothing. But there's no excuse for the mass production
of leather, and I think it comes down to effort and how far you
really want to go. It's up to you in the long run."
     You are a vegetarian and yet you wear fur coats. Why?
     "I don't wear fur coats. I haven't got one. I don't own
one and I don't believe in wearing them--I may have occasionally
been in photos with one, but it wouldn't have been mine. It would
have been one that I'd borrowed because it was very cold; for
instance in Switzerland, when I did the Abba special. <In fact,
as far as IED knows, that was the only time Kate has ever been
seen in a fur.> But I don't believe in people wearing fur coats,
I think it's very extravagant and again, I think people don't
tend to associate the clothes with the animals they come from,
especially the rare animals that some of the coats are made of.
You can get incredibly good imitation ones now--I've seen ones
that I thought were real fur and they weren't. they're really
fantastic, and they cost less, too."
     Do you follow vegetarian recipes from books, or do you
make up your own?
     "I do follow recipes from books, but I find that normally
I don't stick to them, especially if I haven't got all the ingredients,
and I tend to substitute different vegetables. If I'm feeling
really brave, occasionally I base a meal on a recipe and make
the rest up. Cooking is quite a logical thing, really, and you
soon learn the things that go together--what works and what doesn't."
     You say in interviews that you don't eat meat because you
don't believe in eating life. But you eat plants, and they are
living things. Why?
     "I do eat plants, and I know they're living, and I'm fond of
them, but I think you have to find your own level. I could live
on pills, but I don't think it's very human to do that--that is
something we dream of in the space age: food without texture or mass.
I don't think plants mind being eaten, actually. I think they'd
be really sad if no-one paid that much attention to them. I appreciate
them very much for the things they give me. I'd be very sad if
there weren't any vegetables, and normally it isn't the actual
plant that's killed--it's the fruit or vegetable that's taken off.
I think this is the purpose of plants, that they grow to be eaten.
The only problem is that it has become a very mass-produced market,
again, and that the really natural, unchemicalised environment
doesn't really exist. Too many chemicals are used on plants, but
while there is a demand for brightly coloured food in pretty packets,
that's how it will carry on. But you can get fresh, organically
grown vegetables. You can grow them yourselves, and if you look
around and ask, you'll find that there are a few shops and some local
farms that sell vegetables that have not been grown in chemically
fertilised ground."
     What sort of music do you like to listen to, if, or when, you
have free time? Do you like heavy rock such as Led Zeppelin?
     "The sort of music I like to listen to when I've got the time
is Pink Floyd's album _The_Wall_; Stevie Wonder's _The_Secret_Life_
of_Plants_; and I really like classical music like John Williams's.
I don't like that much heavy rock, and I must admit that I've never
really listened to Led Zeppelin, but I like any music if it's good.
The Who are the best group I ever saw live, and I thought they
were fantastic. I think they probably turned me onto it, and the
Beatles were really good when they were heavy."
     Which is your favourite song out of those you have written and why?
Which of your albums is the more important to you personally and why?
There seems to be more emphasis on _Lionheart_ in your letters and
in the Club merchandise.
     "I haven't really got a favourite song, because I have a very
love/hate relationship with them all, and sometimes get bored with
them. I tend to associate things with a song, instead of just
seeing it for itself. I think the album which is most important
for me is the one I'm working on, and I think it's obvious why:
I'm much more involved, and it's something I want and I haven't
done it for a long time. Probably the reason there's been more
emphasis on _Lionheart_ in all the merchandising and from myself,
is just because that was my last album. And it's quite catchy:
we were calling the people around us during the Tour "Lionhearts"
and that was a very significant part of last year for all of us.
But soon it won't be so much "Lionheart" any more. It'll be
something else."
     Do you believe in UFOs and life on other planets?
     "I really believe in UFOs, and I don't see why there shouldn't
be life on other planets. We haven't got off this planet yet,
really, so how can we say if there is or isn't. It seems unlikely
that we would be the only ones. There have been so many reported
that I'm sure they exist, and I really hope I see one--and a
whale and a giraffe up close."
