No Subject

[Mike Quinn <mike@abekrd.co.uk>]

Newsgroups: rec.music.gaffa
Path: mike
From: mike@abekrd.co.uk (Mike Quinn)
Subject: Kate talks on Radio 1
Message-ID: <1991Dec16.122446.16676@abekrd.co.uk>
Organization: Abekas Video Systems, Reading, UK.
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 1991 12:24:46 GMT
Lines: 174



Timeline:	Saturday 14th December 1991, 3:50pm

Station:	BBC Radio 1 (UK National Pop Station)

Show:		Johnny Walker Saturday Show
		(bills as 'best of album-oriented music')

JW refers to the DJ Johnny Walker.
KB refers to Kate.

[plays Peter Gabriel - Don't Give Up]

JW:     Such a good track, Peter Gabriel Don't Give Up.  It was Johnathan
        King who said in one of his columns that that sort-of middle verse
        that Peter Gabriel sings in that song, he reckoned was one of the
        finest male-vocal performances of the year - and it certainly was;
        and there was some pretty good singing too from Kate Bush, on that,
        who's been keeping something of a low profile, but how nice it is to
        see Kate Bush back in the charts - she's number 12 this week with
        her version of Rocket Man; and we caught up with her a couple of
        days [ago] when she was rehearsing to perform that song on next
        Mondays Terry Wogan show.
	My first question to her was how long it had been since she had last
	done a TV appearance.

KB	Oh it must be just over two years.

JW:	One would get the feeling that you'd been hiding away from, from
	things.

KB:     Erm, I don't know about hiding away, but erm, I really only like to
        present myself when I'm working on something - it's more my work
        that I like to present to the world, rather than myself.  I mean I
        feel that is really what people are interested in is my music, err,
        so it really depends on whether I have any music out at the time as,
        as to whether I do any television or promotion.

JW:     Now you have a record out that's in the charts at the moment, we'll
        come to that in a sec.  But every time I sort of read magazines like
        'Q' or something, and they say who's in the studios, it's Kate Bush
        still working on her new album [Kate chuckles], I mean is it taking
        longer than, than you'd like or that you thought or what?

KB:     Er, albums always take longer..  than I think; and er, actually this
        is one of the quickest ones..  for years..  erm, it's not finished,
        but I've been working on it about a year and I hope to have it
        finished next year.  But on average, I'd say I'm spending two to
        three years on every album and it's incredibly frustrating.  I don't
        know why it takes so long, I wish it didn't, but the tracks seem to
        evolve and although it all starts very straight-forwardly and
        simply, half way through the album I never know if I'm gonna be able
        to finish it and it's all got too big for me and then it starts to
        evolve and ends up as whatever it is.

JW:	So when do you think it'll actually be released?

KB:	Well, er, I.. next year. I would like it next year. I can't say when
	because it depends sort-of what else we want to do next year as to
	whether it be er..  it wouldn't be the early part of next year, but
	maybe m-middle to latter part.

JW:	Now you're on this wonderful tribute album [Two Rooms] to Elton John
	and Bernie Taupin. Erm, how was the..  did you have a list of which
	songs were available to choose from? H-how-how's the choice work?

KB:	Er, I, I was really knocked out to be asked to get involved in this
	project, because I was such a big fan of Eltons when I was little -
	I really loved his stuff. He was my biggest hero really and when I
	was just starting to write songs, he was the only songwriter that I
	knew of that played the piano and sung; and wrote songs. So he was
	very much my er, my idol. And one of my favourite songs of his was
	Rocket Man. Now, if I'd have known then that, you know, that I would
	have been asked to be involved in this project, I think that I would
	have just..  died. And in some ways I owe it to myself as that little
	girl, to give her the priviledge of doing this as well as myself now.
	And er, they basically said would we like to be involved and I could
	choose which track I wanted and because Rocket Man was my favourite,
	I, I hoped it hadn't gone actually, I hoped no-one else was going to
	do it.

JW:	And what about the arangement of it which is very different..  to the
	original?

