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From: derek%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford)
Date: Wed, 5 Sep 90 09:35:22 PDT
Subject: Copy of a letter to EMI from Derek Langsford and Andrew Marvick
To: Love-Hounds From: Derek Langsford and Andrew Marvick (IED) Subject: Copy of a letter to EMI from Derek Langsford and Andrew Marvick What follows below is the final draft of a letter co-written by Derek Langsford and IED on the subject of EMI's plan to release a boxed set of Kate Bush compact discs. It has been sent off to EMI's Manchester Square offices. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Davis, Product Manager, EMI Records Ltd., 20 Manchester Square, London, W1A 1ES, England, UK 4th September, 1990 Dear Mr. Davis, Re : _The Kate Bush CD Box Set_ We recently learned that EMI has at long last decided to release a collection of Kate Bush b-sides, non-LP tracks and other rarities on compact disc, in a box set which would also include all of Kate's albums. Even more recently Peter FitzGerald-Morris (Editor of _Homeground_ Magazine, England's official Kate Bush fanzine) listed the projected non-album tracks of EMI's forthcoming collection. Naturally, all of Kate's fans were happy to learn of the plan to make Kate's non-LP recordings available on compact disc. We and many other fans however, were _extremely_ disappointed to discover that the material selected for release was so limited in scope. The package, as described in Peter's report, seems to make little market or artistic sense. We are writing to you now to make a number of suggestions which we hope you will consider before finalizing your plans for the collection. We offer first a list of important additions to the non-LP track listing. Below that we offer a suggested alternative track listing for the entire collection: one which we feel would be far more satisfactory than the present plan. We hope you will see that this approach would be a much better commercial proposition than what seems to be on the drawing board at the moment. _Non-Album Recordings for the Collection_ We were very pleased, of course, to see that EMI do plan to include all of the releases from EMI's non-LP Kate Bush catalogue. These are: 1.) The Empty Bullring 2.) Ran Tan Waltz 3.) Passing Through Air 4.) December Will Be Magic Again (single mix) 5.) Warm and Soothing 6.) Lord of the Reedy River 7.) Dreamtime 8.) Ne T'enfuis pas 9.) Un Baiser d'enfant 10.) The Man With the Child in His Eyes (single mix) 11.) Under the Ivy 12.) My Lagan Love 13.) The Handsome Cabin Boy 14.) Burning Bridge 15.) Not This Time 16.) Running Up That Hill (extended remix) 17.) Running Up That Hill (instrumental) 18.) Hounds of Love (Alternative Hounds remix) 19.) The Big Sky (Meteorological mix) 20.) Cloudbusting (Organon mix) 21.) Experiment IV 22.) Experiment IV (extended remix) 23.) Wuthering Heights (new vocal version) 24.) The Sensual World (instrumental) 25.) Walk Straight Down the Middle 26.) I'm Still Waiting 27.) Be Kind to My Mistakes (single remix) 28.) Ken (G.L.C.) 29.) The Confrontation (G.L.C.) 30.) One Last Look Around the House Before We Go... 31.) Them Heavy People (live) 32.) Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake (live) 33.) James and the Cold Gun (live) 34.) L'Amour Looks Something Like You (live) These thirty four tracks constitute Kate Bush's total official "b-side" and non-LP catalogue output on EMI. *It does not, however, constitute anything like the total number of non-LP recordings which Kate has made to date, and which have still not been released on compact disc by EMI*. Here is a supplementary list of _indispensible_ non-LP tracks and rarities by Kate Bush which we fervently hope you will include in your compilation: 1.) _Maybe_. This is the first of two known demo recordings of this song which Kate wrote long before signing with EMI. Kate herself played an excerpt from this recording on the BBC radio programme "Personal Call" in 1979, and Kate Bush fans have been treasured that excerpt ever since. The song is a favorite among many fans, and its exclusion from your compilation would be sorely missed. 2. and 3.) _The Long and Winding Road_ and _She's Leaving Home_. Both from a pre-recorded television performance which Kate made on the Japanese television variety programme "Sound in 'S'" on June 23rd, 1978. 4.) _Another Day_. This is a duet of the Roy Harper song which Kate recorded with Peter Gabriel for her BBC television special "Kate" in December 1979. Kate fans count this as a particular favorite. 5.) _Ibiza_. This recording of a song co-written by Kate and Peter Gabriel was originally intended as the b-side of the projected "Another Day" single which was, unfortunately, never released. 6.) _The Magician_. This is a song by Maurice Jarre with lyrics by Paul Webster which Kate recorded for the soundtrack to the film "The Magician of Lublin", starring Alan Arkin. Kate Bush fans have long suffered with nothing except the soundtrack as dubbed off of video-tapes of the film. The soundtrack has never been released on record, let alone on compact disc. This song is absolutely indispensible to any serious compilation of Kate Bush rarities. 