From the _Modern Rock News_

[ed@das.llnl.gov (Edward Suranyi)]

Because of all my letters and phone calls to KITS over the course of
the past year, they put me on their mailing list.  Every month I get
a four-page long newsletter called the _Modern Rock News_.  One page
is always an ad, two pages are news about the station and short notes
about artists, and one page is always an article about an artist the
station is featuring.  Well, I just got the December issue, and the
featured artist is -- you guessed it -- Kate!

I suspect that they simply transcribed a Columbia press release; that's
what it reads like.  But here it is:

     Kate Bush was born in Bexley, Kent, England, on July 30, 1958.  Her
father, an avid spare time piano player, and mother, an Irish woman who
takes much joy in music and dancing, raised Kate and her two older
brothers with an open mind to artistic experiments.
     Kate began violin lessons (reluctantly) around the age of nine but
took a passionate interest in the piano.  The day after her father showed
her the scale of C, Kate became a songwriter.
     As a result of a three-track demo, organized and financed by Pink
Floyd's Dave Gilmour, Kate was signed to EMI before leaving school.
Accepting a modest advance from EMI, she was able to concentrate full time
on expanding her catalogue of songs.  Kate also continued her dance
studies, which were initially inspired, and later taught, by theatrical
mime-master Lindsay Kemp.  They would prove invaluable later on with the
dawning age of video.
     "I'd wanted to make a record more than anything else," Kate
remembers.  Her ambition was achieved in mid-1977 with the recording of
her debut album, _The Kick Inside_. Her first single "Wuthering Heights,"
became a #1 single in the U.K.  It was followed by the album, which
rapidly sold over one million copies in the U.K. alone.
     The pressure was on to make and release a second album.  But when
Kate realized her recording schedule had to be fitted around promotional
demands all over the continent, she vowed to exercise much more control
over her career in the future.  Nonetheless, the _Lionheart_ album came
out in December '78 and a decision to tour was finalized.
     Thirty odd dates took place in Britain and Europe during the
spring of '79.  Every show was a sellout and the two and a half hours
of music, dance, mime and magic defied critics' expectations.  But
the rigors exhausted Kate to such an extent she's never been able to
seriously contemplate the idea of another tour.
     Then came the five and a half minute single, "Breathing," which
championed Green issues back on 1980, and marked a major change in the
expectations of Kate Bush's many observers.  The single entitled 
"Babooshka" was followed in September by a new album, _Never for Ever_.
Here was vinyl confirmation that Kate had much to offer for the often
bland world of pop.
     "_The Dreaming_ album was so difficult to make," says Kate of her
next record.  "Just about everything that could go wrong did during
that period."  With studio problems and her method of working and the
cost involved, she decided to upgrade her own demo studio to a 
professional recording level.
     Meanwhile, critics were left to ponder the merits of an album that
had yielded "Sat in Your Lap" and the title track as singles.  In fact,
_The Dreaming_ added considerably to the Kate Bush fan base between
its release and that of _Hounds of Love_ exactly three years later.
     _Hounds of Love_ quickly established itself as Kate's most
successful album to date both in a commercial and critical sense.  It
was the first to give her real chart success in America, htting the top
30 in 1985 (as did the "Running Up That Hill" single).  The album was
also the catalyst for several superb videos, most memorably the one
that accompanied "Cloudbusting," which starred Kate and Donald Sutherland
-- one of her favorite actors.
     _The Whole Story_ came next, the million-selling compilation album
and video released late in 1986.  Both formats charted high amongst the
best-selling titles that year.  [In the UK, that is.]  Kate's videos,
many of which are directed by her, are almost as popular as her records.
     "I know it's taken a long time but each record gets harder to make,"
she says, explaining the four-year gap between the albums, _Hounds of
Love_ and _The Sensual World_.  "This is my most personal and female
album so far.  I particularly wanted 'The Sensual World' as the first
single because I feel it is a strong expression of positive female
energy."



Ed (Edward Suranyi)        | Caption:  "Kate Bush goes from cult fave to
Dept. of Applied Science   |        chart rave."  -- _Billboard_
UC Davis/Livermore         |   (In "Was It A Hit Or A Miss" in the 1985
ed@das.llnl.gov            |          year-end special issue.)