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(see also The Garden!)
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 85 00:24:51 est
From: nessus (Doug Alan)
Subject: A message from Kate (Tourprogramm 1979)
This is the introduction by Kate which appears in the tour program for her 1979 concert tour:
"Remembering the streets of a rush-hour London, with my carrier bags and dancing clothes under my arm -- Mad people, mad things and me, a hoping heart with no idea what was going to happen just around the corner.
Then the adventure of the gigs in English pubs, scented of summer beer. Wondering -- dancing -- sweating and waiting, waiting, waiting.
My obsessions, my teachers, my aching bones, my comforts and frustrations. So much laughing and crying but always music, music everywhere.
And now, crashing out in traffic jams all over the world, longing for home but waking with that same strange feeling --whether from a plane, a bed or a dream "how come -- it's happening to me?" -- and it's only just begun. -- You're carrying me into a land of the stage, a place for swallows and trapped mice.
Since the time I saw magic made by loving bodies that moved me beyond words -- I've craved for my own troupe of gypsies, my own show, the chance to take a trip with you.
And now it's here -- the best and bad times rock 'n rolled into one. The fear and sparkle in my stomach.
Sure, it's for me -- but it's for you, too
-- So take it -- take *me* away with you.......
lots of love
Kate
xxxx
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 90 10:47 PDT
From: IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: Kate recommends books to read, ca. 1979
<Reproduced from the fourth issue of the Kate Bush Club Newsletter, which came out in late 1979. It's important to bear in mind that at this stage the Club was directed mainly toward very young fans--it took a while before Kate and her group realized how many older fans there were, apparently. Nevertheless, these books, which are all children's books, must be at least somewhat representative of the kind of books Kate herself enjoyed at that time.>
Books to Read
I thought it would be a good idea to recommend some of the books I've enjoyed recently. They would be nice to give and to receive as Christmas presents.
The Snowman, but Raymond Briggs (Hamish Hamilton). A lovely story, told entirely in pictures, of a boy's adventures with a snowman who comes to life one night. Beautifully drawn, funny and moving. A real delight.
Masquerade, by Kit Williams (Cape). The riddle book to end all riddle books. If you can unravel the clues they will lead you to a golden hare that is buried somewhere in Britain. Super illustrations.
The Stone Book, Tom Fobble's Day, The Aimer Gate and Granny Reardun, all by Alan Garner (Collins). A linked quartet by one of the finest living prose writers, though each book is an entity in itself, covering eighty years, from 1860 to 1940, in the life of a Cheshire family. Each book is only eighty pages long, and a fuller, richer, more exhilarating eighty pages would be hard to find. Each story is filled with the mysteries and magic of working with stone, wood and metal, and each has a stunning set-piece that left me literally breathless--a girl's whilrling ride on a church weathercock, a boy's climb to the inner tip of a steeple, the thrill of sledging in new snow in an air-raid. They are also well made books, with fine etchings by Michael Foreman--a delight to hold as well as to read.
The Haunted House by Jan Pienkowski (Heinemann). Open every page and horrific things jump out at you, and there are lots of tabs to pull and push and turn to make it more ghoulish. Really good fun.
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Arthur Rackham (Methuen). Everyone will know about this classic, but I would like to recommend this edition, because it's a good size--it feels like a book--and has the superb Rackham illustrations. It's worth having for those alone.
Moshi the Jackal, by Tas Gibson (Rex Collings). The life of the Jackal, told through the story of Moshi, brilliantly illustrated by one of the leading wildlife illustrators. Tas also had a hand in the design of our Lionheart logo.
The Mouse and His Child, by Russell Hoban (Faber). A brilliant, funny and profound novel following the attempts of a father-and-son clockwork toy to achieve self-winding, in the face of attacks by Manny Rat, one of the great villains.
-- Kate Bush
Date: Sun, 04 Oct 87 01:17 PDT
From: IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
Subject: Auntie Hetty interview
And now, since it seems IED forgot to post this after having finished typing it up, here is Kate's self(?)-interview, the one which preceded the "Zwort Finkle" interview. This one's called "Auntie Hetty". Enjoy.
Kate Bush interviews herself: The "Auntie Hetty" Interview
<Kate apparently interviewed herself for two of the latest issues of The Kate Bush Club Newsletter, attributing the questions to the fictitious characters Auntie Hetty and Cousin Zwort Finkle.
The "Auntie Hetty" interview first appeared in the 20th issue of the Newsletter; the second followed it in the 21st issue. Edited by Andrew Marvick.>
An Interview With Auntie Hetty
Let me introduce myself. I'm Kate's Auntie Hetty, and I've been waiting to do this interview for years, but she's such a busy dear, and I like to keep myself active with my amateur dramatics. Such a lovely group of boys and girls -- so enthusiastic --keeps them away from nasty things like sniffing glue and listening to Sigue-Sigue Sputnik. I'm terribly into Method acting and have just had a nice long sleep. I was playing a woman alcoholic who'd been up for three days and three nights, so I stayed up for three days and three nights and drank both bottles of sherry (from that lovely boy who played Bottom three years ago in Little Hampton). It's so much more fun than acting. But I feel most refreshed now, and as I enter Katie's front gate I notice the garden's a little untidy --I really must tell her about old Mr. Squashy, and I've some lovely hollyhocks she could put by the door.
So, with a nice cup of tea, I refer to my notes, take up the old crochet hook and begin:
Now Katie, dear, we're all so pleased about this album doing so well and we heard a lot about a film called "The Ninth Wave" --Will that be your next project?
"The film was something I very much wanted to try. The b-side of the album was originally written with visual ideas in mind, and I am intrigued by the combination of pictures and sound on film. I went as far as approaching a couple of people about the idea, but I found the success of the album and the rate of single releases extremely demanding, especially as each single required a video, 12", single artwork...It soon built up, and there was no time to even think about this film. The promotion for this album almost lasted a year. By the time I'd taken a break, the gap between albums was already becoming too big to consider fitting in another project. I've now had a holiday and some time to do nothing, and am in the process of thinking out some ideas to take into the studio."
Oh, I see, dear. Well, you must have been very busy. Did you have a lovely holiday?
"Yes, it was...lovely."
Now, you have a video E.P. out called The Hair of the Hound, and it's been at Number One in the charts, which is very nice, lovely. They must have taken a lot of time to do. You see, I understand these things -- Amateur dramatics is the same thing, you know: rehearse, rehearse, struggle, toil, iron your costume every night...
"I really wanted to try and make videos that looked like short films this time. I think I've always wanted to do this, but apart from one or two of the previous videos I have not achieved it. I started approaching film directors. I believed that video and film were two very different worlds, and that people who made videos would be less likely to make a pop "video" look like a piece of 35mm film.
"All the people I approached were very kind but very busy, and I began to realise that unless I was extremely lucky, no one that I wanted would be able to shoot the promo.
"I am a big admirer of Terry Gilliam's work -- he is a great director. I asked his advice; could he suggest people I could work with who were good. He recommended David Garfarth, who had worked as a cameraman for him. The lighting cameraman was Phil Mayheux --who, interestingly, worked on the Max Headroom special, which was superbly lit -- "
Max who?