7 and 8.) _Breathing (live)_ and _Do Bears Sh.. in the Woods? (live)_. These two songs were released as part of the "Comic Relief" album, "Ha! Ha! Ha! Utterly Utterly Live" which included excerpts from the live "Comic Relief" shows of April 4-6, 1986. The former track is a live solo performance by Kate of the song from her Never For Ever album; the latter track is a live duet with Rowan Atkinson of a comic song written specially for the occasion. 9.) _Be Kind to My Mistakes (original soundtrack-album version)_. Longer and much different from the version which was released as a b-side from the This Woman's Work twelve-inch single and CD-single. This alternate, early version of the song was released--though never on compact disc--as part of the EMI soundtrack album from the Nicolas Roeg film "Castaway". 10.) _Brazil_. This is a vocal version of the old popular song which Terry Gilliam used as the main theme for his film, "Brazil". Kate recorded this version to an orchestral arrangement by Michael Kamen as part of a collection of tracks which were originally planned for a soundtrack album of Gilliam's film. For undisclosed reasons it was never released. Kate's fans have wanted to hear this recording ever since. 11.) _Cloudbusting (the video mix)_. This is the version of "Cloudbusting" which Kate recorded for her video of the song. It includes a section of completely new and exclusive music. 12.) _Running Up That Hill (live)_. This live performance was released on the album "Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Third Ball: The Music". 13.) _Rocket Man_. This is a cover version of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin song which Kate recorded for inclusion in a compilation album by various artists, in tribute to the twentieth anniversary of the songwriting team of John and Taupin. For undisclosed reasons that album was never released, but Kate's fans have long coveted this recording. 14-17.) _G.L.C.--the Four Missing Tracks_. These four short tracks are instrumental and choral pieces which Kate recorded for or gathered together to include in an episode of the "Comic Strip" television series called "G.L.C." Three other tracks from this, the only Kate Bush filmscore, were included as b-sides on the twelve-inch single and CD-single of Love and Anger, but these remaining four bits of music were sadly omitted from any official EMI release. As they are particularly beautiful recordings, their inclusion in the planned collection is eagerly anticipated by fans. As you can see there is more material than might have been initially considered. Each of the pieces is essential to any attempt to produce a "complete Kate Bush compilation" on CD. Nor does the preceding list constitute the sum of rare and sought-after Kate Bush rarities. In addition, we strongly urge EMI to consider releasing a definitive, full-length compact disc recording of Kate's entire Tour of Life concert. Heretofore fans have had to make do with the four-song EP _On Stage_, and the video-cassette, _Kate Bush Live on Stage at the Hammersmith Odeon_, which contained twelve songs from Kate's twenty-five-song set. Of particular interest to fans are the wonderful snatches of special music and poetry which were performed in between many of the songs which Kate performed on stage; and the extraordinary early version of _Egypt_, which differs greatly from the album version. EMI might also want to include two other rare live performances by Kate: her rendition of _Blow Away_ at the 75th Anniversary concert of the London Symphony Orchestra; and her live performance of _The Wedding List_ from the Prince's Trust Gala concert of 1982. _The Box Set Configuration_ We think we speak for all Kate Bush fans--certainly those who belong to the U.S. organizations Love-Hounds and The American Kate Bush Society--when we say that we are already very grateful to EMI and Kate for at last putting together her b-sides and rarities as a compact-disc collection. If you take the time to find room for most of the recordings discussed above, we are very sure the Kate Bush fan community will respond by buying them in record numbers. To accomplish this, however, the box set must be planned in a way that will make it attractive to all the fans who already own Kate's albums on individual CDs. Frankly, we have already heard complaints and doubts from other fans concerning the set as proposed by EMI. These fans are put off by the prospect of having to duplicate their collection of album CDs simply in order to acquire the non-LP collection. In an attempt to satisfy both EMI's plans for a superior product and the fans' desire for a truly comprehensive and priceworthy collection, we have come up with the following design for the programme of the proposed boxed