Article in _Music Collector_, a British magazine

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

The September 1990 issue of the British magazine _Music Collector_
has an article about Kate.  The author could have used a better
proofreader, but here it is:

KATE BUSH -- The High Poetess of Rock
By Mike Day

I have noticed him seven times or more
But he has not seen me.
He may have seen a girl called by
My name --
But neither he, nor anyone else will 
Ever really see me.

     A shy, quiet, introverted girl called Catherine Bush wrote these
lines for her school magazine.  Years later, they still illustrate the
mystery, the enigma and the magic which surrounds Kate Bush.
     After twelve years of recording success, she continues to fly in
the face of tradition, constantly setting her own standards and making
her own rules.  Despite her highly photogenic looks, this is one pop
superstar who'd be insulted to be seen as a pin-up.  Naive young
Catherine has become mature Kate.  Deep, committed and intense about her
work, she's a serious musician who also exudes charisma and sex appeal
but with Kate Bush the music definitely comes first.  Perhaps that's 
why she still appears distant -- even threatening -- to journalists and
media people who seek to discover the REAL Kate Bush.

MAN WITH THE CHILD IN HIS ARMS

     Born on July 30th 1958 at Bexleyheath Maternity Hospital in South
East London to wealthy parents who were easy-going, openminded and
musical.  Her father, a doctor by profession, was also a keen pianist who
constantly filled the house with music.  Both brothers played in local
folk groups and mother had been an Irish folk dancer.  This all helped to
make their home, East Wickham Farm, a happy and contented place.  Kate
even had her own den in the house where she'd spend hours on her own or
with a select group of friends.  The time was spent writng poetry,
painting butterflies on the walls, and sitting by an open fire toasting
marshmellows.  This was the private world of Kate Bush; a world often
misunderstood by her school-friends, who thought a loner.  Certainly her
school days weren't happy ones.  She found it hard to relax in the
traditional surroundings of St. Joseph's Convent Grammar School, which she
described as a cruel environment where she learnt to get hurt, but also
learnt to cope with it.  She achieved that largely through writing,
pouring out her deepest pent-up emotions onto powerful, stark poetry.
There was also her music.
     From the age of twelve, Kate had been recoding songs at home on her
brother's tape recorder, and later, a friend of the family who worked in
the music business played some of them to Pink Floyd's singer and
guitarist Dave Gilmour.  He was so impressed that he paid for her to make
some professional demos, and lost no time playing them for EMI's Bob
Mercer.  The company were impressed enough to sign her up, but they didn't
launch her recording career immediately because they felt she was too
immature; instead she gained experience by gigging in South London pubs
with brother Paddy and future boyfriend Del Palmer.  Their band was called
appropriately enough, the K.T. Bush Band.  Around this time, Kate was also
given mime and dance lessons by the legendary Lindsay Kemp, whose past
work included the Rocky Horror Picture Show [first I've heard of this --
Ed], as well as providing an early spark to the imagination of the
youthful David Bowie.
     Those early dance sessions certainly had a lasting effect on Kate, 
making her very aware of music's potential as a visual medium.  It's worth
noting that without Dave Gilmour's perserverance and position of
influence, the world might never have heard of Kate Bush.  On her first
album, he is credited with much thanks and love for 'rolling the ball' in
the beginning, but for the record-buying public, the beginning came with
one haunting single which possessed the airwaves in February 1978.
     Written on the night of a full moon, the eerie and ethereal
"Wuthering Heights" had been inspired by Emily Bronte's classic novel of
that title.  This was three minutes of Pop magic that grabbed the hearts
of some listeners -- whilst others couldn't believe what they were hearing
and couldn't bear to listen to it!  "Wuthering Heights" certainly was a
love or hate it record . . . . the wailing, freakish vocals caused some
critics to dismiss 19 year old Kate as a one-hit wonder.  One music
reviewer categorised her voice as a cross between Linda Lewis and
Macbeth's three witches!  Even John Peel proclaimed that he couldn't take
her seriously.