"The video <"Running Up That Hill"> took eight weeks: six weeks' training and choreography working with Dyane Gray, and three days shoot, plus editing and various meetings.
"'Cloudbusting' took eight to ten weeks, working with Julian Doyle, who has worked many times with Terry Gilliam. He is multi-talented, and covered many areas of the shoot, with Brian Helighy lighting for the first time -- it's hard to believe that it is his first time at lighting."
Yes it is so atmospheric, I love the story. But I'm very upset that you didn't bring that lovely Donald Sutherland to see me. You know your Uncle Bertie used to get quite jealous...eh, hmm, yes. Now I noticed you didn't move your lips to the music in three of the videos -- or should I call them films?
"Well, they were all shot on film, but all eventually were edited on video.
"Apart from 'Running Up That Hill', which was edited totally in the video suite, the others were edited on film as much as possible: doing all the cuts -- except the ones that need special effects: slowing down, speeding up. All this is much quicker (and sometimes cheaper) to do on video, and with promo deadlines video is so convenient. But it does change the quality of the pictures when the film is transferred to video: it somehow loses its depth. But I'm sure in a couple of years the quality will be brilliant. Video is advancing all the time, but for me you can't beat the original quality of film, it's a very ancient form.
"The advantage of video is being set loose on all the effects, although on the E.P. all except 'Big Sky' have been approached from a purist film-maker's point of view: very few special effects. We deliberately encouraged this, again trying to emphasise the film aspect. Which has a lot to do with no lip-synch: as soon as a performer is 'singing', they become that performer doing other things while singing. Which is great live, but on film, people acting out events without the lip distractions have more chance of playing a character. I found it very interesting and much more enjoyable. I'm always concerned about the miming being as accurate as possible, and that takes a lot of concentration and makes me behave like a singer. So without the lip-synch I could put much more effort into a character.
"I felt a little nervous about it in 'Cloudbusting'. In 'Running Up That Hill' it was different: no lip-synch, but I was trying to act a dancer, and they are facial expressions I know the sensations of. But playing a little boy, and playing opposite Donald Sutherland, I began to wonder if I was going mad, voluntarily putting myself in these situations where I had a ninety percent chance of looking a total absolute idiot! But if anything, Donald made it seem extremely natural, he was just like my Dad. He could make it rain, and I would watch him being taken away. I must say it was an extremely moving experience, burnt strongly into my memory upon the hill with the machine and the wind...
I had a similar experience with Sir Cecil Dill in the last performance of Ooh, Was it Really? at Dulwich. He was playing Mortimer West, and as he rushed on the stage with his epee in his back and said, "Good God! It was him all along!" I knew I would never forget that moment, and with tears in my eyes I said, "Ooh, was it really?" and down came the curtain to the roar of applause, with that smell of old velvet -- Still brings a tear to my eye.
Now, where was I? Oh, my dear, you've made more tea. I didn't see you go!
I notice that you directed two of the videos. Did you enjoy doing that?
"It was very interesting and extremely educational. I've had a lot of encouragement from people to get more involved, and it can be difficult sometimes to find directors who are enthusiastic about the amount of involvement I like to put in. I found it took all my time rather than most, and the actual shoots felt very relaxed. Cupcake, Aunt Hetty?"
Ooh, don't mind if I do, dear.
"I am extremely lucky to have worked with such a good film crew: Mike Roberts was the cameraman. He's worked on The Killing Fields and The Mission; and Billy Camp was assistant, who organised everyone and everything so efficiently on the days of the shoot that I could almost relax. I used two different lighting men: Hughie Johnson; and Roger Pratt, who again worked with Terry Gilliam. The crew were so receptive, and made a very daunting, expensive task a lot of fun.
"It is very like making early albums: I feel a bit disappointed with the results, not having enough rehearsal, a big enough budget, etc., etc., but the shoots were so much fun. It's such a good feeling to work with a big group of people. I seem to like working with crowds.
"On both 'Hounds of Love' and 'The Big Sky' shoots there was such a relaxed air --both shoots involved crowd scenes, and 'The Big Sky' was especially satisfying. Besides a large number of performers to fill a stage and give the effect of a live concert, we needed an avenue of people, from the Wright brothers to two astronauts, to simulate aviation history. The Wright brothers looked remarkably like Dave Cross and Peter Fitzgerald-Morris, and one of the astronauts looked so like Jay...We also needed a large, enthusiastic crowd, so we asked Dave Cross to organise some members of the Club, and two hundred beautifully behaved people arrived on the day of the shoot. It was very moving, they filled us all up with energy --It made it feel like a real concert.
"All the film crew remarked on how incredible everyone was. They had been terrified with past experiences of invited audiences, but I told them they hadn't met the right ones. Everyone left just as beautifully -- nearly everyone with a burnt thumb from being a star in the sky holding up lighters and waving. I'd never been in the same room with so many stars before."
Oh, the little angels, how lovely! Did it take long to edit those two clips?
"No, I worked with John Mister as film editor. On both those shoots we worked to very detailed storyboards, and in both cases could give John a photostat of the script beforehand so he'd know the gist of what we were working on. Then he'd do a rough cut by himself, following the storyboard. Then we'd work together until we were happy. He was great to work with, and both edits were very quick: just taking them into the video suite for bits and pieces. But it would have to be transferred to video for T.V. showings, anyway, so all ads, <sic -- Does she mean 'adds', as in 'additions?> etc., end up on video.
"'The Big Sky' was a little more complicated. The beginning part on the rooftops involves chromakey, where all the live action goes on in front of a blue screen and then the various weather effects were put in at the edit. The pieces of film with the weather were chosen beforehand and transferred to video; they then replaced the blue screen."
That sounds awfully complicated, dear. We just roll our scenery up and down from the wings, it's so much easier.
Now you must tell me about all these darling people you've been working with. What was it like working with that lovely Peter Gabriel again?
"I was so excited that he asked me to sing on that track --It's such a lovely, haunting song, and I love his work. But I do get nervous, especially when it's something I really like. His music is very strong, and he is a great person -- I love working with him."
And those dear Big Country boys...
Yes, I like the Celtic influences in their music. They were lovely to work with -- I really enjoyed it. They asked if I'd like to do some backing vocals, and I went in for an evening. They were really nice. It was fun. I like working with different people. I really enjoyed doing the Comic Relief concerts."
Oh, but my dear, the language was appalling. I'm afraid I had to write to "Points of View". I was more than a little shocked that you and Cliff Richard of all people...
"It was fantastic. I'm a big fan of so many of those comedians --They are so talented. For me, alternative comedy is the most exciting thing coming out of this country at the moment, and to be involved in something with them all was really fulfilling. I felt nervous there, too, it's been a long time since I've performed live to an audience, but they were so warm. Unfortunately the piano pedal jammed on the first night in 'Breathing' and I sang to the most horrific combination of chords you can imagine, so the second and third nights were relatively relaxed after that!
"Singing with Rowan was hilarious. He's one of those people who can make his face and body language make you laugh without him having to speak. Again, I was so pleased that they asked me to take part. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I just wish I'd been brave enough to ask most of them for their autographs --'Er, Ben, would you? I say, Rick, I've got this nephew...Just sign it, don't bother signing it to him...' You know, you're meant to act nonchalant, but I found myself starstruck."
