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Path: lll-winken!das!ed
From: ed@das.llnl.gov (Edward Suranyi)
Newsgroups: rec.music.gaffa
Subject: Re: Special Notice
Date: 13 Sep 89 19:13:02 GMT
References: <8909130519.AA04156@GAFFA.MIT.EDU>
Sender: usenet@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV
Reply-To: ed@das.UUCP (Edward Suranyi)
Organization: Dept. of Applied Science, UC Davis at LLNL
Lines: 97


Andrew Marvick (IED) writes:
>
>     This is a pitch to all Love-Hounds who value Kate Bush's music, and
>their own souls.
>     When the new single, _Love_and_Anger_, comes out on CBS Alternatives
>Records on October 1, EVERYBODY PLEASE GO OUT AND _BUY_10_COPIES_ of it
>immediately!

That's an interesting idea that I'd never thought of.  Actually, it sounds
like a good one.  Ten singles should set one back about $20, which is 
considerably less than many KT items.

>     A couple of specific suggestions: you could visit your nearest
>major chain record outlet--you know, the big boring Top-40 retail
>stores like Music Plus, Sam Goody, Wherehouse, etc.: the names
>change from state to state, but they're always exactly the same
>whichever town you're in, and more and more they seem to be owned
>by the same conglomerate--and repeatedly drop a word in the store's
>main buyer's ear about how important it is that Kate be well stocked
>and displayed. Give them any ideas you might have about how they might
>display the promotional artwork for the album, and try to communicate
>your enthusiasm to them, somehow or other.

Believe me, I plan to do exactly that.  When _The Whole Story_ came out,
I went to the nearest Tower Records (at that time it was the one in 
Mountain View) nearly every day to see how that album was doing.  In that
store, at least, it did reasonably well.  The album was displayed in a
visible location, and eventually got onto their "Top 25" rack, peaking at
number five (!) for one week.  I also took note of promotions at other
record stores, so I know that nice posters were displayed at the Tower in
Campbell,  the Licorice Pizza (now Sam Goody) in North Hollywood, and the
student store at the University of California, Irvine.  Also, Tower
featured a prominent ad for the album in the December 1986 issue of
_Pulse!_ magazine, and Rainbow Records (a large Bay Area chain) also 
advertised her once.

This time, I plan to see as many Bay Area stores as I can, to check up on
what's doing.


>     Also, consider writing a letter to your local newspaper, alerting
>them to the imminent release of Kate's new album, and how great it
>would be if they had an early, full-length feature review in their
>arts section on Kate's career and the latest work.

I've done this, too!  In January, 1987, Mick LaSalle wrote a nice article
about _TWS_ in the _San Francisco Chronicle_.  In fact, it's one of my favoritesof all the articles about Kate that I have because it's from the point of
view of someone coming across Kate's music for the first time.  It starts
by saying, "I've just bought Kate Bush's new album, and now I've gone back
and picked up the rest of her albums."

I wrote a letter back to him, part of which was actually published (along
with someone else's letter about how great Kate is).  I got some feedback
from this from a radio station (which no longer exists, unfortunately),
telling me how much they agreed, and that they play Kate sometimes.

Maybe it would be a good idea to write another letter to Mr. LaSalle
telling him about the imminent release of the new album.  I think I'll do
that!

>     And what about dropping a postcard to Kurt Loder at MTV, asking
>him to push Kate's video for airtime. You could mention that you

I'd love to do this if somebody could get me the address.

>     Naturally, you could also do a lot of good by soliciting the
>various rock radio stations on Kate's behalf. But you can _also_ make
>a mark by _writing_ the station manager a letter. It's amazing
>what effect a nicely typed letter can have sometimes, even when a
>bunch of phone calls seem to fall on deaf ears.

I've written so many letters of this sort that I can hardly count them.
I consider it my *duty* to show my appreciation whenever anyone plays
Kate in public -- whether over the radio, at a store, or any other 
situation.  Currently, I've been occupied telling the stations that do
play Kate sometimes about the new album.  They at least seem interested.
For example, Audio-Vidya of KITS has used the information I've given her
twice on her "Modern Rock Report".  If anybody has some ideas about other
Bay Area radio stations that might be persuaded, let me know!

>     And speaking of writing letters, one place that could _really_
>benefit from written reminders of the size and involvement of Kate's
>fans in America is CBS Records itself. Unfortunately, CBS is a huge
>conglomerate, and not all signs of their plans for Kate have been
>auspicious ones. Some of their reps seem to be almost totally ignorant
>of Kate Bush, even though she's been signed with them for more than
>a year and a half now. Call them up! Write them letters! Send them
>cards! LET THEM KNOW YOU CARE!

Another excellent idea, which I plan to do.  I once wrote a letter to
EMI-America about Kate, but never received a response.  I think that
perhaps this was right about the time she switched to CBS Records.

Ed
ed@das.llnl.gov