FEATURE:
And So Is Love
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush shot in February 1979 by Gered Mankowitz
Without Modern Equivalent: The Incomparable Kate Bush
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IT is important to focus on some big issues…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush captured in March 1978 by Gered Mankowitz
that affect the music industry, such as venues struggling, black artists speaking out about their experiences of racism, and freelancers and creatives struggling for money – to address all of that and to have a conversation is key. Although it is important to reflect this, I do need chance to unwind and find some sense of uplift and escape! I write about Kate Bush twice a week, but I wanted to bring in a more general topic that has come back to mind recently. It is happening a little less now but, through the years, so many artists have been compared with Kate Bush. I will bring in an article I have quoted from before concerning Billie Eilish and whether she is the modern-day Bush. I have hailed Kate Bush in a similar piece before, but it is interesting to think that, forty-five years ago to the month Bush recorded The Man with the Child in His Eyes and The Saxophone Song at the age of sixteen – they would appear on The Kick Inside, her debut album, in 1978 -, there is nobody quite like her! This forty-fifth anniversary is important, and it is interesting to see how Bush was perceived back in the earliest days, and how she had to win a lot of people over. I am not going to talk about 1978 again – as I did so recently -, but I think Bush’s voice, beauty and songwriting gift was unlike anything out there; people didn’t know what to make of it.
I have been looking on the Kate Bush News website, and there has been a series of interviews between Guido Harari (who photographed Bush at various points in her career, and he shot behind the scenes while she was working on the film, The Line, The Cross and the Curve) and those who have worked with Bush. The message that has come from each interview is how unique Kate Bush is, and how there is nobody like her. Del Palmer – who has engineered several of her albums, played bass and various instruments since the earliest days and was in a long-time relationship with her -, spoke about her energy and brilliance; how it was thrilling to be on the Tour of Life in 1979, and why she endures. Stewart Avon Arnold is a dancer who has worked with Bush for a long time, and he discussed her energy and creativity – he also talked about the Tour of Life and her working with wireless mic (which she helped to invent), and how that helped her performance for songs like Kite and Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake. Arnold considers Bush to be one of best dancers ever, and he singled out Rubberband Girl (from The Red Shoes) as a particularly great routine and moment. Mandy Watson – the singer for the Kate Bush tribute band, Cloudbusting - spoke of her love of Bush and, even though she is in a successful tribute band, how it is hard to equal her.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush photographed in January 1978 by Gered Mankowitz
I love the fact that people who worked with her years ago/for years – even if it was briefly -, still see Bush as this iconic and irreplaceable talent. I loved hearing Gered Mankowitz chatting about photographing Bush for The Kick Inside and Lionheart. Again, I have talked about Kate Bush’s ‘leotard shot’ that was going to be used for the Wuthering Heights single but was not used. Not to get back into the problems with The Kick Inside’s cover, but the shots Mankowitz took outline and emphasise another reason why Bush is incomparable: the aura and look she gave to camera; how she could inhabit various guises and looks and stun you every time. Mankowitz mentioned how the leotard shot stopped traffic, but the Americans wanted something less sexual/more conservative for the U.S. version of The Kick Inside. On that cover, Mankowitz shot Bush in jeans and boots, and it is homely-yet-captivating. He photographed Bush in a constructed wooden box/frame, and she sat in it. Mankowitz wanted his photos to pull people in. I wanted to mention these interviews, as these are people who have known Bush for years – apart from Mandy Watson – and still have not seen anyone like her. Seán Twomey has been running the Kate Bush News & Information website since 1998, and he runs a brilliant podcast. If you are new to Kate Bush, I would urge you to listen, as Twoney definitely knows his beans!