set of compact discs. Discs 1 to 6 : _The Albums_. First and most importantly, each of the album CDs should include several bonus tracks. This makes the new discs of the albums different from their original editions and adds greatly to their collectibility among those many fans who already own the album CDs. Naturally, the choice and sequence of these bonus tracks should complement the albums to which they are attached. Another advantage of this plan is that it gives EMI the alternative of either reducing the overall number of discs required for the collection of non-LP tracks, or (our preference, of course) adding greatly to the number of rarities in the collection. Above all, however, this plan makes optimal use of the enlarged capacity of the digital medium. The booklets for these discs should be special editions, designed exclusively for the boxed set. They should include lyrics of the bonus songs and an indication of where the songs came from. Disc 7: _The Whole Story Volume Two_ In a boxed set which already includes all of Kate's studio albums, the inclusion of the original greatest-hits LP, _The Whole Story_, would obviously be redundant. We propose an alternative: a new disc which would compile all of Kate's single releases which were not included in the original edition of _The Whole Story_, including all of the alternate mixes of the Hounds of Love singles, and, updated with the singles from Kate's most recent album, The Sensual World. The new compilation could be called _The Whole Story Volume Two_. There is another advantage to this plan. With the original singles collection, _The Whole Story_, already available, a separate, single-disc release of The Whole Story Volume Two would make an excellent companion release for the more limited-edition boxed set. Essentially an update of Kate's singles output, _The Whole Story Volume Two_ would give "Greatest Hits" collectors something to buy as a companion to the original _The Whole Story_. Its inclusion in the boxed set might very well entice more people to buy the complete boxed set, particularly as the boxed set would not contain _The Whole Story_ (1).and would actually compliment it. The booklet could be similar in style to that for the original _The Whole Story_. Disc 8 : _The Uncollected Rarities_. A disc of the extra songs that do not fit in with the album work or b-side songs with a booklet explaining their source and lyrics. Disc 9: _The Tour of Life_. A full CD of live recordings from the video soundtrack as well as additional songs which were edited out of the video release, Live at the Hammersmith Odeon. Here now are our suggested track listings for the entire set of nine compact discs, which are comprised of the six albums (each with its own set of historically related bonus tracks), the collection of additional rarities, the second volume of _The Whole Story_, and the expanded album of live recordings from Kate's only tour: Disc 1: _The Kick Inside_ 1.) Moving 2.) The Saxophone Song 3.) Strange Phenomena 4.) The Man With the Child in His Eyes 5.) The Kick Inside 6.) Wuthering Heights 7.) James and the Cold Gun 8.) Feel It 9.) Oh To Be in Love 10.) L'Amour Looks Something Like You 11.) Them Heavy People 12.) Room For the Life 13.) The Kick Inside BONUS TRACKS--Five studio demos, circa 1976-77: 14.) Moving 15.) Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake 16.) L'Amour Looks Something Like You 17.) Kite 18.) Strange Phenomena 19.) Scares Me Silly Disc 2: _Lionheart_ and _On Stage_ 1.) Symphony in Blue 2.) In Search of Peter Pan 3.) Wow 4.) Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake 5.) Oh England, My Lionheart 6.) Full House 7.) In the Warm Room 8.) Kashka From Baghdad 9.) Coffee Homeground 10.) Hammer Horror BONUS TRACKS--Kate Bush "On Stage": 11.) Them Heavy People (live) 12.) Full House (live) 13.) James and the Cold Gun (live) 14.) L'Amour Looks Something Like You (live) Disc 3: _Never For Ever_ 1.) Babooshka 2.) Delius 3.) Blow Away 4.) All We Ever Look For 5.) Egypt 6.) The Wedding List 7.) Violin 8.) The Infant Kiss 9.) Night Scented Stock 10.) Army Dreamers 11.) Breathing BONUS TRACKS 12.) The Empty Bullring 13.) Ran Tan Waltz 14.) December Will Be Magic Again (The "Winter Snowtime Special" version) 15.) Warm and Soothing 16.) Babooshka (Demo No. 1: solo piano) 17.) Babooshka (Demo No. 2: rhythm-box and backing vocals) Disc 4: _The Dreaming_ 1.) Sat In Your Lap 2.) There Goes a Tenner 3.) Pull Out the Pin 4.) Suspended in Gaffa 5.) Leave it Open 6.) The Dreaming 7.) Night of the Swallow 8.) All the Love 9.) Houdini 10.) Get Out of My House BONUS TRACKS: 11.) Lord of the Reedy River 12.) Dreamtime 13.) Ne T'enfuis pas 14.) Un Baiser d'enfant 15.) Sat In Your Lap (demo version) 16.) Sat In Your Lap (rhythm-track only: demo) Disc 5: _Hounds of Love_ 1.) Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (album version) 2.) Hounds of Love (album version) 3.) The Big Sky (album version) 4.) Mother Stands For Comfort 5.) Cloudbusting (album version) 6.) And Dream of Sheep 7.) Under Ice 8.) Waking the Witch 9.) Watching You Without Me 10.) Jig of Life 11.) Hello Earth 12.) The Morning Fog BONUS TRACKS: 13.) Under the Ivy 14.) My Lagan Love 15.) The Handsome Cabin Boy 16.) Burning Bridge 17.) Not This Time 18.) Running Up That Hill (instrumental) 19.) Experiment IV (seven-inch single mix) Disc 6: _The Sensual World_ 1.) The Sensual World (album version) 2.) Love and Anger 3.) The Fog 4.) Reaching Out 5.) Heads We're Dancing 6.) Deeper Understanding 7.) Between a Man and a Woman 8.) Never Be Mine 9.) Rocket's Tail (For Rocket) 10.) This Woman's Work album version) BONUS TRACKS: 11.) Walk Straight Down the Middle 12.) I'm Still Waiting 13.) Be Kind to My Mistakes (single version) 14.) The Sensual World (instrumental) 15.) Wuthering Heights (New Vocal version) Disc 7: _The Whole Story, Volume Two_ A follow-up to The Whole Story, this disc completes the collection of Kate's singles catalogue to date, and also includes a number of additional bonus tracks. Note no particular track order is given here. 1.) Hammer Horror 2.) Them Heavy People ("live" version from the official video) 3.) There Goes a Tenner 4.) Suspended in Gaffa 5.) Night of the Swallow 6.) The Sensual World 7.) Love and Anger 8.) This Woman's Work (single mix) 9.) December Will Be Magic Again (single version) 10.) Wuthering Heights (original version) BONUS TRACKS: 11.) The Man With the Child in His Eyes (original "He's here!" single mix) 12.) Running Up That Hill (twelve-inch extended mix) 13.) Hounds of Love (Alternative Hounds version) 14.) The Big Sky (The Meteorological Mix) 15.) Cloudbusting (The Organon Mix) 16.) Experiment IV (Twelve-inch extended re-mix) Disc 8: _Uncollected Rarities_ 1.) Maybe ("Personal Call" BBC radio programme version--complete song) 2.) The Long and Winding Road ("Sound in 'S'" Japanese TV programme recording) 3.) She' Leaving Home ("Sound in 'S'" Japanese TV programme recording) 4.) Another Day ("Kate" BBC TV special version, with Peter Gabriel) 5.) Ibiza (unreleased duet recorded by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel) 6.) The Magician (from the soundtrack of the film "The Magician of Lublin") 7.) Blow Away (live) (with the London Symphony Orchestra, 1979) 8.) The Wedding List (live) (from "The Prince's Trust Gala Concert", 1982) 9.) Breathing (live) (from the Comic Relief shows) 10.) Do Bears Sh** in the Woods? (live) (from the Comic Relief shows) 11.) Be Kind to My Mistakes (original film-soundtrack album version) 12.) Running Up That Hill (live) (from the Secret Policeman's Third Ball 13.) Cloudbusting (the video version) 14.) Brazil (from the never-released soundtrack album) 15.) Rocket Man (from the never-released Elton John tribute album) 16.) Title Theme (from the Comic Strip episode "G.L.C.") 17.) At the Television Studio (from the Comic Strip episode "G.L.C.") 18.) Ken (from the Comic Strip episode "G.L.C.") 19.) The Confrontation (from the Comic Strip episode "G.L.C.") 20.) One Last Look Around the House Before We Go... (from the Comic Strip episode "G.L.C.") 21.) At the Grave Site (from the Comic Strip episode "G.L.C.") Disc 9: _The Tour of Life_ A full CD's worth from the 1979 tour--in other words, all twelve tracks from the original home-video release, plus four or five additional tracks--particularly Egypt, which is of great interest because the live version is quite different from the album version. All discs would be under 75 minutes long. In addition to the special booklets for each individual disc, there should be a special, separate booklet containing a detailed official EMI discography, photos, brief comments explaining the relation of the albums to their respective bonus-tracks, and a chronology or brief biographical piece--possibly contributed by Kate herself. We believe it's important that the set should be made attractive in every possible way--not only through good design and artwork, but also through the inclusion of new booklets and the exploitation of the compact disc's longer playing time. Above all we hope that you will bear in mind that most of Kate's fans already own her albums on disc, and that therefore the inclusion of all her albums in the new boxed set must be made to seem a worthwhile investment--and as we see it, the magic words in this regard are: *bonus tracks*. Finally, we feel that the simultaneous release of a separate single-disc collection (The Whole Story Volume Two) would give those who couldn't afford the boxed set a more modest alternative that still provided considerable interest in its own right. With the right kind of marketing such a collection might also encourage many newcomers to consider buying the entire boxed set. In closing we'd like to offer you our sincere thanks for making the first and most important decision: to release a boxed set of Kate Bush albums. We urge you to consider adopting our ideas for the project. Sincerely yours, Derek Langsford Andrew Marvick