I did see gorgeous Ronnie Corbett and the Monty Python chappies --Wasn't Terry Gilliam there?
"Yes, he was...Just so much talent. British comedy is unique and the best."
Here, here, Gr-r-reat Britain...
I hear you sang "Brazil" on the soundtrack to Terry Gilliam's film.
"Yes, what a beautiful song -- and I always thought it was a really bad cabaret number, but actually it is very sad and nostalgic.
Of course it is, you silly girl -- One of the best tunes ever...Br-a-a-zillll...
"Michael Kamen did the orchestral arrangements. He worked on The Ninth Wave: 'Watching You Without Me' and 'Hello Earth'. He is very clever. He did the music for the film, and was putting the soundtrack album together with Terry, and they played me this beautiful arrangement without a voice. I'm not sure if this piece was in the film or not, but I don't sing in the film at all. It has such a 30s/40s feel, and Michael asked if I would sing over it -- My immediate reactions were fear and 'Yes'."
Now, just before we have another cup of tea, I want to ask you if you're going to work with any more famous actors, because if you worked with that lovely Peter O'Toole you could tell him to pop in and see me and have a nice cup of tea, and we could act out one or two scenes from Romeo and Juliet...
<End of interview>
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 88 18:41 PST
From: IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Boring the Readers of Love-Hounds: A Marvick Tradition
Since 1986
I've had quite a run of similarly fortuitous, minor but exciting little discoveries recently.
... the discovery of the original "Auntie Hetty" in an episode of The Avengers ...
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 87 19:45 PST
From: IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: Zwort Finkle Interview
Finally, part one of a new KT interview:
The following is a brand new interview with Kate, published in the latest issue of the official Kate Bush Club Newsletter. Don't ask IED what the deal on this Zwort guy is, he has no idea. The last time Kate was interviewed by "Auntie Hetty"...
"Cousin Kate" by Zwort Finkle
Hi, my name's Zwort Finkle, I'm from the U.S. of A. and I'm a distant cousin of Kate's. We haven't seen each other for years, so I had to fill her in on my life story. I left college three years ago, and have been following a brilliant career in journalism, working for such well known magazines as "Blurt", "Let's Go Crazy", "Let's Go Crazy Again", "Son of Blurt" and "Let's Go Blurt Again". This was my first visit to London, and I was astounded at how you guys can survive this climate, how you manage to keep to one side of the road when the roads are so small, how quaint and cute you all are, and how totally bored and unenthused you all are with things that would make us little old Americans go "Yee-Hah".
Zwort: Tell me, Katie, have you ever thought of living in America?
Katie: There are very few places I've been to that I've felt I could live in -- I think too many of my roots are here in England, and so much of my work is based here, and I seem to spend most of my time working. I've only been to America a few times, and then only to New York, L.A. and Las Vegas, but maybe if I visited more parts of America I would find a place that I feel I could live in. I really enjoyed my visits, especially to New York -- there's so much energy there, so many different and interesting people and a very social sense between artistic people, that certainly in the music business doesn't exist in this country. People seem to work in great isolation here, whereas in New York, people want to get together and talk and enthuse.
Zwort: Like, er, do you feel there's a lack of enthusiasm here, cous'?
Katie: Yes, I do, and I feel a lot of people, certainly within the music business, are particularly attracted to America by this. "Artistic" people like -- possibly even need -- a lot of feedback, and Americans are wonderful at making you feel wanted, and are very positive about the launching of new ideas, new approaches. It's exciting to be among this energy, and in England I think we're all a bit hard on each other, but this country has a great wealth of talent and creative ideas, it's just that people have to fight a little to get a bit of enthusiasm going. But maybe that's not such a bad thing -- maybe it creates more determination in a cause. What do you think, cousin Rodney?
Zwort: Actually, it's Zwort.
Katie: Sorry?
Zwort: Zwort!!
Katie: Sorry, WHAT'S Zwort?
Zwort: My name, of course.
Katie: Oh!
Zwort: What were you doing in Las Vegas? That's an unusual place to visit!
Katie: I was there with a guy from the record company just for a day, and it was really just an opportunity to see the place while he had business matters to deal with. It is an extraordinary place. Instead of saying "How you doing?", everyone says, "Feeling lucky?" It's like a strange oasis stuck right in the middle of the desert away from everything. We took a flight in a small plane over the Grand Canyon, and it was one of the most terrifying experiences I've ever had. The Canyon is totally enormous, and we were so tiny --I've never experienced that kind of vertigo before or since, and with all the air pockets, we went up and down, up and down.
Zwort: I understand you don't do many interviews.
Katie: That's right.
Zwort: Why is that?
Katie: I find it very difficult to express myself in interviews. Often people have so many preconceptions that I spend most of the interview trying to defend myself from the image that was created by the media eight years ago. That is understandable to a certain extent -- that's when I did most of my interviews, and I think the image was created by what the press felt the public wanted, how they interpreted me as I was then, and how I projected myself at that time.
Zwort: You mean like saying "wow", "amazing", and that you were frail and fragile, etc.
Katie: Yes, that is part of it. I was very young, idealistic and enthusiastic about so much then, but I felt they exaggerated these qualities. And I was -- and am even more so now -- a private person, and perhaps because I wouldn't talk about these areas of my life they turned to the "wow", "amazing" girl, even when I didn't use those words. The few interviews I do, people still seem to dwell on this old "me", and I find it disappointing when I want to talk about my current work.
Zwort: Do you, like, er, think enthusiasm was an unfashionable thing, particularly at this time, when punk and street cred were the "hip" thing?
Katie: Yes, I do. I think it still is, particularly in this country. But I think clever people hide their unfashionable faces from the public. Perhaps in a way, I was too open with the press, maybe I should have "performed" for them, and puked and gobbed at the cameras, but it's not my nature, I was brought up too well. The interviews I've sat through patiently, sometimes hanging onto my patience with the skin of my teeth, thinking it's good for my tolerance and might make me a better person.
Zwort: But you do occasionally talk to the press?
Katie: Yes. There are good people to talk to, they're not always talking about the past, or deliberately trying to make you look like an idiot, and are genuinely interested in my work. But it's like I said, I find it hard to express myself in interviews. It depends how I feel -- sometimes they're fun, especially if I know the journalist, and the questions are interesting -- they make you think about areas you might not have even considered before. But sometimes I find myself saying things just to please them, or just to give a question an answer. Sometimes I get verbal diarrhoea and just burble complete rubbish, and sometimes I feel so guarded that I invert, and feel like a trapped animal. Quite often I go over an interview in my head afterwards and realise I've said something completely contrary to what I believe, but I put most of it down to being quite a private person, and being someone who likes to think carefully about how I say something. Words are very special things, and are so easily misinterpreted --I much prefer to write lyrics than do an interview. I feel I'm a songwriter, not a personality, and I find it difficult to even talk about my songs, sometimes. In a way, they speak for themselves, and the subjects or inspirations can be so personal, or just seem ridiculous when spoken about.
Zwort: Do you think it's important that people know what the songs are about?
