Letter reply to Goldmine article

[ed@wente.llnl.gov (Ed Suranyi)]

The new issue of _Goldmine_ just came out (Sept. 6), and in it there's
a letter from Steven McDonald about the Kate article that appeared two
issues ago.  He mentions love-hounds.  Here it is, with my comments:

Kate Bush Additions
     Compliments on Gillian Gaar's nicely done article on Kate Bush --
well handled, though with one or two missed moments that no doubt have
plenty of fans writing in with corrections.  Even though I'm not the
best of Kate scholars, I've lived long enough with a Kate fan (and
additionally have encountered more via the Music RT, where we have a
very active Kate Bush topic that I began in January 1990).  So, here's
some loose and assorted notes for you. . .
     1) Not only was the boxed set incomplete in terms of the two
instrumentals noted, it also fails to include the single mix of "This
Woman's Work" and also lacks the last track from the "Love And Anger"
12-inch and CD single -- another from the "GLC" episode of the Comic
Strip, this one titled "Last Look Around The House Before We Go. . ."
[Actually, if I remember right, this track IS in the boxed set.  Is
my memory playing tricks on me? -- Ed]
     2) Kate has appeared as an actress in at least two projects, one
of them for the Comic Strip.  Her music has also been used in _Miami
Vice_ (in the "Bushido" episode) and other places.  [What was the other
acting role for Kate? -- Ed]
     3) Peter Gabriel's _CV_ video compilation includes _two_ versions of
"Don't Give Up," one featuring an abstract compilation of footage with
Depression elements, the second a rather warm and sweet version with Kate
and Peter standing on a turntable in each other's arms, heads resting on
each other.
     4) The 12-inch single for "Hounds Of Love" released in the U.K. is
not a remix, it's a completely different version altogether, startlingly
so.  It was during this period that Kate also took over directing her own
videos and changed her style completely.
     5) The Kerry Juby book is an unauthorized bio, reputedly very 
inaccurate and is widely repudiated by Kate fans and associates both.
Most of them own a copy, however.
     6) The _Saturday Night Live_ performances have been barred from
circulation.  Though the shows they're incorporated into are in wide
syndication and have been reissued several times on videotape, the footage
of Kate has not been seen since the rerun, except in bootleg form.
[Recently, MTV Europe ran the whole show, including the Kate parts.
It is therefore possible to get a very nice transfer from PAL to NTSC
now, far better than the zillionth generation copies most of us have had
to put up with until now. -- Ed]
     7) "Do Bears. . ." was _not_ on the _Comic Relief_ album, just the
videotape.  It's a shame, really, as Kate seems to have had a lot of fun
with the number.  Her performance of "The Wedding List" in _The Prince's
Trust Rock Gala_ is widely available on an MGM/UA videotape and is notable
for a backing band that includes Pete Townshend, Midge Ure and Mick Karn.
[Also Phil Collins on drums.  This doesn't seem to be as widely available
now as it once was. -- Ed]  It's also notable for the fact that Kate broke
both of the spaghetti straps on her top and completed the number with a 
huge smile and one arm clamped firmly across her chest. [Actually, only
one strap, the left one, broke. -- Ed]
     8)  The boxed set again.  Big beware here -- there's a U.K. edition,
a Canadian version and a Japanese edition.  The Canadian is more or less
the same as the U.K. version, but can be had more cheaply. [As far as I
know, the Canadian version IS the U.K. version, just imported by the 
record company.  The difference between that and the situation in the
USA is that here the set is imported by individual record stores, if they
want it. -- Ed]  The Japanese version eliminates the Kate stickers but
includes a second booklet that features the lyrics to the songs on the
combination discs, along with more pictures.  [The organization is
somewhat different than the way he describes, but he's got the gist --
Ed.]  The mastering is reputedly a bit better, but that may be snobbery
speaking (the U.K. discs for the first three albums, by the way, are
_vastly_ better than the domestic releases; mastered from the source, it
seems, not run from album master).  The _real_ sore point is the U.K.-only
vinyl set, in demand for the full-sized artwork and booklet.  Aside from
the shoddy vinyl and cheap cardboard (the vinyl, I gather, is thin and
noisy) the LP boxes are often incomplete, missing booklets, stickers and
albums, sometimes with two or three copies of one album and none of the
others.  The most common note about _This Woman's Work_ is the
disappointment felt by many fans that the set didn't really go far enough.
     9)  _Moonraker_ -- Actually, she hemmed and hawed and backed out at
the last second, which resulted in a very rushed title track sung by
Shirley Bassey.  I think I'd rather have had Bassey from the start.
    10)  Tour of Life boots.  Avoid like the plague: consistently wretched
material, even worse than usual.  [It's true that the sound quality, which
is what I assume he's talking about, is miserable.  But it's the only way
you can hear the original version of "Egypt", which is very different from
the final version and, I think, really great. -- Ed.]
    11) Tour and album plans.  The latest word now is the first single by
December and a tour that would be a limited set of shows in the U.K. as
well as on the East and West coasts of the U.S.  [Well, we'll see -- Ed.]
    12) Fanzines and the like.  There used to be one called _Under The
Ivy_ a couple of years ago, but that appears to have expired quietly.
The fan club magazine is pretty good when it comes out (coinciding with
albums or other major activity) and _Homeground_ is good, if fannish
(unmitigated worship gives me hives).
     However, there's two other places to look for fan activity, and they
move a hell of a lot faster than the print medium -- Rec. Music Gaffa
[aparently the editor of _Goldmine_ didn't know exactly what to do with
"rec.music.gaffa". -- Ed.], a newsgroup on USENET (a loose information
network connecting hundreds of universities and individual computer
systems worldwide) that's the home of "Lovehounds," [ditto for "love-hounds"
-- Ed.] a computer-based group within the main Gaffa group [Huh? -- Ed.];
there's also GEnie (sm), General Electric's Network for Information 
Exchange, and its Music Round Table, wherein you'll find Category 11, 
topic 2 dedicated to Kate (along with numerous files in the librairies,
including the only known review of the "Aspects" CD5, contrary to 
_Homeground_'s cmplaint that nobody out there had reviewed it: _Online
Digital Music Review did).  [_Goldmine_ itself did also. -- Ed.]  One of
our participants runs a Bulletin Board System called The Big Sky, another
is assembling a massive project called "Cloudbusting," essentially a
compilation of Kate Bush talking about Kate Bush, her life and her work.
Both USENET and GEnie (sm) are accessed via computer, modem and 
telecommunications software.  For info in GEnie call (800) 638-9636
voice.
     Hope there's something useful in this letter.  Me, I'm just a 
music loving sysop (and musician who's proud of the Music RT and how
many times _Goldmine_ gets mentioned -- as it should, being an excellent
magazine.  _Billboard is all well and good, but _Goldmine_ and _ICE_
are regular visitors at Chez McDonald (if not at BPS in Topeka).

				      -- Steven McDonald
			-- BPS/Music RT/Assorted BPS online magazines
				      -- Burbank, CA

Ed
ed@wente.llnl.gov