LIONHEART

     Yet "Wuthering Heights" was a bold and totally original single which
was only released because Kate insisted on it.  A number of EMI executives
had felt that it wasn't commercial enought.  Ironically, twelve years on,
it remains her only No. 1 hit, and if not her best song, it's undoubtedly
her best-known.  Interestingly, battles over commercialism and marketing
were to become a regular occurrence between Kate and her record company,
but they were always resolved peacefully, usually with the singer getting
her way!  A typical example came with the "Wuthering Heights" single.  EMI
wanted the picture cover to carry a snap of her wearing a thin cotton
vest, with breasts clearly defined.  She vetoed this, but EMI used the
photos on posters which appeared on buses and billboards all over London.
Despite the continued efforts to be promoted for her music rather than her
looks, Kate has always endeavoured to use her image imaginatively and
creatively in her promotional videos.  She turned a few heads on her debut
Top Of The Pops appearance, with her eye-catching shaggy long hair, and 
multi-coloured outfit.  Looking back later, Kate described her first TV
appearance as bloody awful. . . . millions of viewers disagreed!
     Both "Wuthering Heights" and Kate's first album, _The Kick Inside_,
featured a kite image designed by Kate, but when the album received a poor
response in the States, EMI again pushed her image to the fore, by
completely revamping the LP cover for the American market.  _The Kick
Inside_ was relaunched with a cover photo of Kate looking provocative,
wearing knee length red socks and patched jeans.  The back of the album,
however was identical to the British release, with the song lyrics and
kite motif printed over an angry-looking countryside skyline.  The US
version of _The Kick Inside_ is still available on import.  [Note this
is a British magazine -- Ed]  (In later years, Kate and her family gained
much more control over her product by setting up her own management
company which licensed her work to EMI.)
     Aside from its visual merits, the musical content of _The Kick
Inside_ was particularly strong and innovative for a debut album.
Produced by Andrew Powell, it featured early Bush compositions such as
"The Man With The Child In His Eyes," the lyrics of which she'd written on
the walls of her room at East Wickham farm, at the age of fourteen.
Bearing in mind her tender years, the LP's songs were lyrically daring,
obsessed with weird images, mysterious forces and sensual feelings.
     _The Kick Inside_ peaked at No. 3 in the British LP charts in April
1978, and her follow-up album _Lionheart_ (also a top-tenner) was 
relatively easy to put together, because when it came to material, Kate
was spoilt for choice.  During the past few years she'd written some two
hundred songs, and with the confidence gleaned from her initial success,
she was influencing the production on her records much more.  _Lionheart_,
released in Autumn 1978, has been described by various critics as a very
English album -- in fact Kate's often been called a very English artist
-- but on this album she's anything but a traditional English rose.  A Leo
by starsign, Kate Bush the _Lionheart_ adorns the cover wearing a
pantomine lion's skin and sitting on top of a case in an attic.  The album
includes an ironic anthem to her home country, "Oh England My Lionheart",
a bizarre theatrical song "Hammer Horror,"  (which on its single release
missed the Top 40 due to limited airplay); and also a bold kick in the
teeth for the media with "Wow".  Kate has always disliked being
interviewed, especially about her personaly life, and despite her
new-found success, she'd been very hurt by some of the negative things
which had been written about her.  In interviews, she developed a habit
of over-using superlatives, especially "amazing," and one paper derided
her by claiming that if they'd had a good night out, at EMI, they'd never
say it was amazing -- they'd just say Yes I had a Kate Bush!
     In "Wow" she poured all the superlatives into the lyrics of one song,
and made it to the Top 20 -- the best possible way of hitting back at her
critics.  However, one aspect of Kate's work which definitely won critical
acclaim was her live performances.  Reviews for her stage shows at the end
of the seventies were positively ecstatic.  Her first UK tour featured
eccentric, unique and stunning sets.  The stage was filled with a gigantic
kite-shaped circular screen, used as a backdrop for films and slides, and
Kate made no less than seventeen costume changes per show!  There's no
doubt the audience were impressed -- the ambitious visual effects and
non-stop all-action dance routines combined music, art, theatre and dance
in a way that left its audience spellbound.  _Melody Maker_'s Mike Davis
was sufficiently moved to call it the most magnificent spectacle he'd
ever encountered in the world of Rock!  Kate finished that tour totally
exhausted after 28 two and a half hour shows in Britain and Europe.  She
was so drained both mentally and physically that she's resisted touring
ever since.