     When you go on stage, do you ever feel nervous?
     "When I go on stage, yes, I do feel nervous. I feel much
more nervous when I have to go up and collect awards and speak
to people than I do when I actually perform, and I think that's
because when you perform, you have a part like an actor, and you
fall back on that if you know it well enough and can carry it
through. I enjoy it so much. I think when you have to be yourself,
you're so conscious of being yourself that you wonder what people
think, but it soon goes once you're up there."
     Do you know anything about the messages scratched on the smooth
circle just before the centre of the records? Why are they there?
     "Yes, I don know something about these messages because I
wrote them, and they are messages to go with the record. It's
something that has been practised by several people. In fact,
have a look through your albums, you'll probably find quite a
few that you didn't even know were there."
     In your TV special, who wrote the song sung by you and
Peter Gabriel, and will it ever appear on vinyl? Also, what
were the names of the new songs you did on that show?
     "In the TV special the song that I sang with Peter Gabriel,
_Another_Day_, was written by Roy Harper--a very beautiful
song from his album _Flat_Baroque_and_Berserk_, which you can
buy from your record shops along with his most recent one,
which is brilliant. It's a really good song, and it will be
on vinyl one day, hopefully soon, but not with this album.
<Kate has still not released this recording.> The names of the
new songs that were done on the show weere _The_Wedding_List_,
_The_Ran_Tan_, _Egypt_ and _Violin_."
     When will the new album be released? Will it include _Egypt_
and _Violin_?
     "Hopefully the new album will be released quite soon, and
it will include _Egypt_, _Violin_ and lots of others."
     When you sit down to write a song, do you fit the words
to the music or the music to the words? Also, when you write
a song, do you imagine the sort of dance routine you might do?
     "When I write songs I normally get the music first. They
used to come together, but now the music seems to be sparked off
by an idea before the lyrics, and the lyrics usually fit in just
behind the music. It's not very often that I actually see the
dance routine when I'm writing the song. When it's written, there
are basic things there already, and in fact I find that the more
I write--especially recently for this album--the more I see
things when I'm writing. This is unusual, and I tend to shut
them out because I can't concentrate so well on the song itself."
     When you start recording a song, do you have an overall
idea of how it will end up? Also, at what stage do you start
to think about the album cover? The last two really seemed
to fit into the albums themselves. <True of the first cover,
but IED has yet to figure out the narrative behind the cover of
_Lionheart_. Kate has never explained it.>
     "When you do start recording a song, you normally have an
idea of how it will end up, hopefully, because that's why you
are going in to record it in the first place, and a song can take so many
different forms--they can take ten minutes to do, or they can take
two months. Normally, the stage at which the album cover is
conceived is by the time recording has actually begun. I think
that's quite important, because it's not until a certain stage
after you've started that a vibe emanates about how the songs are
going to fit together, what the sounds are going to be, and what
the general feel of the music is. We've always had the artwork
started by about a third of the way through, and you try to make
the picture say what the album is about, to create some kind of
vibe that the music does, and hopefully they should fit together."
     Is Anthony Van Laast Dutch? Van Laast sounds like a Dutch name.
<Van Laast was Kate's choreographic associate and part-time dance
instructor during the early years of her commercial career.>
     "Anthony isn't actually Dutch, himself, I don't think. But
I think his mother was, and that is her maiden name he uses."
     An interview in _Record_Mirror_ mentions "Jay". Who is this?
     "Jay is my brother--John Carder Bush."
     Was the concert with the London Symphony Orchestra televised?
<Kate sang _Blow_Away_ during a concert celebrating the 75th anniversary
of the LSO.>
     "No, it wasn't."
     In _Strange_Phenomena_ you sing "G arrives". Who or what is "G"?
     "'G' is in fact someone we know called Mr. G."