IN THIS PHOTO: Charli XCX is one of many artists who cites Kate Bush as an influence/PHOTO CREDIT: AP
I think we all need some distraction and positivity, so I would say that investigating Kate Bush’s music not only will bring some positivity and warmth, but it becomes apparent how there is no one like her. Look at Kate Bush’s Wikipedia page, and see the artists who count her as an influence:
“Musicians who have cited Bush as an influence include Beverley Craven,[134] Regina Spektor,[135] Ellie Goulding,[136] Charli XCX,[137] Tegan and Sara,[138] k.d. lang,[139] Paula Cole,[140] Kate Nash,[141] Bat for Lashes,[142] Erasure,[143] Alison Goldfrapp of Goldfrapp,[144] Rosalía,[145] Tim Bowness of No-Man,[146] Chris Braide,[147] Kyros,[148] Aisles,[149] Darren Hayes[150], Grimes,[151] and Solange Knowles.[152] Nerina Pallot was inspired to become a songwriter after seeing Bush play "This Woman's Work" on Wogan.[153] Coldplay took inspiration from "Running Up That Hill" to compose their single "Speed of Sound".[154] In 2015, Adele stated that the release of her third studio album was inspired by Bush's 2014 comeback to the stage.[155]
In addition to those artists who state that Bush has been a direct influence on their own careers, other artists have been quoted expressing admiration for her work including Tori Amos,[156] Annie Lennox,[157] Björk,[158] Florence Welch,[159] Little Boots,[160] Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins,[161] Dido,[162] Sky Ferreira,[163] St. Vincent,[164] Lily Allen,[165] Anohni of Antony and the Johnsons,[166] Big Boi of OutKast,[167] Stevie Nicks,[168] Steven Wilson,[169] Steve Rothery of Marillion,[170] and André Matos.[171] According to an unauthorized biography, Courtney Love of Hole listened to Bush among other artists as a teenager.[172] Tricky wrote an article about The Kick Inside, saying: "Her music has always sounded like dreamland to me.... I don't believe in God, but if I did, her music would be my bible".[173]
IN THIS PHOTO: Courtney Love/PHOTO CREDIT: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
Suede front-man Brett Anderson stated about Hounds of Love: "I love the way it's a record of two halves, and the second half is a concept record about fear of drowning. It's an amazing record to listen to really late at night, unsettling and really jarring".[174] John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, declared her work to be "beauty beyond belief".[165] Rotten once wrote a song for her, titled "Bird in Hand" (about exploitation of parrots) that Bush rejected.[175] Bush was one of the singers whom Prince thanked in the liner notes of 1991's Diamonds and Pearls.[176] In December 1989, Robert Smith of The Cure chose "The Sensual World" as his favourite single of the year, The Sensual World as his favourite album of the year and included "all of Kate Bush" plus other artists in his list, "the best things about the eighties".[177]”
I do think that the media is quick to compare new artists to legends like Kate Bush. Last year, there was an article in Variety that made suggestions that Billie Eilish is a 2019-version of Kate Bush. They made some interesting observations:
“Is Billie Eilish 2019’s answer to Kate Bush? The parallels are hard to ignore, starting with the fact that both collaborated with their respective brothers; that each made her cultural impact in visuals as much as the music itself; and, most importantly, that the two game-changing female artists broke the pop mold.
Eilish is an outlier who arrived at a time of need: Despite her couture-in-a-blender look, her songs represent a move away from verses full of conspicuous consumption. Rather than focusing on the well-worn territory of interpersonal transactions — “Me!” “You!” “We!” — the 17-year-old vital and visual artist twists our notion of gender.
IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Eilish/PHOTO CREDIT: Heather Hazzan
Both are pop prodigies: Bush started writing songs at 11 but she didn’t sign her contract with EMI Records until she was 16, coming in with major credentials — Pink Floyd’s David Gilmore produced her demo tape. Eilish broke out at 15 — and quickly became sick of talking about it. “That’s all I hear: What’s it like being 15,” she said at the time, adding: “Why does it define me?” What’s remarkable is that it didn’t. But they’ve both redefined the meaning of “teen idol” in their own way.
They’re stubborn non-conformists (A.K.A. proud weirdos): “Shape-shifting brilliance and an airy indifference to what’s expected of you are not the music industry’s favorite assets in any performer, but they are probably easier to accept in a man than in a woman,” wrote Margaret Talbot, reflecting on the genius of Kate Bush in The New Yorker. Similarly, The New York Times recently said of Eilish that she “is not your typical pop star” while Thrillist dubbed her “the strangest pop act in ages” — perhaps since Kate Bush?
They’re both album artists. Great songs make great single experiences, but they both know how to tie them into conceptual arcs — Eilish, with her stunningly circular debut “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go” and Bush with such seminal long form story side albums such as “Hounds Of Love” and “Aerial.” Centering on themes of dream states, melding death imagery with pop melodies, both artists weave a fine web of melancholy and exuberance”.