BREATHING

     Record-wise though, the hits continued unabated.  In Autumn '79 the
live _Kate Bush On Stage_ EP reached the Top Ten, and the uncommercial but
brave single release "Breathing" reached No. 16 in Spring 1980, even
though it tackled the subject of nuclear war.  The lyrics describe a baby
which will die inside its mother's womb, due to nuclear contamination;
part of the video showed a nuclear explosion which the BBC refused to
screen on Top Of The Pops.  Kate described "Breathing" as her little
symphony, the most ambitious song she'd ever done, and in later years,
Greenpeace included it on an anti-nuclear album.
     "Babooshka" and "Army Dreamers" were other single successes from the
1980 album _Never For Ever_, which Kate co-produced.  The cover shows a
host of monster-like creatures falling out of her skirt and the back shows
a collection of bats -- certainly keeping up the Kate Bush tradition of
eccentricity!  Dedicated to Kate's lighting engineer Bill Duffield, who
was killed in an accident on the first night of her tour, the album
quickly went gold and achieved two landmarks for Kate; as well as being
her first No. 1 LP, it was also the first ever chart-topping album by a
British female solo star.
     A genuine Christmas release, the single "December Will Be Magic
Again" sustained her success, but Kate Bush was becoming increasingly
restless.  Her next album would see her strike out in an entirely
different direction, but to achieve creative fulfilment she came close to
committing commercial suicide.  She was now working in her own home studio
[no, not until _Hounds of Love_ -- Ed] and producing herself.  She'd also
been inspired by recording with Peter Gabriel (she sang backing vocals on
his 1980 hit "Games Without Frontiers" and would later record a duet with
him).  Press rumours abounded that Gabriel and Bush were lovers, but Kate
always denied the gossip, insisting they were just good friends.  [Gabriel
denied it also. -- Ed]
     Getting back to Kate's new-found ideas, the intense driving beat of
"Sat In Your Lap" (No. 11 in Summer '81) was only a foretaste of what was
to come.  DJs, reviwers, and fans weren't quite sure what to make of this
new harder sounding Kate Bush.  The emotions and moods she created were as
evocative as ever, but this was raw, daring music with a cutting edge, and
the ensuing album, _The Dreaming_, left many people baffled.  Despite
being Kate's most adventurous, ambitious and intelligent work to date,
initially it was only appreciated by serious music critics and die-hard
fans.  The title track dealt with the plight of the Australian
Aboriginals, who'd been pushed out of their land by white men.  Another
track, "Pull Out The Pin", detailed the ordeal of a Vietcong guerilla
preparing to kill a white victim.
     Kate Bush was proud of this album.  She was giving full reign to her
imagination and creative abilities, whilst stretching her music to new
boundaries and new levels of advanced production.  EMI on the other hand,
were dismayed!
     After the single "The Dreaming" peaked at the dizzy height of No. 48
in the chart, they didn't even bother to plug the next release, "There
Goes A Tenner".  Consequently it didn't go anywhere and became Kate's
first single to miss the charts completely.  At this time rumours abounded
that EMI were about to ditch the girl whom they'd greeted with so much
enthusiasm a few years earlier.  These rumours intensified when all her
previous singles were released together in one collection.  Surely there
was an air of finality to this, asked the music press?
     Kate responded typically, by retreating to her private world, the
world which had inspired her so many times before.  With the help of
boyfriend Del Palmer, she upgraded her small studio in the old barn of her
parents' house.  It was there that she fashioned a quite superb come-back.