     Someone once said that _Coffee_Homeground_ was about a crazy
taxi driver. Is this true?
     "_Coffee_Homeground_ was sort of based on a taxi driver that
I met once, yes, but I wouldn't like to say that he was crazy because
a lot of people say that I am!"
     How tall are you?
     "I'm 5' 3 1/2", I think!"
     What was your job before you became a singer?
     "I didn't have a job before I became a singer. I left school
and started dancing, and then got a recording contract."
     A K.B.C. member who is also a member of the _Prisoner_Appreciation_
Society_ asks, Do you like _The_Prisoner_?'
     "Yes, I really like _The_Prisoner_, I think it was fantastic
and I used to watch it when it was first on TV on Sunday nights.
Patrick McGoohan was amazing. They should show it again."
     What school did you go to?
     "I went to a school in Abbey Wood called St. Joseph's."
     How did you meet Julie Covington? <An English pop singer who
once recorded a cover version of Kate's song _The_Kick_Inside_.>
     "I met Julie Covington through Jay. He is a friend of hers, and
I've known her for a long time."
     Where was the photo that appears on the front cover of
_Lionheart_ taken?
     "This photo was taken in a photographic studio by Gered
Mankowitz somewhere in London."
     In a film magazine it said that you turned down the offer of
singing the title song to the James Bond film _Moonraker_. Is this so,
and if so, why?
     "Yes, this is true. I thought it was a very lovely song, but
I just didn't think it was for me. I think Shirley Bassey did it
a lot better than I would have, anyway."
     Who are the two girls on Page 3 of the Christmas _Newsletter_?
     "They are Lisa and my Ma. Lisa is the lady who deals with all
your letters that come through to the Club, and she's starting
to take a lot of the workload off Nicholas's shoulders. You'll
be hearing a lot more from her in the future." <Lisa Bradley is
now the chief editor of the _Newsletter_. Nicholas Wade was in
charge only for the first five issues.>
     On the TV special, what were the trousers that you wore
for _Foot_on_the_Heartbrake_ made of, as they appeared be stretchy?
Also on the subject of _Heartbrake_, you seem to like motorbikes. Do you?
     "Those trousers were made by a guy who deals in stretch fabrics,
so they are stretchy, and it's very good material. I do like motorbikes.
I think they're very beautiful machines, but they often seem to be
abused. Shame!"
     In two of your songs you refer to Peter Pan. Is he a particular
favourite of yours?
     "I refer to Peter Pan because he stands for a lot of things. He
always has and he always will. People just don't want to grow up,
so I think he's everyone's favourite whether they like it or not."
     What breed are Zoodle and Pyewacket, and what colour are they?
     "Zoodle and Pye are--I think you call them 'moggies'. One
is black with one little white toe and the other one is black and
white."
     Has Ben Barson got a brother called Mike who plays keyboards for
Madness?
     "Yes, it is Ben's brother."
     What has happened to the band since the Tour of Life? Will
any of them be working with you again?
     "Since the Tour of Life we've worked together and they're
also doing lots of work with other people. They're in great
demand, being such wonderful musicians, and of course I'll be
working with them again, and you will see more of them. They send
you their love."
     Did you leave school with any qualifications in music?
     "Yes, I got an 'O'-level in music." <In fact, Kate earned
no fewer than ten "O"-levels, which is an exceptionally good
performance.>
     When Faith Brown and other impersonators mimick you, what is
your reaction?
     "I don't really watch much television. I haven't been for quite
a while--since I've been doing the album. But the ones I have seen
I think are really funny. I think it's incredible that I should
be chosen from so many to be imitated."

                 _Vegetarianism_

     People probably eat so much pre-packaged food because it's
always so easy to get in shops, and they don't connect it with live
animals. If they actually had to kill the animal themselves, they
would probably have great difficulty in doing it. People who live
and work with animals can be aware of what they are doing when they
kill an animal. They realise that they're going to be eating it,
rather than it being sent off to be sold in supermarkets. On some
levels this seems to be all right, because it's on a one-to-one basis:
you feed and look after the animal for a certain length of time and
then it repays you by becoming your food. But it's the mass-production
of living creatures just to be eaten, and the fact that people aren't
really aware of what they're eating, that I don't like.
