MisK.

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

   That's "bonne nuit", Jeff. The French translators for Kate's two
French-language recordings were a French couple, friends of Kate's,
whose names were given in an old Newsletter once years ago. IED
doesn't have access to the old Newsletters here, though, sorry to
say.
   Judi asked what is _Under_the_Ivy_? It's a simple ballad by
Kate, a b-side from the _The_Big_Sky_ single. IED should say 
"deceptively simple", though--it is actually very subtle, and
has a secret subtext. Love-Hounds have sent Kate white roses
on Katemas (and at the recent convention) for the last two or
three years, in reference to this song and its "secret" meaning...
   Judi also asked about other Kate recordings aside from the
six studio LPs and _The_Whole_Story_. There are three main 
collections to get, Judi: first, the two-CD (or three-LP) set
of b-sides and re-mixes which are contained (unfortunately 
only as part of the set) in the boxed set called _This_Woman's_
_Work_. There is a hope that Kate's U.S. label will release this
collection on its own sometime in 1991, but don't count on it.
You might also try to find one of two bootleg versions of (more
or less) the same collection of b-sides: one is an old two-LP
set called _Passing_Through_Air_, the other is a new single 
LP called _Back_Sides_. Both are of inferior quality, straight
analog transfers of the vinyl 45-RPM b-sides. They will cost
less than the entire CD boxed set, however, and are much easier
to collect than the original single releases. Of course you 
are not being encouraged to break the law and buy a bootleg
product here...
   The second collection IED recommends to you consists of
a bunch of early "demos" Kate recorded at various times, 
all of them relatively early in her career. These include
the so-called "Cathy Demos"--so-named because of the title
given them in a series of seven-inch vinyl releases by an
early bootlegger of the demos. There have been a total of
twenty-three such "Cathy Demo" recordings, available in
five seven-inch color-vinyl records (each in a different 
black-and-white sleeve featuring John Carder Bush photos
of Kate as a child, stolen from JCB's book, _Cathy_--hence
the name). Twenty-two of these twenty-three demos (the
missing twenty-third demo is mistitled _Organic_Acid_ by
the _Cathy_ bootlegger on Volume Five) have also been
circulating on cassettes (one was called _Fiddle_--a 
reference to _Violin_, of which an early version appears
in the collection), LPs (two volumes: _Cathy's_Album_
and _Cathy's_Album_Too_) and now CDs (two: _If_You_Could_
_See_Me_Fly_ and _Passing_Through_Air_--N.B.: the titles
are the only things these CD boots have in common with earlier,
vinyl bootleg collections). Other demos exist, as well: there
is the official b-side of Kate's early recording of _Passing_
_Through_Air_, now found in the boxed set--this is a track 
from the 1973 David Gilmour sessions. Also from that session
is an excerpt from another early unreleased song, known as
_Maybe_ (among other things), which Kate played briefly on 
a radio programme in 1978. Then there are five or six demos
of songs which _did_ appear (in more polished versions) on 
the first two LPs--except for one in the group, which IED
calls (for want of an official title) _Scares_Me_Silly_. This 
group of demos appears on some of the above-mentioned boots.
And finally, there are two demo versions of _Babooshka_, both
only known in short versions, and now available on some of 
the above bootlegs. 
   The third collection IED recommends is the soundtrack from
the _Live_at_Hammersmith_Odeon_ film. Twelve tracks from the 
Tour of Life live show of May 12-13, 1979. They are available in
several forms: an official VHS video-cassette ($19.95, now at
Tower Records), a Japanese import laser-disk (digitial sound,
incomparable picture quality), and an illegal bootleg transfer
--digital from the laser-disk, very good quality--on CD, called
_Kate_Bush_Live_. There are also many earlier analog bootleg
vinyl versions of the Hammersmith film's soundtrack. 
   You should know that the complete concert was more than 
twice the length of the official _Live_at_Hammersmith_ film:
twenty-four songs, many of which were prefaced by interesting
non-LP instrumental or spoken-word introductions (heard during
the live performances while Kate made one of the fifteen or so
costume changes for the show). These are also audible (though 
only just) in various bootleg LP sets, the best (i.e., least 
horrible-sounding) of which are the _Live_at_the_London_Palladium_
and _Live_in_Bristol_ multi-record sets.
   Richard Caley refers to _Walk_Straight_Down_the_Middle_ and--sin
of sins--_Deeper_Understanding_ as (gulp) "weak". Weak? WEAK?? Oh, 
smelling salts! Where are IED's smelling salts??
   R-og asks why Kate doesn't cross the pond more often, and when
she has done so in the past. Well, Kate actually has been to the 
States more often than some fans may be aware. She came once in 1978
(for the stint on _Saturday_Night_Live_). She also came in 1985,
to promote _Hounds_of_Love_--she visited New York City and then
hopped up to Toronto. Then she came again in January 1990 (New
York) to help out _The_Sensual_World_, though she did much less
actual promotion that time than she had done in 1985 for _HoL_.
In addition she visited (at least) once before--she was taken
to Las Vegas by an EMI-America official, where she was flown 
around in a small plane over the Grand Canyon. She didn't have
a great time, IED is led to understand.
   R-og also asks whether dates have been announced for the "tour".
No. There may not even _be_ a tour. Let's all not get too confident
too soon, that's IED's suggestion. It will probably happen, but if
so, not for at least another year, if we have learned anything about
Kate after thirteen-plus years. Del Palmer did say that five cities
in the U.S. had been suggested, three of which would probably be
NYC, LA and Chicago, and the remaining two of which probably would
_not_ include San Diego (sorry!). Beyond that we know nothing yet.
   In re Heath's descriptions of the boxed-set photo-booklet:
   On page 1, this photo is not from any known performance or video 
appearance, but another (even more fascinating) shot from the same
session appeared on the cover of the Kate Bush Club _Newsletter_
No. 23, back in 1988.
   On page 2, note that this shot is from the session for the _U.S._
edition of the cover of _The_Kick_Inside_. 
   On page 11: The pipes are Uillean pipes, the traditional Irish 
pipes, and the photo session (from which other shots have appeared
in old _Newsletters_) was apparently done for the cover of the Irish 
single-release of _Night_of_the_Swallow_ in 1983.
   On page 13: This is from _Oh,_England_,My_Lionheart_--the live
performance from the Tour of Life.
   On page 23: IED suggests that anyone interested in this mysterious
photograph take a look at the covers of old Depeche Mode albums, and
consider the chicken-and-egg theory. This photo is a real KT
mystery...

-- Andrew Marvick, listening, under the leaves, to the whistle of 
                   passing (sp)arrows...