I have also seen articles where Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine) and Charli XCX have been seen as the ‘new Kate Bush’ and, whilst there are similar elements – a love of dance and movement; a lack of commercial convention and a voice that can swoop and glide -, there is something unique and incredibly special that makes Kate Bush a once-in-a-lifetime. I think it goes back to the interviews I mentioned; hearing Gered Mankowitz reveal Bush’s magnetism and how she could stop traffic; Del Palmer has worked with very few artists because they cannot match Bush’s talent; Guido Harari was struck and in love with her as a photographer, and, well, it is hard to put into words just why Kate Bush can never be equalled or reincarnated and inhabited by a modern artist. I have nothing against the media and fans noticing similarities between Kate Bush and another artist, but I think these common strands are on the surface and, if you dig deep and look closer at Kate Bush, you will find that there is nobody who has her remarkable D.N.A. For me, it is how she was so determined and ambitious right from the start of her career. She challenged EMI when it came to selecting her debut single – they wanted James and the Cold Gun; her choice, Wuthering Heights, won and went to number-one! I also love how she stood firm against those who were snotty or wrote her off; how she grew and evolved between albums and, in every album, how she managed to create such variety.
Her music still reveals layers so many years later, and you only need to listen to an interview with her to realise how humble she is and how easy it is to be drawn to her! I will wrap things up soon, but I want to bring in an article from The New Yorker, where Margaret Talbot discussed the incandescent power and originality of Kate Bush:
“And yet—in part because she emerged into the public eye at just eighteen, and with “Wuthering Heights,” surely the most literary and therefore one of the strangest hit singles in history—Bush struck some people as a wide-eyed sprite to whom music somehow happened, not an artist fully in command of her own ideas and craft. The evidence against this reading, even then, included the fact that Bush had defied EMI record executives to pick “Wuthering Heights” as the lead single from her 1978 début album, “The Kick Inside”; it went to No. 1, making Bush the first female performer with a self-written No. 1 hit in the U.K.”.
Many corners of the media have been kind to her music and her as a person, but many have been quick to label her as a recluse or strange; someone who is kooky and this middle-class girl delivering music that is quite insubstantial or unimportant. In actuality, Kate Bush is and always has been someone who is impossible to define and limit.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush with Lindsay Kemp in The Line, the Cross and the Curve (1993)/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
I think people forget just how much she has achieved in her career and, as Talbot explains, how different Bush’s real story is to the fable and impression that others have created:
“She was most productive between 1978 and 1994, when she made seven albums, but in the years since, she’s put out two critically acclaimed albums of original material plus a live album and a collection of some new versions of her old songs. She’s raised a son, Albert, who’s now in his late teens, with her partner, the musician Danny McIntosh. In 2014, she put on “Before the Dawn,” a twenty-two-night residency at the Hammersmith Apollo, in London, that combined theatre, puppetry, film, and music in a spectacle that critics found occasionally ridiculous and genuinely, almost unbearably moving. Tickets for all twenty-two performances sold out within fifteen minutes online.
Forty-five years since Bush recorded The Man with the Child in His Eyes and The Saxophone Song in London under the watch of David Gilmour, why is she someone we are still trying to figure out? Can others legitimately compare artists to Kate Bush and make a solid case for it? Is there ever going to be anyone like her again? The last section of the Talbot article I want to source from sort of hits the nail on the head regarding Bush’s boldness and how she was never one for walking the path of the predictable:
“One secret of Bush’s artistry is that she has never feared the ludicrous—she tries things that other musicians would be too careful or cool to go near. That was apparent from the very first lines of “Wuthering Heights”—“Out on the wiley, windy moors / we’d roll and fall in green / You had a temper like my jealousy / too hot, too greedy.” When she wrote that song, she hadn’t yet read the Emily Brontë novel; she’d only caught the end of a TV adaptation. But of course she got the essence of the book, sucked it in, and transmogrified it in her teen-aged soul, and she knew how to keen those lyrics like a ghost ceaselessly yearning”.
I do love how Kate Bush has inspired other artists, but I do not think there will ever be a ‘new her’ – seeing as the original and best is still very much with us! Rather than try to compare any other artists with her – everyone is going to come off short! -, it is worth listening to the artists who cite her an influence and just how much Bush, without knowing it, has given to the music world. Here is a great article that outlines how many artists owe so much to Bush, and how she has not only changed the music world, but she has become an L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ icon, and given strength to so many people. Another reason why I wanted to do a general feature about Bush and her music is that, during a time when there is so much anger, anxiety and uncertainty around, I do think that her words and work can help bring some form of solace and uplift. It was forty-five years ago (more or less to the day) since she stepped into the studio to record the earliest tracks on her debut album but, in my opinions, her brilliance, music and incomparable genius…
IS even more powerful and relevant today.