Katie: No, I think it can be interesting for people, but their interpretation is what matters, and I find it fascinating how people do seem to understand so much about a song that must be totally obscure and is so personal to me, but maybe they just FEEL it, they feel the emotions of the song, somehow grasp the meanings. It's so hard for me to tell because I know what it's about, but for example, some of the stuff on The Ninth Wave are so obscure lyrically, and yet people seem to know exactly what I'm trying to say. That's a great feeling. It stops me worrying about that aspect of songwriting -- that someone somewhere knows exactly what you're trying to put into words.
Zwort: Do you have favourite lyric-writers, as opposed to "musical" songwriters?
Katie: I'm not sure you can separate the two, because once a word is sung, it can completely change its feeling to the point where you don't recognise the word any more -- for me that is part of the fascination. But my favourite lyric just now is "The Boy in the Bubble" by Paul Simon. The chorus of that is totally brilliant, particualarly the line, "The way we look to the distant constellation that is dying in the corner of the sky." It's poetry, but the impact is the combination of the words with the music, and the way he sings it -- it's SO good. But quite often I mishear lyrics, and prefer my version to the real words when I find them out. I know a lot of people who have the same experience, and again we're back to what music means to the listener, or how they hear it. Music is a very special thing.
Zwort: Would you say that music is something religious, even holy to you?
Katie: Some of the most beautiful music ever was written for God, for a loved one, in a state of grief, sorrow, suppression -- it seems to be an expression from a person on a higher level...? I'm not sure I understand it at all, but music seems to come out of people when very little else can. Some of the great composers wrote beautiful music but, as people, were monsters or maniacs. People who can't speak properly because of stutters can sing fluently. I saw a clip from a programme about a man who only had a short-term memory -- he couldn't remember anything: what he'd just said, just done. He lived in a constant state of panic, buecause he didn't know where he was, or why he was there. It was terrifying. The only thing he could remember was he wife, and when he sat at the church organ at his local church he could sing a play complete pieces of music without any problems. It was like he'd suddenly been set free. And yet when he was shown a video recording of him doing this, he had no memory of it whatsoever. Music is a strange and beautiful thing. It means a great deal to me. I love listening to and making music. I am very lucky to be able to be involved with music -- I hope I always will be.
Zwort: Do you think music comes from the soul? This is what some people believe.
Katie: I don't know. I just know that music is something special, and also something very personal for people.
Zwort: Going back to the obscurity of some of your songs that are personal to you, and how you feel people pick up on this --can you give some detailed examples?
Katie: Mmmh, let me think.
Zwort: I'll make a cup of coffee and you have a think, cous'.
Katie: Can I have tea?
Zwort: Yeah, sure -- you English and your tea. It's so quaint! Can we have scones and I'll have tea too?
Katie: Sorry, haven't got any, but there's some fig rolls...
<ten minutes later...>
Zwort: Okay -- teabreak over.
Katie: Right, back to your question. I think it works on the basis of: if it moves you, it could move others. Hitchcock was talking about his films and saying the best subjects for his films that were frightening were things that frightened him -- like "Vertigo". Apparently he was terrified of heights. It seems logical, doesn't it?
Zwort: Yeah, sure. Hitchcock was brilliant.
Katie: Yes, I agree, a genius. An engineer we were working with picked out the line in "And Dream of Sheep" that says "Come here with me now." I asked him why he liked it so much. He said, "I don't know, I just love it. It's so moving and comforting." I don't think he even knew what was being said exactly, but the song is about someone going to sleep in the water, where they're alone and frightened. And they want to go to sleep, to get away from the situation. But at the same time it's dangerous to go to sleep in water, you could drown. When I was little, and I'd had a bad dream, I'd go into my parents' bedroom round to my mother's side of the bed. She'd be asleep, and I wouldn't want to wake her, so I'd stand there and waid for her to sense my presence and wake up. She always did, within minutes; and sometimes I'd frighten her -- standing there still, in the darkness in my nightdress. I'd say, "I've had a bad dream," and she'd lift up the bedclothes and say something like "Come here with me now." It's my mother saying this line in the track, and I briefed her on the ideas behind it before she said it. And I think it's the motherly comfort that this engineer picked up on. In fact, he said this was his favourite part of the album. "Cloudbusting" is, again, lyrically very obscure. I think the idea is easy to grasp, but the story behind it is very involved, and in a way the video that accompanies it is equally so, but I've spoken to several people who have felt very moved by the song or the video or both, and they all say they feel this really personal relationship between the child and his father, how real it seems, how sad it is. For me, that is wonderful -- the book that originally inspired the song and video moved me so much! It's so sad, and it's also a true story, and somehow even if people don't understand the story, they pick up on the feelings, the emotions -- this is a very rewarding experience for me.
Zwort: did the writer of the book get to hear the song and see the video?
Katie: Yes. These were worrying moments for me -- what if he didn't like it? If I'd got it wrong? But he said he found them very emotional and that I'd captured the situation. This was the ultimate reward for me.
Zwort: Do you stay in contact?
Katie: Yes, we write to each other, and I enjoy the contact very much. Many people have tried to get this book <A Book of Dreams, by Peter Reich>, many have read it since and adore it. The trouble is, the book is out of print, and I think it's such a shame that it's unavailable for those that would love to read it. It's very difficult to find copies of it, though I understand that some libraries still carry it.
Zwort: How do you feel about "The Whole Story"? Were you against the release of a compilation album?
Katie: Yes, I was at first. I was concerned that it would be like a "K-Tel" record, a cheapo-compo with little thought behind it. It was the record company's decision, and I didn't mind as long as it was well put together. We put a lot of work into the packaging, trying to make it look tasteful, and carefully thought out the running order. And the response has been phenomenal -- I'm amazed!
Zwort: Careful, there's that word!
Katie: Surely I can say it once or twice. Everybody else does, and gets away with it -- Zzzwort!!
Zwort: Only teasing. How do you feel about the video compilation?
Katie: Again, I was worried initially, because of the release of "The Single File" and "Hair of the Hound", but with the opportunity of getting "Experiment IV" on it, and the record company being sure there was a market, I felt it could be a good idea. We spent a lot of work on "Experiment IV", and because of it almost being an "adult" video, we were sure we'd have trouble getting it shown on TV.
Zwort: Did you have trouble getting it shown?
Katie: Yes. The video took a long time to make, and with having to write and record the single with the tightest deadlines I've ever had, the video was needed before we'd finished it. But we did get a minute clip ready in time to be shown when the single was charting, but Top of the Pops refused to show it, saying it was too violent! It's not violent at all, but we expected a response like this. Pop promos are in a very sensitive area. They're considered "family viewing", but there are many sexualy ambiguous videos shown on children's TV -- yet this was considered too extreme. However, The Tube showed it in its entirety, and it's now showing at the cinema with a feature film, so we've made a sort of B-film!! That's quite exciting.
Zwort: I noticed that instead of the "Wow" video you've pieced together footage from the live shows. Why is this?
Katie: Two reasons, really. Firstly, I really don't like the promo we did for "Wow". I think it's silly. And also, looking through the videos I noticed a great absence of "performance" promos, and the tour was an important part of the story. Also, it makes it a more interesting item for people who have some of the other videos. That way it's not just "Experiment IV" that is a new visual.