     These days it seems more and more probable that fish are
likely to contain pollution--which can't do you any good--as
they have no choice but to eat all the muck that's in the water.
But hopefully people's general awareness is getting much better,
even down to buying a pint of milk: the fact that the calves are
actually killed so that the milk doesn't go to them but to us
can't really be right, and if you've seen a cow in a state of
extreme distress because it can't understand why its calf isn't
by it, it can make you think a lot.
     Working in London, I often have to go past meat markets,
and when I see all those people working in there with blood all over
them, and dead animals strung up from meat-hooks, just waiting to
be devoured, it's like something out of a horror film. When I realised
that, I didn't want to eat meat any more. I became more conscious
about the things that I did eat. I think this helped me to learn
more about food, because I had to start thinking what the nutritional
value of something was, and I'm still learning about things I didn't
think I could eat, which is really good. Just the discipline of
not eating meat is a very good thing. It's like giving up anything
you like--it hurts at first, but then you feel much better for it.
I don't know whether it was just me, but when I first became a
vegetarian I was really hungry a lot of the time, but I'm not now,
and I wonder if that's because my stomach has adjusted. When you
eat meat, you do ten to eat more than you need, and the body has
to work a lot to break it all down.
     It's interesting how the traveling that I've done reveals
things about people's diets. In many European countries it's very
hard to get something that hasn't got meat in it. There was one
instance in Germany where I asked for a bowl of tomato soup and,
having been assured that it contained just tomatoes, I tucked into it.
But about halfway through the soup I could see all these lumps
floating around at the bottom, and of course they were all meatballs.
They just naturally do things like putting bacon and meatballs
into vegetable soup, without even thinking about it. So many shops
are meat-oriented: it's all sausages and pies, and the only other
things you can really get are just potatoes and salads, when there
is such an enormous variety of non-animal foods that can be eaten.
Looking forward to a breakfast of toast and marmalade, and then
getting a couple of slabs of cold meat and white bread pushed
under your nose, isn't the way I like to start my day.
     Japan seemed to be more vegetable-oriented. They take great
pride in their vegetables, although they're greatly into fish,
and this is causing them and the dolphins a lot of problems.
I found Australia very meat-oriented, too, and this might have
something to do with it being such a young country, and it's true that
meat does give you a lot of energy. I suppose there was a time
when a slab of bacon fat for breakfast might have been necessary
for somebody working in a heavy manual job. But I've found that if
I keep an eye on the sort of vegetarian food that I eat, I don't
have any problems about dancing and singing on it.
     It all comes down to looking more closely at the sort of
food you are just used to having and saying to yourself, Do I
really need to eat this, or is there something that will be
better for me? The more people who get into good vegetarian food,
the easier it will be for us. If I go into a restaurant with
friends, and they settle down to a feast of meat and sauces and
so on, I usually end up with salad and chips--which is OK, but that's
about as far as most restaurants can go in the direction of vegetarian
food.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here is Kate's article from the sixth issue.>

                           _Convention_was_great!_

     Hello everyone. This is just to say I hope you're all well and
having a good time. We've almost finished the album <_Never_For_Ever_>
and I'm on holiday for a short while. The Club convention was great. I came
along just at the end, when everyone had been there for hours, and it was a
strange feeling going along to something where people that you know
very well had been for hours watching you, although you weren't actually
there. <Premonitions of _Watching_You_Without_Me_?> When I got onto the
stage it was incredible. There were so many people, and they all looked
so happy, and I felt really nervous--much more nervous than I do for
gigs, because I didn't know what I was going to say. It was fantastic:
it was like we all knew each other, and I thought the best thing we
could do was to scream and try to take the roof off.