DEAL WITH GOD

     In 1985, Kate's new album _Hounds Of Love_ came straight into the
album chart at No. 1.  Combining the depth of production skills exhibited
on _The Dreaming_ with a hard (but more commercial) edge to most tracks.
The first single to be lifted from the LP, "Running Up That Hill", gave
Kate her biggest hit since "Wuthering Heights", peaked at No. 3.  Even now
though, her instincts wer to take a risk.  Wanting to call the song "Deal
With God", she was persuaded not to by EMI executives, who claimed that
this would be the kiss of death to the single, denying it airplay.  For
once, Kate relented.
     The next single from _Hounds of Love_, "Cloudbusting", gave her a
vehicle for what she later described as her favourite video.  Featuring
actor Donald Sutherland, it told the story of a boy and his father who
used a machine to create rain.  The authorities heard of this, and
arrested the father.  Directed sympathetically by Kate [wrong -- Ed], the
"Cloudbusting" video was a masterful production, illustrating sadness and
depth of emotion through a child's eyes.  Kate played the part of the boy
in the video.  She appeared to have short hair but this was an illusion;
her hairdresser designed a special wig for her to wear.
     1986 was a good year for Kate with three more chart entries, "Hounds
Of Love" (the LP's title track); "The Big Sky"; and "Experiment IV",
whilst at the end of the year, the compilation album _The Whole Story_
topped the LP charts, and has since gone one to sell a million copies.
Containing the best of her hits and near misses, this was a master stroke
of marketing by EMI, the kind of album that many people bought at
Christmas as a gift.  The gatefold sleeve opens out to show cover pictures
of all Kate's singles and albums, a variety of photos taken at different
stages of her career, and a close-up of Kate looking wistful and demure
against a white backdrop.  The album succeeded in breaking her in the
United States, a territory which up to then had resisted her talents.
[I'd say what broke her here (if she can be called broken) was
_Hounds Of Love_, which peaked at No. 30, rather than _The Whole Story_,
which peaked in the 70s.   It's true that _TWS_ introduced a lot more
people to her older stuff than had heard it before.  -- Ed]  It also
featured a completely new recording of the debut hit, "Wuthering Heights".
    Despite the adventurous (not to say weird) subject matter which she
writes about in many of her songs, Kate Bush herself is a quiet, reserved
and remarkably well-adjusted woman.  By all accounts, her fame hasn't
changed her.  Indeed, she's probably more laid-back about the music
business now than at any time during her career.  The press have made
their usual attempts to drag up negative aspects of her personality, but
they've encountered little joy because Kate appears to have very few
vices, although she admits to being a heavy smoker and has a passion for
chocolate.  Luckily her hobbies of dancing and running help keep her fit.
She also loves gardening and is a vegetarian.  Other miscellaneous likes
include science-fiction books (not surprising when you consider the 
mystical quality of much of her work); television and cinema; cats; and
folk music.  Her favourite recording stars have mainstream appeal; The
Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John, Steely Dan, and the aforementioned
Peter Gabriel.  Her pet hates include flying and reading books about
herself!  One book she did make an appearance in was Patrick Lichfield's
collection of the _World's Most Beautiful Women_.
     For determined collectors, there are a number of Kate Bush "bootlegs"
available, although the quality of sound reproduction tends to be weak.
The first Kate Bush bootleg to be marketed was _Wow_, a double album of
Kate at The Hammersmith Odeon, combined with recordings from her first TV
special, broadcast in 1979.  Other notables include _Secret Message_, a
Japanese flexidisc including messges from Kate and her brother John; _Bush
-- The Early Years_, a rare and highly collectable German recording of her
early demos; and _What Katie Did For Amnesty International_, a live
recording of Kate and Dave Gilmour at the Amnesty fundraiser, The Secret
Policeman's Other Ball, 1987.  [Actually, it was The Secret Policeman's
*Third* Ball. -- Ed]  Her best-selling videos include _Kate Bush -- The
Whole Story_, _The Singles File_ [sic]; and _Kate Bush Live At The 
Hammersmith Odeon_, footage of a concert recorded in May 1979.  There are
a variety of fanzines available on Kate and the address of her fan club is
P.O. Box 120, Welling, Kent, DA16 3DS.

THE STORY SO FAR

     The end of the eighties saw Kate Bush, now in her early thirties,
releasing her seventh album, _The Sensual World_.  She described it as her
most feminine yet, and when compared to say, _Hounds Of Love_, it's
certainly a more relaxed but perhaps less striking collection.  Having
said that, the title track (lifted as the first single) made the top ten,
notable for its infuriating catchy rhythm, based apparently on the
literary style of James Joyce.  A song written for the John Hughes
(director of _The Breakfast Club_) film _This Woman's Work_ [Hold on
here!  That was the name of the *song*!  The movie was _She's Having
A Baby_.  Maybe the reason the writer got this so egregiously wrong is
that the movie was never released in Britain! -- Ed], unfortunately got
swamped in the pre-Christmas market, and ended up as only a minor hit.
     _The Sensual World_ album also sees a new departure for Kate: the
use of the Bulgarian acapella folk group, Trio Bulgarka but lyrically, the
most ambitious track has to be "Heads We're Dancing".
     As we enter the nineties, Kate Bush's records appear increasingly out
on a limb.  Although she's always enjoyed a cult following, her current
recordings are in competition with a youth-dominated world of House, Rap
and Hip-Hop sounds.  It'll be interesting to see if the deep, thoughtful
and highly polished music which she records can sustain its success as the
decade continues.  With Kate Bush, you're never quite sure what's coming
next!  Whenever people have written her off in the past, she's hit back
with her boldest and most adventurous work.  With twelve years of
recording success under her belt, Kate has emerged from the depths of
middle-class Essex [ESSEX??  Everybody knows she's from Kent! -- Ed] to
a unique status in terms of critical acclaim and respect within the music
industry.  Very few artists could go as long as her between album
releases, only to see their work come straight back to the top again and
again.  She's consistently topped even her own high standards, and for
that reason alone, you can't help thinking that Kate Bush, The Whole Story
is incomplete.  The best is yet to come!

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

Ed Suranyi             |  Interviewer:  Most of the women I know who
ed@das.llnl.gov        |                aspire to make a living making
(415) 447-3405         |                music would rather be you then,
3550 Pacific Ave #312  |                say, Madonna.
Livermore, CA  94550   |  Kate:         Oh, really!  Ha!