Zwort: I understand you directed this clip. How did it go, and why did you direct it?
Katie: Directing is a new experiment for me -- actually, it was Experiment III -- and with this track I had such strong visual ideas while I was writing the song that I wanted to give it another go. It's the first time the video and song have come together. It was very hard work, but a lot of fun.
We filmed in an old disused hospital, and the conditions were very cold and damp, but everyone got very involved and we had a great time.
The cast included Dawn French, Hugh Laurie, Richard Vernon, Peter Vaughan, Del, Paddy, Jay, Lisa and many friends. It was wonderful to work with people who I admire so much, and a very exciting experience. Paddy played the lunatic, and in every take his sounds were just as impressive as his visuals -- I wish I'd put it onto tape. He literally "threw" himself into the part, and the crew were so impressed they applauded him -- a great accolade!
Although this was the most complicated of my directions, it was so much easier for me because I appeared in it only briefly, so I could concentrate on being behind the camera, which I really enjoy. And it's so nice to involve the people I like -- not only are they great performers but they're good to be with.
There were some wonderful moments, like filming in East London. We had a field full of "dead bodies" who kept moving about to get more comfortable, so we had to shout out over a loud-hailer, "Stop moving -- You're supposed to be dead!" And the music shop that we created for the shot <"Music for Pleasure"> was so realistic that passers-by kept popping in wanting to buy some of the instruments.
Zwort: How do you view the changes audially and visually on "The Whole Story" album and video?
Katie: I really like the idea of the album being available on video -- I've always wanted to make a form of video album, but I never thought it would be a compilation!
I see two main changes, although I'm very subjective. Audially, the important step for me was production, which had led on to our own studio. The process is so much more personal because of this. On the first two albums all my arrangements were contained within the piano arrangement, which was the foundation, but which was then handed over to Andrew Powell as producer to interpret with his string arrangements. And the musicians and I worked in my backing vocals by playing the tapes over and over and singing along. But being producer I could put a lot less emphasis on the piano arrangement and interpret the song through other instruments onto tape, even playing around with the parts after the musicians had gone, and getting our own studio meant I could build up the song straight onto tape, keeping bits that worked and building up ideas even before the musicians came in.
Visually, I see a shift from being inspired by dance (Lindsay Kemp being a big influence), to filmic imagery (being influenced by all the films I love so much). I find the combination of film and music very exciting, and it's very rare for people to concentrate on both with equal concern -- film-makers don't want the music to distract, and musicians don't want the visuals to be stronger than the music. But when it works, it's so powerful! For instance, "The Wall", "Singing in the Rain", "Amadeus" -- there are definitely people moving this way more and more. It's great.
Zwort: Wouldn't it be great to attack all the senses at once? To have film and music, sensurround fitted to the seats, scents filtered in through the air-conditioning -- Yee-hah!
Katie: Oh, Cousin Rodney -- that's what I love about you: you're so enthusiastic!
Zwort: It's ZWORT!
END OF INTERVIEW
Date: Wed, 1 Apr 87 17:36:07 PST
From: prs@oliven.ATC.OLIVETTI.COM (Philip Stephens)
Subject: Re: Zwort Finkle interview with Kate Bush, THANKS AGAIN
Kate seems like the kind of person I would enjoy having tea with and discussing absolutely anything, quite a contrast to The Boss or most other chart-toppers (not all). Someone with a mind, and with some passion for her art. A pleasure to know, even if only 3rd hand.
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 87 12:46 PDT
From: IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: 'A Could Be Story' by Kate Bush
The following is a short story written by Kate Bush. It's called "A Could Be Story", and was printed in the fourth Kate Bush Club Newsletter, which came out in the late summer of 1979.
A Could Be Story
When the Shades went into Priory Street Studios to make their third album they were working on a very tight schedule. Their first album had made the top sixty but their second had hardly done anything at all, and now their third one had to be good or they would have difficulty in getting another recording contract. They felt they needed to find a Christmas single that would help them out of their troubles, but they only had until the end of November to get this together. Any later than that and the record company would be unable to bring a single out -- even November was cutting it pretty fine! They had decided to try something different on the new album and had become interested again in the music that was around in the middle 50s.
They had come across a song that none of them had ever heard of before, and it could be the one they were looking for. The song was called "I'm Riding with Santa Tonight", by someone called Billy Smith. They decided they would give it a very genuine Bill Haley treatment, with saxaphones and lots of
shoo-bops-doo-wah-woo-bops-di-wops.
They worked on the rhythm track the first day, putting onto tape the drums, bass guitar and some funky rock-and-roll piano, with a rough voice-track to keep it all together. Late that night they played the various takes they'd done, to choose the one they would keep. Half way through listening to the first take the recording engineer started to look worried and began pressing buttons and pulling down slide controls on his mixing desk where all the sounds were controlled. When he was asked what was the matter, he said he was starting to pick up interference on the track that certainly hadn't been put on there by any of the band during the day. This was the first time he had worked in Priory Street Studios, and he was not used to the equipment. He played back the bit that he thought was wrong, and there was quite clearly a whining sound breaking in on the track. It could have been a loose connection, or even one of the band's stomachs rumbling.
They listened to all the takes, but the interference was there on each one, and the engineer couldn't find a way of shifting it. This meant a whole day of studio time had been wasted, and feeling pretty disappointed with their first attempt at a comeback, the Shades slid back home in the early hours to get some sleep before starting again the following day.
At two o'clock the next afternoon they turned up at the studio and did the rhythm track once again. But on listening to it that evening, instead of the interference having been cleaned off, it was now even more noticeable, and the engineer could not understand what was happening. It put him in a difficult situation because the band were now talking about using other studios; but he'd been booked for the next two months to do the album, and he was determined that was what he was going to do. After a lot of arguing and shouting the Shades were sitting on one side of the studio and the recording engineer and his assistant on the other and they weren't talking.
At that point the roadie who looked after the Shades' equipment came bouncing into the studio hoping to get an earful of what had been going on for the last couple of days. When he saw the glum faces he knew something was up, and had great difficulty in persuading the engineer to let him hear the tape. Eventually he was persuaded, and the roadie sat back and listened with a critical ear. The Shades knew that he never missed spotting a potential hit single and they often used him as a test of their music.
When the track came to the bit with the heavy interference the roadie began to brighten up, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room. When the track had finished, he said it was one of the best things he'd ever heard, and how on earth did they get the amazing effects? The engineer had to say that it was a mistake, and they'd been trying to get rid of it. The roadie said that that was ridiculous, and he managed to persuade everybody that if they pretended it wasn't interference but a very interesting form of synthesiser, it could be the hook needed on the record to make it sell. So it was agreed that the Shades would come back in the next day and put down some guitar work and talk about the vocals.
On the third day, at the end of the evening, they played back an almost completed track, apart from the lead vocals. Once again, the interference was there, and once again, if anything, it seemed to be a lot more dominant. But they had to agree with the roadie that it certainly did give the song a lot of crackle and bite. When the lead vocal was put on and the track finished and ready to go off to the record company for their approval -- and hopefully then for release as a single -- they all gathered for one final listen.