     There was a lot of effort put into the convention, particularly
by Terry Walker and Bill Clark, and that was so useful because it
made it what it was. Without the effort it wouldn't have come across
so professionally and people wouldn't have had such a good time.
     I've been doing lots of crosswords! I got into that while we
were doing the album. We'd do a crossword every day, and now I can't
not do them. And I've come out in spots and I'm not sure if that's
because I'm eating too much chocolate or because my system's spitting
out the city. My skin feels full of the city--I can feel it oozing out,
but here the air is so seablown and new, I feel it's helping to get
me fit and awake.
     But before the album's finished and released, there will be
another single--sometime in June, probably.
We're a bit sad about the delay, but there's such a lot of good
music around--it's going to be a summer full of music!

-- Kate

                          _Breathing_

     I wanted to write a song, and I came up with some chords which
sounded to me very dramatic. Then up popped the line, "Outside get
inside," as I was trying to piece the song together, and I thought
it would be good to write a song about a baby inside the womb. Then
I came to a chorus piece, and decided that the obvious word to go
there was "breathing", and I thought automatically that it had
been done before. But asking around, I couldn't understand why it
hadn't, because it's such a good word. Then "breathing" and the
baby turned into the concept of life, and the last form of life
that would be around--that would be a baby that was about to be born
after the blast. It was a very personal song. I thought at the
time that it was self-indulgent, and it was something I just did
for myself, really. For me it's a statement that I hope won't happen.

                    _The_Empty_Bullring_

     This is a song that I first had ideas for quite a few years ago.
It is really about someone who is in love with someone who is obsessed
with something that is pretty futile. They can't get the person to
accept the fact that it is a futile obsession. To put it into a sort
of story form: he became a matador, and got gored so badly that he
couldn't carry on. But at night he climbs out of the window and runs
off to a bullring, when there is no-one there, and he fights a bull
that doesn't exist.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here is Kate's article for the seventh issue.>

                        _Them_bats_and_doves_

     Now, after all this waiting it is here. It's strange when I
think back to the first album. I thought it would never feel as new
or as special again. This one has proved me wrong. It's been the
most exciting. Its name is _Never_For_Ever_, and I've called it this
because I've tried to make it reflective of all that happens to you
and me.
     Life, love, hate, we, are all transient. All things pass, neither
good or evil lasts. So we must tell our hearts that it is "never for
ever," and be happy that it's like that!
     The album cover has been beautifully created by Nick Price (you
may remember that he designed the front of the Tour programme). On
the cover of _N._F._E._ Nick takes us on an intricate journey of
our emotions: inside gets outside, as we flood people and things with our
desires and problems. These black and white thoughts, these bats
and doves, freeze-framed in flight, swoop into the album and out of your
hi-fis. Then it's for you to bring them to life.
     The first stage of making _N._F._E._ happened last summer, when
I actually decided to be brave enough to go ahead and "produce" with
Jon Kelly, trusting him as a friend and an extremely talented engineer.
     So, with that settled, we "produced" our first master tapes.
We put down "Blow Away", "Egypt", "Violin" and "The Wedding List" at
Air Studios, with the bright and bubbly Jon Jacobs as assistant. As
you will see besides communication, "Jons" are also a theme of the
album. Never a day passed without at least two or three Jons popping
in to say hello, and as the album grew, so did the number of Jons,
reaching a total of fifteen turning up on the last day, _all_ in
the same room. A fatal move to say, "John?"
     Having been rehearsed with the band for two days, the tracks went
down, and our first "productions", with the help of ideal musicians,
were a success. All the tracks full of "Air" and "space", Jons
and tea!
     Early this year we moved into Studio number 2, Abbey Road--the
land of beatles, tea, smiles and sticky buns--where we met another
bright and bubbly John, John Barrett. John became an important part
of the album and completed a threesome, like Teddy with Andy Pandy
and Loopy Loo (Jon Kelly and myself).
