Old Kate Bush interviews, contd.

[Andrew B Marvick <abm4@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu>]

To: Love-Hounds
From: Andrew Marvick (IED)
Subject: Old Kate Bush interviews, cont'd.: "Lucky Kate"

   IED unfortunately cannot identify the publication from which the
following interview originates--it appeared in issue 12 of _CKI_
(now known as _Never_Forever_), the Welsh Kate Bush fanzine.
Edited by Andrew Marvick.

               -- James Johnson talks to pop star Kate Bush --

                    _Music_is_my_life,_says_'lucky'_Kate_


   Kate Bush would be less than human if she did not sometimes marvel
at the attention she has received over the past three years.
   She says: "Sometimes I see myself in the paper and it's hard to
associate with the name of Kate Bush. She is this well-known person
who has almost become like a brand name, like Maxwell House coffee
or something. Meanwhile I'm just working on my music and my life."
   Somehow she remains an awkward personality to categorize. One 
newspaper has described her as Britain's top pop sexpot while a new,
unauthorized hagiography about her life opted for the title _Suburban_
Princess_.
   Even now she comes over in person as part pop star and part ordinary
girl from the South London commuter belt, while her conversation ranges
between traditional popworld cliches and perceptive comment.
   "I often think people are looking for something in my life that they
can't find," she comments. "A number of performers I suppose came from
working-class families, or their parents were divorced. Perhaps that
gives them the urge to go out and struggle for something.
   "But basically I have always had a normal, very happy life with
my family. I never went out and beat up old ladies or became an alcoholic
at school."

THEMES

   "I think the public have become conditioned to want to know who is 
sleeping with who, or how many marriages somebody has had, but as far
as I'm concerned it's totally irrelevant. I'm really very normal and 
there is nothing sensational to uncover. I wouldn't talk about some 
private things to my mother, so why should I to anybody else?"
   Nevertheless one still feels impelled to broach the subject of
sex, especially as many of her songs seem to incorporate underlying
sexual themes. 
   According to Kate: " I think music and love are very similar. They're
both natural basic energies, they have the same kind of all-embracing 
freedom, the elation. 
   "The communication of music is very like making love. If you play
a piano, for example, you're so united it's really a beautiful thing."
   Now twenty-two years old, the singer has accomplished almost 
everything the popworld has to offer except in the United States as
yet. She has performed at the Palladium, made frequent appearance 
in the charts, and been given almost every major award available.
   A new album due out next week <_Never_For_Ever_: this interview
dates from 1980--IED> has been held back for three months by EMI, 
since they regard it with such importance <sic> that they did not
want its appearance to clash with their other major releases this
year by Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones.
   
BUFFER

   While she remarks that she has felt more grown up of late, she
has always appeared untouched by the pressures and difficulties
that can accompany fame and fortune. 
   "I can see why people do have nervous breakdowns and so on, 
but it all depends on the person rather than what you happen to
be doing.
   "Sometimes I have felt that I'm losing control and that it's
all running away with me, but all I have to do then is to say to
myself: 'Well leave, then. Give it all up.' And I know I never would,
because my life is really music, and I love it so much.
   "I would like to survive, like people like Cliff Richard
or Paul McCartney. If you look at them, they're so strong and solid
and happy. They'll be able to go on for as long again as they have
already."
   One particular buffer against the outside world would seem to
be the Bush family. Her father, a former family doctor, and her
three brothers <sic: Kate has only two brothers, John Carder Bush and 
Paddy Bush--IED> are involved in different levels of her career.
   One brother, Paddy, plays an assortment of instruments on her new
album, while Novercia, Ltd., the company that has been formed to look 
after her interests, has five Bush family members as directors.
   "I'm lucky to have a family I love who can give me advice when
I need it. I like to think of myself as director of the force, but
I'm not a businesswoman, for example, and when it comes to legal
jargon I need some help. 
   "My parents weren't keen on the giving up of school at the 
beginning to go into singing and dancing, but once they saw I was 
serious about it, they gave support.
   "I was quite stubborn about my decision, and in the end they
realized it was for the best."

-- Andrew Marvick