**** COVERS OF KATE BUSH SONGS *****

[rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill)]

COVER VERSIONS OF KATE

        from Articles from Homeground, Andrew Marvick (IED), Doug Allen, 
Andy Semple, Robert M. Kelner, Larry DeLuca, Ben Roimola, and Jorn 
Barger. 


        This is a compilation and re-editing of various messages (mainly 
from Love-Hounds), done by Ron Hill who takes responsibilty for any 
errors that may have occured during editing.


        There have been surprisingly few over the years, considering how 
well known Kate is in Europe.  Kate was asked about this a few times: 

        HAVE OTHER ARTISTS RECORDED YOUR WORK THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF? 
        Very little, yes.  It's not being covered much at all.
        MAYBE BECAUSE IT'S VERY STYLIZED. 
        Yes, I don't know.  I don't why.  It would be lovely to hear more 
people covering it.  It would just be nice to hear what they did to a 
song.   (1982, Unknown BBC interview)
 
        WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE COVER VERSION OF ONE OF YOUR SONGS?
        "Poor Old Flea" by Madame Maria Nanky.  (1984, KBC 17)


        Anybody who understands what this means should let us know!  
Heres the list of songs.

        _Wuthering_Heights_  (1978) by Pat Benatar on her Crimes of 
Passion LP.
        
        Pat Benatar: All the covers I do are purely because I love the 
songs.  "Wuthering Heights" for example is a beautiful song, really 
beautiful, and when I first heard it I just knew that I had to sing it.  
I wasn't trying to copy Kate's voice, which, by the way I think is 
brillant.  But I wanted to put my style onto it..." 
        Soundmaker, January 1983
        (reprinted from Homeground #9)

        Kate: It was very nicely done.
        New Sounds, January, 1984

        
        _The_Kick_Inside_ by Julie Covington (of 
_Don't_Cry_For_Me_Argentina_ fame) The cover turns the song into a rather 
conventional kind of American folkrock-tinged ballad. 
        KATE: I met Julie Covington through Jay.  He is a friend of hers, 
and I've known her for a long time.   (1980, KBC 5)

        Them Heavy People (1979) by Ray Shell (a dancer/singer from 
Starlight Express musical) has Kate on backing vocals.  It was just a 
single, and IED has never heard it. He has also never heard of Ray Shell 
anywhere before or since. 
 
        _Wuthering_Heights_ by Jah Wobble (supposed to be crap!!). 

        And there was an abysmal Reggae-inflected _Wuthering_Heights_ 
around 1981, group unknown by IED, and not recommended.  (May be the same 
as the one above).

        Runnning Up That Hill---Blue Pearl (involving Youth (Big Sky) 
from Killing
Joke and Dave Gilmour on guitar)  ("It actually sounds pretty good!  It 
has a kind of soul sound, and the singer is, indeed, a black woman.")

        Runnning Up That Hill--- Tilt ("Kate Bush, after going through an
industrial dance trance.")
        
        The Man with the Child in His Eyes (1991)---Natalie Cole from an 
episode The Arseneo Hall show in 1991, apparently never recorded.  The 
audience seemed to love it!  When she sat down and Arsineo started 
talking to her he asked her to tell about that song.  She said it was 
from Kate Bush.  She said she usually doesn't cover songs but every once 
in a while she finds one she really wants to do and that was one of them. 
 She said she's never recorded it and this was the first time she's 
performed it in this country (implying that she's done it elsewhere).  
Then they changed the topic.


        _The_Man_With_the_Child_in_His_Eyes_ (1989) by Hue & Cry (studio 
version is on the b-side of 'Violently' and live version is on the live 
album 'The Bitter Suite',these versions in my [Jorn Barger's] opinion are 
the best covers around. Don't be upset by the gender change.)



        Then there are the sampled tracks: 

        Larry DeLuca, while attempting to get approval to use a sample of 
Kate in one of his songs, discovered in 1990 that Kate approves these 
things personally.  

        Night Scented Stock, on Loopzone, by a rave outfit called Les 
Enfants du Paradis.  This appeared on a Telstar compilation entitled Thin 
Ice Tape.

        Cloudbusting, on Something Good Is Going To Happen (1992), by 
dance act Utah Saints.  It uses the "something good" line from the song, 
sampled and played back at a high speed (with probably some sort of sound 
distortion).  The video uses lots of clips from Kate's video.  The group 
got permission from EMI Music Publishing to use the sample. 


        Then there were the parodies:

        Faith Brown did very funny (because painfully accurate, though
exaggerated) versions of _Wuthering_Heights_ and _Wow_. 