The odd thing was that the interference now seemed to have mellowed out, and was almost adding a very strange sort of harmony to the lead singer's voice. But everyone agreed that the track was good, and that it could work.
When "I'm Riding With Santa" eventually reached number ten on the hit parade, the Shades arrived at the Top of the Pops studio to appear for a Christmas edition and sing their hit single. While they were waiting in the canteen to be called up to perform, they talked with a producer friend and mentioned that they had recorded the single at Priory Street Studios. He nodded his head to show that he knew the studios, and then asked them if they'd had any trouble with the ghost.
The Shades looked at each other, and went whiter than the white make-up they wore on stage. The producer explained to them that Priory Street Studios had a reputation for its ghost, and that at one time the owners had thought of closing down the studio because of the electrical interference they kept getting on takes. They had gone as far as taking out all the equipment, having it thoroughly looked at and put back in again, but this had made no difference. In the early 70s the Studios had been completely re-modernised, and he'd assumed that the troubles were over, but he had heard that occasionally they still had problems.
The Shades didn't say anything, but after doing a strong appearance -- though it was a rather shaky one -- on the television, they went for a celebration party at a friend's house. They now had a good talk about the ghost story they'd heard, and they were all wondering whether it was the ghost that had made the single a success.
The following day they sent their roadie off to the publishing company where they'd found the song, with the job of looking through the catalogues and finding anything he could about the song and the songwriter. That evening he met them at the studio with some very interesting news. It seemed that Billy Smith, who had written "I'm Riding with Santa Tonight", recorded his first and only album at Priory Street Studios. All the songs on the album were his own compositions -- this was quite unusual in those days, as most of the early rock-and-roll singers in England sang other people's songs.
Unfortunately, just after the album had been completed he'd been electrocuted in the Studios when something had gone wrong with his electric guitar. The record company hadn't thought much of his album anyway, so it was shelved and eventually completely forgotten.
The Shades thought this was a pretty good reason for a ghost to hang about the studios and, wondering how they could best express their thanks to the dead rock singer, they decided to put a credit on the album -- "Ghost Synthesiser by Billy Smith".
Apparently there has been no more trouble with interference at Priory Street Studios, which probably goes to show that a ghost is quite content when his music has eventually reached his public.
-- Kate
Perhaps it's worth mentioning that this story came out at about the same time that Kate was working on the early version of her Christmas recording, "December Will Be Magic Again," which she also performed on Top of The Pops; and that more than once since then she has commented on the powerful sense of history she experienced while working in Abbey Road Studios.
-- Andrew
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 87 16:27 PDT
From: IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: 'On the Road Home' by Kate Bush
Here is the last of the three short short stories which have appeared in past Kate Bush Club Newsletters. "On the Road Home" was published in Number 15, the Christmas 1983 issue; and like the two earlier stories, this one is set off by snow, cold rain and a dark winter night...
On the Road Home
It had been a good day, and as I tied the tree on to the roof it showered me in its green perfume. For just a moment it took me to that place where all my Christmas days meet as one; where there are reindeer and chimney pots and blazing fires. It hung in my head for an instant and then was gone as I checked the clock and made for the shops.
It was unusually quiet for an afternoon so near to Christmas. It had even snowed that morning, and the shop attendants seemed almost happy at their work. It felt like some kind of magic, wrapping everyone and everything up.
The ever-growing list was finally getting smaller -- tick, tick, tick: the turkey, the pudding, the crackers. Tick, tick: a present for David, a present for Granddad.
With just five minutes to spare, I had finished the shopping and was wading back to the car through the snow. It really was quiet that night, and it had been dark for a good hour. I opened the car boot and wedged as much as possible into the already full space.
It was great to be in the car and on the way home. Everything looked so beautiful in the snow! It was like driving down a tunnel of trees to Narnia. I was in no hurry, and didn't feel like the radio -- the snow and my thoughts were just right together. Not too fast, remember the driving conditions, ease off the accelerator, check the mirror (no-one around), nice and easy...
It was just as I started thinking about checking the tree on the roof that I got this feeling...this feeling that there was someone else in the car. I dismissed it -- ridiculous, I'd have seen them. Check the mirror. There. Nothing. But what if he's lying down on the back seat and I can't see him?
I slowed right down, and twisted my head round. Nothing.
Check the mirror. It must be paranoia. I'm going just a little faster now. I know it's nothing, but it's just this feeling...
Then his face is right there, in between the two front seats:
"Look out, look out...Stop."
My eyes turned from his moving lips to the road, my foot already reacting on the brake. I skidded to a stop. After just a few seconds I had taken in that there was nothing in the road. Nothing in front, nothing behind...and no-one in the back of the car.
The thought of having to get out into the night -- out of the car --was more terrifying than staying in it, so I started up the motor, put my foot steadily on the accelerator and turned on the radio --light music, nice and loud.
By the time I turned into the drive I was wondering if it had really happened at all. I was shaking, and hadn't checked my mirror once since I'd had to stop. I ran into the house. As soon as I saw David I released the tears.
I don't know if he believed me or not, and it didn't matter at the time. He acted like he did, that was all I needed. After all, I was seriously doubting it myself.
It was a week later, and we were all to go out for the evening. We arranged for our friends to pick us up on the way. It was Christmas Eve -- the first time for years we'd left the house on that night. We were looking forward to the break, and once we were at the party we relaxed and enjoyed the rest from the rush. None of us really drank, but we ate as much as possible, working our way up the table -- the food was delightful; and like perfect guests, as soon as we'd had our fill we left, in order to be in our homes to celebrate Christmas.
Since we'd arrived the weather had broken into a storm -- heavy wind and rain. We piled into the car -- our friends in the front, David and I in the back -- and rolled toward home. After a while I realised what route we were now taking on the way to our house: past the shops... My eyes fixed on the road ahead. I felt uncomfortable -- it was that same feeling -- I would not panic --
We came to the spot where I had stopped that night, that figure shouting in my ear. We were travelling at a fair speed. Then there he was -- standing in the road, waving his arms to and fro. He was right in front of us.
"Look out, look out...Stop."
The words came out as if they were not my own.
The car ground to a halt, all four of us staring ahead. Still held by my fear, the other three slowly turned their faces toward mine.
"God, what's the matter with you?" shouted David, his face pale.
"Didn't you see him?" I screamed.
"See what?"
I couldn't believe it -- he must be joking.
"What did you see?" queried my two friends, now laughing a little as they shook off their fright.
"The man...in the road!" I gasped.
As I pushed open the back door and got out, I looked back --nothing. I looked ahead of the car -- nothing. I would not have this! I knew I had seen him this time -- he was real. The car headlights -- the light beams filled with rain -- stopped dead about six feet from the car. After that, darkness. Maybe he had fallen down. He must have been further ahead than I had thought. My friends, now concerned by my worry, were sitting with knitted brows in the car.
"Please," I said, "move the car forward very slowly -- I need the light on the road."
The light slowly moved across the tarmac. I waited for a shoe, a hand. Then the edge of the light hit a rough brown surface.
"There's something here!" I shouted. The light steadily moved forward and revealed the huge bough of a tree. It must have been a twenty-, thirty-footer, fallen in the storm. The car stopped. All four of us stood, fixed on the object.