KB:	Erm, well yes I suppose so, I, I actually haven't heard the original
	for a very long time, er, a _long_ long time [laughs]. Er, and it
	was just erm, I wanted to do it differently. I do think that if you
	cover records, you should try and make them different. It's like you
	know, re-making movies, you've, you've got to try and give it
	something that makes it worth re-releasing. Erm, and the reggae
	treatment just seemed to er, happen really. I just tried to put the
	chords together on the piano and it just seemed to want to take off
	in the choruses, so er, so we gave it the sort-of reggae treatment.

JW:	And now all of a sudden it's a hit single?

KB:     Well yes, and it's even more extraordinary, because we actually
        recorded the track over two years ago erm, [laughing] probably just
        after my last telly appearance; and er, we, we were quite astounded
        it was er..  they wanted to release it as a single, just recently.
        What's very nice is that erm, the guitarist that played on the track
        er, Alan Murphy who was our guitarist at the time, died not long
        after the track was made.  So this was one of the last things that
        he did with us and it's particularly nice for me to feel that it's
        not only keeping him alive, but I know that he would be really
        thrilled to know that it was doing so well; and it's nice for all of
        us that Loved Al to know that he can be a part of this now.

[plays Rocket Man]

JW:     Now, there's been an awful lot of change has gone on in the world,
        I'm not talking about the world of music, over the last couple of
        years since your last album.  Erm, is this changed you as well,
        would, h-h-has, will this mean that the next Kate Bush album will be
        very different from the last one, do you think?

KB:     Erm, I think you're absolutely right, I think there has been so much
        change in the world in this two year period.  Everyone I know has
        been...  changed by it - it's impossible not to, if you don't change
        with it, er, I don't think you could survive it.  Everyone's
        changed, I've definately changed, I've been very affected by these
        last two years, they've been incredibly intense years for me - maybe
        not on a work level, but a lot has happened to me - I feel I've
        learnt a lot.  And I think, _yes_, I think this album is going to be
        quite different, yeah I do!

JW:	Can you give us any other clues..  as to er...

KB:     Er, it's always very..  it's impossible I think to talk about music,
        er, especially before it's completed or people have heard it,
        because it's a very personal interpretation - for me it's like a
        painting - you would never talk about a painting before you've seen
        it, it's only when you see the painting you then talk about it, so
        er, I would just, I _really_ hope that people like it, I hope that
        the people that are waiting for it, feel it's worth the wait and I
        really hope people out there like it.

JW:	Well, it's going be lovely to actually see you on the Wogan show on
	Monday, so lot's of luck with that.

KB:     Well thank you very much.  It's really nice to be here and to be
        back and er, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who's
        received this single so warmly, er, it means a lot to me you know, I
        didn't think I'd have a single out for at least a year because we're
        still working on the album, so it a _very_ nice surprise.  And I had
        such nice feedback about er, all, all levels to do with this, so
        thank you very much everyone and have a great Christmas!

[plays Running Up That Hill]

JW:     Kate Bush and Running Up That Hill.  And er, Phil Ross, the producer
        of this program and I were just in this tiny little dressing room at
        TV Centre when, er, Kate was rehearsing for Mondays Wogan show; and
        we were slurping cups of tea together.  We were only there for about
        ten minutes and Thursday was just this manic day of running around,
        doing all sorts of different stuff.  But [we] walked out of er, the
        dressing room after spending ten minutes in the company of Kate Bush
        just feeling _so_ good; and so she's one of those people, you know,
        that you meet er, and she makes you feel great.  Certainly, one of
        the special people and I look forward to next year, whenever the
        album comes out - she wouldn't be any more specific, than it'll be
        next year, and I'm sure she'll be our guest on the programme to er,
        introduce tracks on the album when it does come out - and don't miss
        the Wogan show on Monday, see Kate Bush singing Rocket Man.  And you
        will see on set, I believe, an empty chair with just a guitar placed
        on it - and that's the chair that Alan Murphy would have sat in.

[Timecheck 4:12pm]

Mike Quinn.		    Abekas Video Systems Ltd. Reading. United Kingdom.
net:  mike@abekrd.co.uk		       UUCP: ...!uunet!mcsun!uknet!abekrd!mike

	Let a smile be your umbrella! - Gordon Cole aka David Lynch.