Biographical Bits and Pieces

[katefans@chinet.chi.il.us (Chris n Vickie)]

The last 3 times I've posted using "F" in rec.music.gaffa, 
the posts have not shown up. It seems to work fine when I
mail though. It's just so much easier to use F.


In article <92234.38767.LJ10717@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM> LJ10717@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM writes:
>
>Hello Bush Fans,

Hello to you!

>I've recently become a fan of Kate's lyrical and musical style and I'm seeking
>some background information on her.

Well, you've come to the right place, though I'm suprised no one has 
answered you yet. (Perhaps you have been answered in e-mail)

>What I'm looking for is her biography, not so much discography, but, who is
>Kate Bush.  Where she grew up, age, education, current status, etc. etc. etc.

She was born in Bexley, Kent, England on July 30, 1958. She still lives in
Kent, which is in southeast England. She grew up in the town of Welling.
Her father's name is Robert, her mother's name was Hannah (if you missed
my post in rec.music.misc, her mother died on Valentine's Day of this year)
and Kate has 2 brothers, Paddy, who was born in 1952 and John (aka Jay, aka
John Carder Bush) born in 1944. Her father is a doctor (general practitioner,
retured, I believe) and her brother Paddy is a musician (his specialty is
building unusual and ancient musical instruments.) Jay is a musician, poet
(not a very good one, by consensus, though some people do like his poetry)
and author. He also runs Novercia, which is Kate's publishing company.
Jay and Robert are Kate's main business overseers. Kate has *very* tight
control over everything she does and nothing ever gets released or done
without her imput. Novercia was formed when, after the release of _The
Kick Inside_ and _Lionheart_ she found EMI had created a publicity
monster machine centered around "Kate Bush" and she wanted control and
privacy over her music and her publicity.

Her childhood was spent in the most wonderful of places, her parent's 
home called "East Wickham Farm." It was/is the kind of Ivy-covered,
nooks and crannys, outbuildings with lofts-turned-play areas, 350 year-
old farmhouse, spooky cemetary nearby kind of place that feeds an imaginitive
child's creativity.

Her entire family is creative and musical, and Kate grew up listening to
lots of traditional music (especially Irish, which her mother was) as well
as 60s pop (Kate once said that one of the first records she bought was
Napolean Bonaparte's "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha Ha!") and late
60s, early 70s progressive rock, which her brothers played. 

Kate wrote poetry in school and taught herself piano (after her father
showed her the basic chords) and started putting her poems to music
at approx. age 11. By the age of 13 she was writing serious, original
music, including songs such as "The Man With The Child In His Eyes."

To make a *long* story short (there are plenty of places to find out
details) she was discovered by David Gilmour and he put up the money
for her to make a series of demo tapes, 3 of which he played for EMI pop
division general manager Bob Mercer, who was impressed enough to begin
negotiations with Kate's family concerning a record contract. She was
finally signed in July 1976..

She didn't start recording her first album until July/Aug. 1977, though
2 of the 3 demo tracks Gilmour played for Bob Mercer ended up on _The
Kick Inside_ as originally recorded.

Between July 1976 and July 1977 Kate took dance and mime classes and
worked on her music and voice, among many other things.

Kate quit school at age 16 to concentrate on her music.

Kate insisted that "Wuthering Heights" be the first single on the album
and, after much resistance, got her own way. Nice, because when the
song was released in January 1978, it caused a sensation and went to
#1 on the British charts, a position it held for 4 weeks. The song, and
Kate herself, became a media star in varying degrees in most civilized
countries of the world. Uncivilized & genius-deaf, the USA virtually
ignored her :-). (Oh, things are better now, though the phrase "Kate who?"
is still part of the American lexicon)

Ah gee, there's *SO* much to tell! I could keep going but I wouldn't know
what all more you want to know. Additional specific questions would help.

I imagine you'll get information about ftp, and a FAQ.

What's she doing now? Mourning for her mother, plus continuing the
recording and mixing process for KBVII, which probably won't be released
until sometime next century :-). Well, the standard is "next year" which,
in Katetalk means "whenever the hell it gets released. You've got 6 albums
plus *tons* of non-album music to listen to, so don't worry about it, or
you'll get an ulcer."



>Also, can someone explain the meaning behind "Whuthering Heights"(sp?); this is
>the first track off "The Whole Story."  I would appreciate this as well!

Well, it's based on the movie which is based on the book by Emily Bronte.
Actually, it's never been established if it was based on the film starring
Sir Laurence Olivier or if it was a television production. Kate's only
said (I think, therefore my memory fails) that she came upon the end of
WH on television when she was a child. Whatever, the song is basically the
last 15 minutes of the film, in which Cathy, a ghost, is outside Heathcliff's
window calling for him to join her.

Do you *only* have _The Whole Story_? If so, you don't have the original
recording because she re-recorded the vocals specifically for TWS. The
original's vocals are *much* higher and more ghostly. A debate has raged
for years between people who like the original better and people who like
TWS version better. Count me as one who likes the original better, though
it *was* the first Kate song I ever heard and it got me hooked on Kate in
approx. 30.5 seconds :-). Having heard the original about 285,968 times
by the time TWS was released, I don't think I can be flamed for stating
that the original is my favorite, will always be my favorite, even if
someone else disagrees.

The Whole Story *video* is the original version. I kinda think it's too bad 
that she didn't make another video. Not that I don't like that version,
I *love* it, but it would have been nice for Kate to take the opportunity
to update the video too. (Any excuse for a new Kate video is OK by me!)

>Thanks,

No problem. You're welcome.

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Vickie                                   "My ears are lucky to hear
katefans@chinet.chi.il.us                     these glorious songs" HTR
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"Imagination sets in, then   |__|_ ||_|  ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu
 all the voices begin" KB                Jessica Dembski-Ecto Goddess Lady
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