"The speed we were going..." David said. "How did you see it?"
"I didn't," I answered. I hadn't seen it.
None of us could say anything -- we were too shocked. We couldn't believe it. It had been close. So strange.
In the distance the clock struck the first chime of Christmas day.
And in the distance but coming towards us was the constant buzz of an engine. We'd all heard it. Something travelling fast: a motorbike, and now he's in view, he's coming straight towards us. He's not wearing a helmet, and with his hair pelted back by the rain, his face is white and stark in the night. His face is very like that man's -- that man who was first shouting, then waving, is now coming straight for us.
"Look out, look out...Stop."
-- Kate Bush
Nice little story, no? A bit more art to it than in "A Could Be Story". Judging from the driving paranoia in it, it's fair to assume that it was written about the same time that Kate was learning to drive (she's said she learned during the hiatus between The Dreaming and Hounds of Love.) Also of interest to IED are the image of car headlights (as in "Full House" and "Don't Put Your Foot on the Heart Brake"); the shifts from past to present tense at crucial dramatic moments; the phrase "something traveling fast" (as in "Hello Earth"); and the reference to a meat Christmas -- not the first time Kate has let negative traditions override her personal convictions for the sake of their beauty, or of their associative or artistic power.
-- Andrew
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 87 10:06 PDT
From: IED0DXM%UCLAMVS.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.edu
Subject: 'Tansa's Guitar' by Kate Bush
Here is a second short story written by Kate Bush. "Tansa's Guitar" first appeared in the Christmas 1981 issue (#11) of the Kate Bush Club Newsletter. Another cold, snowy story from Kate...
Tansa's Guitar
Weston was going on his winter tour and needed some focal point to make the tour more complete and relevant. He had recently bought a guitar at an auction in New York. The guitar had been beautifully made in California by a small company with a reputation among the leading rock musicians.
The guitar had a strange history, and was meant to have passed through the hands of a number of guitar heroes at the end of the sixties and early seventies. There was no documentation with the instrument to indicate who had owned it over the years, but the original bill showing that it was bought from Tansa of California had come with the instrument.
Weston hoped that he could use this instrument as an extra dynamic in his act. For a moment he remembered how the auctioneer had held the guitar by its neck, looking as though he was acknowledging the roars of a crowd at the end of a concert, with the handmade gold machine-heads on the instrument suddenly reflecting the lighting of the auction rooms. Weston had known instinctively as a professional musician that his excitement at seeing the guitar was nothing to do with the external appearance of the instrument. It was something deeper, almost like seeing a beautiful girl in a crowded place and then seeing her eyes turning to meet his, and not turning away.
There was a great deal of carving on the instrument, not unlike the sort of tooling and decoration that used to be found on muskets. The instrument was heavy, but Weston liked a heavy guitar, liked to feel its weight pulling down on his neck and centering in his stomach. With that sort of stability, his hands could flit around the neck and body of the instrument like white spiders.
When the rehearsals for his tour began, Weston realised that the guitar was no ordinary instrument. At first it wouldn't work at all. He felt clumsy, he felt as though he'd only been playing guitars for a couple of years, he felt as though his bones and muscles were reacting to the cold winter air like thick oil. But after a couple of hours the instrument began to sing, and by the end of the rehearsal session Weston was feeling good. When he had finished, he handed the guitar to his roadie. The roadie made it quite clear that although he thought the instrument very beautiful it was, in his terms, a "weird axe", and Weston would be better off leaving it alone. Weston laught this off -- if the guitar had any sinister connections, he was going to blow them to pieces with his playing.
As he was getting ready for the first gig of the tour a message came through that Tansa of California were phoning from America, saying that Weston owed them for a guitar he had recently purchased at an auction. This puzzled Weston, as he had personally handed over the money to the auctioneer, but he had no time for these sort of problems, with only half an hour to go. As he warmed up in his dressing room the instrument responded well and Weston felt that the night was going to go in a positive direction. But when he got out under the lights in front of the audience and roars of appreciation had quietened down, he began to feel that same thick, oil-sump movement in his hands. He asked the management to put up the heating on the stage during the act. But things didn't get very much better, and by the interval he had changed his guitar and was back on one of his standard favourite instruments. When the second half ended, he pulled the place together and during his last number the audience had begun to dance at the back.
On the second gig, a similar situation occurred. With only a few minutes left before going on stage a message came through that Tansa wanted to talk to him about payment for a guitar. And again, when he went on to the stage the same thing happened: he couldn't make the instrument function properly.
It was during one of these moments, when he was on the verge of deciding whether to try a particularly tricky solo on the instrument, that he noticed a man sitting in the front row of the audience, clearly lit up by the stage lighting. This man was looking at him with something more than just the expression of a fan lost in a dream of appreciation. He was definitely trying to catch Weston's eye, and it wasn't to indicate to him that liked what he was doing.
Again he had to change over to another guitar for the second half, and again the gig took off as soon as he'd made the switch. Afterwards in the dressing room, he was told that there was somebody at the back stage entrance demanding that he see Weston about payment for the guitar. Weston dismissed it; but as they were driving away from the gig, and as usual many faces pushed themselves against the window of the car to look at Weston, staring into the back seat through the warm glass of the window was the face he'd seen in the front of the audience. The man was shouting something at him and he appeared angry. Weston gave instructions to the driver to go faster, and they cleared the crowd without any mishap.
By now the rest of the band were quite familiar with the weird, unpredictable playing of their front-man and were trying to persuade him to leave the instrument alone. Weston, however, took it on stage on the third gig, and after the first hour of the first half, having been unable to make the instrument sing and soar, he flung it across the stage, where it smashed into a stack of amplifiers and fell to the ground, with the whole of the back-plate coming apart and tinkling on the wooden stage floor. He picked up one of his other guitars, but the anger and frustration that had caused him to sling Tansa's instrument away from him seemed to have affected his guitar playing, and the concert was not a success.
This gig was in London, and by the time they'd finished and were coming down backstage, Weston could hear a strange silence through the dressing room windows, and he knew immediately that the whole of the city was encased in snow. Depressed and puzzled, he got ready to make a run for the car. As he was doing this, his guitar-roadie came in with the broken instrument, pointing out that there was no real damage and that it was nothing he couldn't sort out in a couple of hours.
Weston wanted to get back to his bed and sleep, so he went with the roadie in the crew van. As they were pulling away from the theatre down a narrow alley, a man came running out of a shop doorway, and immediately Weston recognised him as the man who'd been watching him from the audience. The roadie pointed out to him that it was the same man who'd been hanging around the stage door saying he was from Tansa and needed payment.
As they accelerated away, the man ran faster and faster, and although the vehicle was quite easily doing in excess of 40 mph on the wet and sludgy road, the man was still gaining on them. They could hear him shouting that he'd come for payment, that payment was needed and that until Weston had made the payment he would never be able to play the guitar in fron of an audience. The people inside the van were beginning to panic now, as on a straight run up a deserted and quite Oxford Street they hit 55, almost 60 mph -- but the man was still gaining.