     I would always use a notepad with each page designated to a
song, each song needing various instruments, effects, harmonies,
etc., which I would list and tick off appropriately. This helps
my memory, and keeps some kind of logical working order. Thanks to
dear Andrew Powell, where I learnt the necessity for a "prod.'s pad"!
     The basic process is to put down all the backing tracks first.
Then all overdubs, including vocals, and then to mix. The responsibility
as a producer was something I felt a great deal--you have to keep on
top of everything, and _sometimes_ it can be difficult. It's hard
to push people you love; talking and drinking are easy to give in to.
But the trouble, sometimes, was we were having too much fun.
     We always work until the early hours in the studio. It's a very
creative time, and with Roy Harper and Sky working at Abbey Road, too,
we were rarely alone, and felt very at home. However, discipline
did exist, so all was completed with care and tender hearts. I really
deeply appreciated the understanding and respect from all the
musicians, and after all I am only little, a female, and an
unlikely producer! But as I squirmed and contorted my way through
explanations of visuals and audials, they stood patient, calm and
open, and _not_one_ uttered "You weirdo!", unless in jest.
     Without everyone (and the Fairlight) it would never have been
the same. You move me, thank you, you are inspiration.
     There are ten tracks, and if there is a main theme, it's
about human communication and its difficulties.
     _Babooshka_ is about futile situations: the way in which we
often ruin things for ourselves.
     _Delius_ is a tribute to an extraordinary man both in body and
spirit.
     _Blow_Away_ is a comfort for the fear of dying, and for those
of us who believe that music is perhaps an exception to the _N._F._E._
rule.
     _All_We_Ever_Look_For_ is about how we seek something, but
in the wrong way, or at wrong times, so it is never found.
     _Egypt_ is an attempted audial animation of the romantic
and realistic visions of a country.
     _Wedding_List_ is about the powerful force of revenge, an
unhealthy energy which in this song proves to be a "killer".
     _Violin_ is for all the mad fiddlers, from "Paganini" to
"Old Nick" himself.
     _The_Infant_Kiss_ is about a governess. She is torn between
the love of an adult man and a child, who are within the same body.
     _Army_Dreamers_ is about a grieving mother who, through the
death of her soldier boy, questions her motherhood.
     _Breathing_ is a warning and plea from a future spirit to
try and save mankind and his planet from irretrievable destruction.
     Each song has a very different personality, and so much of the
production was allowing the songs to speak with their own voices--not
for them to be used purely as objects to decorate with "buttons
and bows".
     Choosing sounds is so like trying to be psychic, seeing into
the future, looking in the "crystal ball of arrangements," "scattering
a little bit of stardust," to quote the immortal words of the Troggs.
     Every time a musical vision comes true, it's like having
my feet tickled. When it works, it helps me to feel a bit braver. Of
course, it doesn't always work, but experiments and ideas in a studio
are never wasted; they will always find a place sometime.
     I never really felt like a producer, I just felt closer to my
loves--felt good, free, although a little raw, and sometimes paranoia
would pop up. But when working with emotion, which is what music is,
really, it can be so unpredictable--the human element, that fire.
     But all my friends, the Jons, and now _you_ will make all
the pieces of the _Never_For_Ever_ jigsaw slot together, and It will
be born and It will begin Breathing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

     <Here is Kate's article for the eighth issue.>

                   _December_will_be_magic_again_

     For the album to have been so warmly embraced has made me
very happy. It's hard for me to explain how easy it is to get anxious
with your own songs once they're on disc. They can easily be
up to a year old already, and so the unveiling of the album felt
very like the prodigal son coming home to me. I was willing to
leap into anything that would help move it along. As you all know,
most artists will do promotional work--which we will call "the
rounds"--to accompany their product. It was my turn for "the
rounds". What makes that fun are the people that you meet and you
are with--the travelling, the talking are tiring and monotous.
