In June, “Running Up That Hill” passed one billion streams – another phenomenal milestone in the long, strange afterlife of KATE BUSH’s uncanny masterpiece. But there are, of course, many other classic songs in her canon – potent and idiosyncratic mini-dramas about escapologists, snowmen, second-rate actors and even the King of Rock’n’Roll himself, whose creator has utilised harpsichord, uilleann pipes, smashed crockery, a Bulgarian folk trio and even the sonic attributes of a kitchen cupboard to realise her extraordinary artistic visions.
Over the next 11 pages, then, we celebrate 40 of Kate’s greatest songs in the company of musicians and eyewitnesses, as we attempt to unravel the magical thinking and creative mysteries behind one of the most consistently adventurous and radical songbooks of the past 50 years – from her career-defining hits to B-sides, deep cuts and even a Christmas song. “The one thing that she taught me, there are no barriers,” says one collaborator. “Too many people think you shouldn’t do this or that. But Kate would often ask, ‘Is that weird?’ or ‘How can we make this weird?’”
1 WUTHERING HEIGHTS
(THE KICK INSIDE AND SINGLE, 1978)
“Out on the wily, windy moors…” An eerie tale of lost love and desperate abandon; the perfect introduction to Kate’s unique gifts
STUART ELLIOTT, DRUMS: It was a one-off piece of magic created in 1977 by a teenager. This was our first session. Andrew Powell, the producer, brought me in. We were like a little family of musicians that worked together. We didn’t know what to expect, but very soon into proceedings we realised we were dealing with somebody of huge talent. Lyrically, thematically and melodically this song is really complicated. Lots of things happen that you wouldn’t expect to – that is what made it so intriguing. I’m so proud of her and I’m proud of having played on it.
I loved the lineup that Andrew chose for the first two albums. We performed the first three albums live as a band, with overdubs thereafter. The Dreaming was when it changed. When Kate became the producer, she felt she needed to be on the other side of the glass to vet what was happening. She wanted to take control. She would have been perceived as impressionable because she was young. People would have taken advantage, but she said “on your bike” to that.
2 THE MAN WITH THE CHILD IN HIS EYES
(THE KICK INSIDE AND SINGLE, 1978)
“I hear him, before I go to sleep…” One of Kate’s simplest and most lovely compositions, taped in one take in 1975 and kept for her first album
PETER HENDERSON, ENGINEER: We knew her as Cathy Bush on the session. I was only 18 myself, but I’m surprised she was 16 – she seemed younger than that. She came in for just a few days, to do a demo for EMI – with Geoff Emerick as engineer and a 30-piece orchestra! She showed up, quite shy, but sang and played piano on “The Man With The Child In His Eyes” totally live with the orchestra – incredibly difficult even with an established artist. What’s good about the song? Everything. The lyric and chords are unlike anything I’ve heard to this day. There’s Andrew Powell’s understated arrangement, and the vocal is incredible, with fantastic range. It’s just a moment in time really, one of the best songs she’s ever done. It doesn’t seem to be influenced, she just arrived fully formed at that age.
PETER HENDERSON
3 MOVING
(THE KICK INSIDE, 1978)
Kate’s voice swoons with the strings on this tribute to one of her major influences: the dancer Lindsay Kemp
Kate and I spent a lot of time making sure everything on the album was slightly different – different keys, different instrumentation. “Moving” was the first track we did for the main sessions. I’d written chord charts for everybody. David [] came up with a beautiful bassline. I remember Kate sitting down at the piano and playing it. Her piano-playing was very interesting. She had a part she would play that – almost regardless of anything else that was happening – she’d figure it out and just lock in very quickly. Her harmonies reminded me of Mozart’s “Queen Of The Night”; not quite as high, but very close to it. It was a real surprise when Kate came up with those. Classical music was a language I could speak with her, no question. The whole thing starts with a humpback whale song, which worked particularly well as the album’s first track.