        AND OF COURSE "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" WAS THE RECORD WHICH REALLY 
KICKED IT ALL OFF FOR YOU, ABOUT A YEAR AGO.  THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS 
PARODY OF THAT DONE BY FAITH BROWN, WHICH WE ARE GOING TO SEE IN JUST A 
MOMENT.   DID YOU ENJOY THAT WHEN YOU SAW IT?
        Yes, I thought it was incredible.  I think she's a genius. 
        ALRIGHT, LETS LOOK AT IT AGAIN OVER HERE.  [FAITH BROWN'S 
"WUTHERING HEIGHTS" PARODY IS PLAYED.  AUDIENCE LAUGHS.]
        Amazing. 
        YES, YOU HAD A SMILE AT THAT?  HOW DID THE TECHNIQUE, YOUR OWN 
TECHNIQUE, ACTUALLY EVOLVE?  THE ONE THAT IS BEING PARODIED THERE BY 
FAITH BROWN, WHO IN FACT IS A GUEST IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
        I'd just like to say that I think the amount of research [THAT] 
she must have done.  I mean, she must have watched that video so many 
times, because the movements are just... they're betting than mine, you 
know, even when she falls over, it's great.   (1979, Saturday Morning 
Show)
 
        WHEN FAITH BROWN AND OTHER IMPERSONATORS MIMICK YOU, WHAT IS
YOUR REACTION?
        I don't really watch much television.  I haven't been for quite a 
while - since I've been doing the album.  But the ones I have seen I 
think are really funny.  I think it's incredible that I should be chosen 
from so many to be imitated.   (1980, KBC 5)

*       Faith Brown is hilarious! SHE EXCLAIMED, GIGGLING.  She's so 
accurate!  I couldn't believe it when I saw her do "Wuthering Heights" 
and "Wow".  She'd learned every step of my dance routines.  Of course, 
it's very flattering to be mimicked.  The only time it gets bitchy is 
when they make fun of people's physical imperfections, like Esther 
Rantzen's teeth.  I don't find that amusing at all.   (1982, Nineteen)



        Oh England My Leotard (1980), by Pamela Stevenson, now of 
ex-Saturday Night Live fame. (She's the one that had the tits that moved 
around.  Cleary she is into tits....). This song is from a British TV 
show called "Not The Six O'Clock News". The song can be found on a record 
of excerpts from this show.  The record is called "Hedgehog Sandwich".   
        The song is a pastiche of several Kate-ian chord progressions and 
instrumental cadences which suggest some of the early hits (it was done 
about 1980), and which has some quite witty (though undeservedly cruel) 
lines in it. 

*       ON A LIGHTER NOTE, WHAT DOES KATE THINK ABOUT PEOPLE SUCH AS 
PAMELA STEVENSON DOING IMPERSONATIONS OF HER?
        I think it's great, actually.  I think it's wonderful that they 
go to so much trouble, as well.  And they really do, obviously watch the 
routines and listen to the track.  And they always re-record the track.  
Great. 
        WHEN YOU SEE SOMEBODY DOING THAT.  SOMEBODY WHO HAS PUT EFFORT IN 
TO... TO MIMIC YOU.  AND GETTING LAUGHS OUT OF IT, AT YOUR EXPENSE.  DO 
YOU THEN SAY TO YOURSELF "WELL I'M GOING TO STOP DOING THAT, THAT DOES 
LOOK PRETTY SILLY."  OR DO YOU HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT YOUR 
PERFORMANCE? 
        I think I have second thoughts about my performance anyway.  I 
think that just exaggerates the point.  But its great, I love to watch 
the way that they do it.  It's very fun.   (1982, Unknown BBC interview)


        The lyrics included are only as accurate as my ears.  If anyone 
thinks they know what a "Cop Boutique" is, please let me know:


                OH ENGLAND MY LEOTARD
                (To be sung roughly to the
                 tune of "Them Heavy People")
                [Transcribed by Doug Allen]
                ----------------------
        
        I was into yin and yang and half of yoga
        Ginsing and carroway seeds and being a non-smoker
        My carrot quiches were better than the board's were
        And they were thicker than two short ones
        People bought my latest hits cause they like my latex tits
        Everyone is trying hard to get inside my leotard
        Went to my hairdresser to have a hairdo
        He asked if I him knew "A la Recherche Tete-Temps Perdu"
        That's how I was introduced to Gollette, Cocteau, and Marcel 
Brust
        Now whole food cookery is just a sideline
        La la la la la ...
        I went to Cairo and I read the Gnostic
        A corporate form of joining the original cop-boutique ah
        Cause I cuff psychosis berries
        And a fibonacci series
        Studied acupuncture and the bible
        Opened the windows in my mind
        "It's not your mind -- it's your body they're into"
        My business manager said
        He said I need an intellect like I need a 
        Hole in the, hole in the, hole in the head
        Though I'm an honorary member of Mensa now
        I'm going to try and keep up the pretense some how
        Would you buy my latest hits because you like my latex tits?
        And you're all trying hard to get inside my
             [...Music changes to "Violin"...]
        Leotard, leotard, leotard
      ]


---
rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill)
NetRunner's Paradise BBS, San Diego CA