Among the major promotional events was a radio p.a. <personal
appearance> tour, which you'll hear more of in A. B.'s <Andrew
Bryant?> article. This means travelling from city to city,
visiting radio stations and record shops to meet people and
give autographs, and to do the odd press interview. The tour
was to start in Edinburgh. Hil <Hilary Walker, Kate's manager>
had booked a motorail ticket for us to travel by train to
Carlisle, taking the car to drive us from there onwards. The
train left at five minutes to midnight, and things were packed:
a flask of tea, a couple of sandwiches, some books, etc. And
as the car had been put on the train an hour or so before our
departure, I decided I'd visit a friend in between that time and
get a taxi to the station. I was having a great chat in a nice,
warm, cosy environment with homemade fruit buns and a steaming
cup of tea, when I realised the taxi that I had ordered had not arrived
yet and it was getting late. I rang again--they said it was
on its way, but we know they always say that, don't they?
     Eventually, with an excited driver speeding to the
station at the thought of the mentioned "big tip" if he got
me there on time, I arrived at midnight: no train and lots of weridos.
Another train was quickly sorted out which left an hour later,
and so I bedded up in a little cabin set for Scotland. The
first thing that really hit me when I got in the cabin was it
was so quiet. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been anywhere
so silent, and it scared me. Its silence made me feel uneasy
because of me being so unused to it.
     The scenery was beautiful, waking up as the sun peeped over the
transient countryside and factory chimneys. We arrived in
Edinburgh and the first radio station. The schedule had begun. Meeting
the people in the shops is a very strange experience--whilst
I sit at the back of the shop and watch them all come in, as anxious
as me, some of them. All these faces feeding me, one by one; they
think I'm feeding them, but they're giving me so much it's like
they've all come to my party and the more the merrier. That's
something that struck me, how most of the people are remarkably
warm and kind and unbothered, and they're not trying to prove
anything. I get a certain kind of "pride", if that's not too
arrogant, thinking how lucky I am to have these people receptive
to my music. It means a lot in terms of artistic reward.
     A lot was covered on the tour, including a brief meeting
with Ranchor, our friend from the Hare Krishna movement, who
has now moved to Manchester, which was one of the cities on our
route. Eventually, the tour completed, and a long, warm, sleepy
drive back to London listening to taped stories.
     A TV show in Germany meant a dance routine, choice of
dancers and a trip to Munich. "Babooshka" and "Army Dreamers"
had been asked to be performed. The "Babooshka" video, if
you remember, had double bass sections, and this is
what I "bassed" my routine on, using the instrument all the
way through the song. The evening I was working on the choreography,
Paddy, Andrew <Bryant> and Del <Palmer> were in the room. We
decided to try it, as I had some ideas, and we worked the
night through very enthusiastically, eventually coming up with
a very dramatic and very pleasing routine. "Army Dreamers"
is one of those songs that could take many different concepts
as a visual choreographic piece. For Germany we decided a
cleaning-woman of abstract barracks would be fine, joined by
three army dreamers, one of whom is a mad sergeant-major who
shouts commands at invisible troops, one who carries a gun
and mandolin, and one who blinks blankly and carries a small
brown teddy bear. The routine was rehearsed, army uniforms
bought, Mrs. Mopp's costume improvised with an old jumble-sale
dress, a pair of pink rubber gloves, a head scarf, Ma's
kitchen apron, her wooden broom and a small brown teddy-bear
for one of our "dreamers".
     Arriving in Germany, we were met and taken straight to
the TV centre, where we were to spend the day. The rehearsal
went well--borrowing some toy guns from the TV people, and
a broom which I'd forgotten to bring as hadn't looked like a prop
standing in my hall as I left for the airport. It was time
for the performance. I was Mrs. Mopp, and the three army
dreamers were somewhere in the building, waiting, too, for the
call. As I came down the stairs, receiving many funny looks at
my dress, I saw three men in uniform standing in the doorway with
black, made-up faces looking very heavy and official, and it
was not until I got very close and noticed the grinning, familiar
faces that I realised who they were. Everything went very well,
and, joined by two
.bf ital
MM <Melody Maker>
.bf
scouts, we had a great time. The show was done, and out to dinner,
incorporating an
.bf ital
MM
.pf
interview.