The roadie suddenly kicked open the back door of the vehicle and slung the guitar out into the snow towards the running man. He slammed the door and they skidded round the corner and were away. The last Weston saw of the guitar was the man gently picking it up out of the sludge, talking to himself -- or to the instrument. Then a shop window full of Christmas decorations blocked his view. Weston didn't feel angry, but still he wanted to know what the hell his roadie meant by throwing his best guitar out of the back of the van. The roadie, who was quite shaken and upset, took a piece of paper from out of his pocket.
"I found this stuck inside the back of the guitar."
It was a bill from Tansa, and written on it were the words:
"One handmade custom guitar -- material and
sundries: $2000.00.
Special effects for enchanting & capturing
the minds of audiences, OUR FEE: One soul.
-- Kate Bush
From: KNIGHT%MAINE.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (Michael Knight)
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 87 00:56:46 EST
Subject: New Kate Bush Interview.
Here is the interview from the new Kate Bush Club newsletter.
Q. How is the new album going?
A. Well, as usual it is slow but I keep writing new songs as I feel the urge and I now have lots of songs but most of them have pieces missing or sparse lyrics and sorting these things out takes a lot of time.
Q. How are you approaching this album, is it different from the last one?
A. Again I am working straight onto master tape in out home studio, as I get ideas I put them onto tape.. sometimes this causes more problems because I'll like parts of it and not others but I try to re-do as little as possible.. I like to try and keep the performances quick and spontaneous, it's the sorting out of these performances afterwards and the rethinking of structure or arrangements that take the time. Each musician changes the feel of the track dramatically and it's important to keep the track moving in the right direction and to communicate what is wanted whic in my case is achieved through images, humming lines and letting the musicians do what they feel is right and saying if I don't like it.. it seems to have worked so far and I always find musicians so imspiring. Quite often they'll put an edge to the track that gives it greater potential so I sit and rethink bits again. The tracks continually change and yet the original "feeling" goesn't seem to.. I'd like to think that by putting the initial "muse" onto tape.. we've captured it's soul.. so that whatever we put on top of it, it is in essence the same.
Q. Are you using a lot of synthesizers, if so, which ones and how?
A. I'm using the Fairlight again and a DX 7 but a lot of the songs have been written on piano initially and it does definitely give the songs a different flavour from those written on Fairlight. A lot of rhythms are arranged by Del and we tend to keep bits and replace a lot with real drums.. but still keeping his "feel", but there are a few tracks which are just synthesized drums.. it's whatever works but I am using a lot of real instruments on this album. I really like working with musicians, they approach things from a different angle.. they have fresh ideas.
Q. When will the album be finished?
A. Umm......
Q. When do you think it will be finished?
A. Umm......
Q. Have you been doing other projects besides the album?
A. I've been mainly concentrating on the album and catching up on my life a bit but I did write a song for a film by an American Director.. John Hughes. The piece from the film is extremely moving an I really enjoyed writing to it.. Let's hope when the film is released (hopefully some time in '88) that you get to see it.. the director has a very distinctive style (he directed "Breakfast Club" ..which I really like) and I think this, his lates film "She's Having A Baby" is well worth a watch.
Q. You also appeared at Peter Gabriel's live concert at Earls Court...
A. Yes, it was very much a last minute decision.. Peter had asked me and I wasn't sure if I was brave enough to perform unrehearsed in front of such a large crowd.. it is such a beautiful song to sing but the reception from the audience was overwhelming.. I couldn't hear what I was singing.. so if anyone reading this was there that night.. sorry if I was a bit out of tune and if you were one of those people.. thanks for an incredible experience, I don't think I'll ever forget that welcome. It was a fantastic concert and I am again very honoured to have been involved in Peter's work.
Q. I know you like animals and I hear you keep cats.. I wondered how many you have?
A. I used to have 2 cats.. Zoodle and Pyewackit but I'm afraid that Zoodle died earlier this year.. I was very upset but she was eleven and had a good life. She was a beautiful cat. Pyewackit is absolutely fine although she missed Zoodle at first. A few months ago we adopted a stray, feeding her and letting her live in the garage and she had 3 kittens. We now have the 3 kittens, they are called Rocket, Sparky and Torchy and although Pye didn't like them all at first.. they all get on really well now and we find them cuddled up on a chair together when we get in.. they're such good company for her and they all have such different personalities.. it's so entertaining just sitting watching them play.. it's bringing out the kitten in Pye, I've noticed her springing across the floor and leaping onto ledges that are far too small for her.. she does things she hasn't tried for years and seems to be enjoying it all. I guess we're all young at heart.. but sometimes it takes something to rediscover it!
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 89 14:29 PDT
From: IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: KT NEWS
The following notice from the KATE BUSH CLUB arrived in IED's mailbox today:
As many of you will already know, Kate's new album "The Sensual World" will be released on 16th October. We thought you might like to know in advance about some of the interviews which will be appearing over the next month or so. As far as Kate knows, she will not be doing any P.A.s <Personal appearances>.
Q MAGAZINE...........November issue (out 10th October)
THE GUARDIAN........Arts page (12th October)
MELODY MAKER........Issue of the week ending 14th October *
N.M.E......................Issue of the week ending 14th October **
YOU MAGAZINE.........15th October
TRACKS (Free at Woolworths)..November issue (out 26th October)
R.A.W......................Issue 31 (out 1st November)
INTERNATIONAL MUSICIAN....December issue (out 2nd November)--6-pg.
There will be articles in various overseas publications but we could not get definite information in time so keep your ears and eyes open.
The Club magazine will be with you soon after the album is released.
That is all the note said.
*--IED believes there was nothing (aside from an album-release announcement) in the issue of MM for the week ending October 14th. Perhaps MM means to have an interview in the October 14th issue.
**--The NME interview for the week ending October 14th (i.e., the October 7th issue, IED assumes) did indeed contain a long interview with Kate, and IED has already transcribed and posted it for the delectation of Love-Hounds worldwide.
With luck Neil Calton and the other admirable U.K.-based Love-Hounds are reading this posting, and perhaps one or more of them will make an effort to acquire some of the interviews listed above--in particular those which will probably never be imported to the U.S. American fans can probably get hold of the Q Magazine interview, the one in The Guardian and the one in International Musician. But things like the Woolworths throwaway paper Tracks, the publication with the (to IED) mysterious name R.A.W., and You Magazine will almost certainly never wash up onto U.S. shores, so IED implores the English philocanines to take pity on us benighted Yanks and obtain/transcribe/ post these rare British treasures as soon as they become available.
-- Andrew Marvick
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1991 23:12:03 -0700
From: rhill@pnet01.cts.com (Ronald Hill)
Subject: MESSAGE FROM KATE
I'm kinda surprised that there hasn't been more talk about the KBC flyer, though I may have missed the talk. First off it contains a message from Kate which says:
I was really knocked out by the beautiful cards and gifts you sent for my birthday, you are all so very kind - thank you. The album is going well and I think it might be good......
Meanwhile I hope you like Rocket Man.
With Love,
Kate
It's not long, but hey it's from Kate.
Also there is a picture included of the audience from the con, which includes our very own Love-Hound Jorn Barger!!! I was sitting next to him, but that is where the picture is chopped! :-(
Ron "Lazarium" Hill
written by Love-Hounds
compiled and edited
by
Wieland Willker
Sept 1995 June 1996