The Germans looked after us very well, and at one point in
rehearsals we had been hesitant that people around us were
offended or worried by three Englishmen dressed in Army uniforms
strolling around the studio with little guns, but no problem--it
shows how little these people hold grudges that we were still
suspicious of.
     "Babooshka", again, was to be performed abroad, this time
in Venice. Venice is an extremely beautiful place, and if
you ever get the chance to see it, please do, it really is
magical. Water is the way of everything there--even lampposts
are on water. I took lots of photos, and we've included one of
a canal. The hotel that we were staying at was beautiful,
with an incredible view of the ocean out of my window. For
this TV show Gary <Hurst> and I had rehearsed a duet which
we had made up the night before. Often this has strangely
good results; maybe it is due to adrenalin. Gary had hired
a suit from Moss Bros. the day before, and I'd pulled out
an old dress which I used to wear when I was in the KT Bush
Band and we performed in pubs. This TV show was live, and as
the studio was only across the road (the other side of the hotel
backed onto one of the few pieces of dry land in Venice), every
performer dressed and made up at the hotel and walked to the
TV studio fully equipped .
     Our turn came, and as we hit the street we saw silver-suited
spacemen; red-, blue-, green-haired people; electric guitars;
pantomime horses; one yellow submarine and two dancing bears
spilling in and out of the TV centre. We squeezed past the various
brightly coloured suits and smiles, did our bit and squeezed
past them again on the way back to the hotel. In many ways it
reminded me of Noah's Ark: two of every kind in a place on the
water.
     Just as we entered the hotel we met Peter Gabriel, plus band,
who were also on the same show and were on their way out. We
exchanged very English greetings on foreign land: "Break a leg,
old chap!"; and Peter headed on his way to the bizarre circus.
Meanwhile, we had heard that there was a TV room upstairs, so
we rushed up to a mini-circus where all the artists that had
already performed were sprayed around the floor, glued to
the television, expressing kind words of comradeship in the
relevant language to whomever was on the screen at that point
in time; an unusual live, friendly feeling. Peter's performance
was powerful and stood out amongst all the others, and
the viewing-room certainly seemed to agree.
      The next version of "Army Dreamers" was to be the promotional
video. For a long time my vision of "Army Dreamers" on screen had
been in green woods, heavy and sad, and the extent of the visual
production I wanted on this occasion would only be possible
where we had the time, opportunities and budget: not unlike an unknown
TV studio, where you have no control over the set or lighting--you
go for the simplest, easiest concept possible without spoiling
the image. I drew a storyboard from which we worked. I have never had a
talent for drawing <IED doesn't agree at all. A very clever and
sensitive landscape drawing by Kate, dated 5th November 1978, appeared
in issue number 14 of the _Newsletter_. It shows great style
and natural ability which Kate, unfortunately, has never developed.>
and so I got a lot of laughs, as well as being able to communicate
the ideas in a more concrete way. The cast had to be big--we were
to represent an army unit, therefore needing a Sergeant-Major.
I gathered all the people that I knew would not only look good but
act the part; the choice was obvious--the band, Andrew <again
last name not given> as our Sergeant-Major. Phone calls were made,
and I couldn't have asked for a more positive reaction from
everyone concerned, to the point of someone putting off a <recording>
session. A second phone call was made immediately afterwards to find
the size boot required for the uniforms. This became very Pythonesque,
especially when people replied "Size 9." Everyone involved was
a natural actor and performer, and a rehearsal was called.
The cast were to turn up at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Keef
at 2 and Rocket and Barry (who were the two cameramen) at 3.