FEATURE:
They Told Us All They Wanted
Kate Bush’s Experiment IV at Thirty-Five: Her Most Overlooked Single?
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I have talked about…
the single, Experiment IV, beforehand. It was released to coincide with her greatest hits album, The Whole Story. The album came out on 10th November, 1986, whereas the single arrived that year on 27th October. The album came about, not only because she had not put out a greatest hits package, but because her 1985 album, Hounds of Love, was successful here and in the U.S. It was a moment when her career hit a new peak. Naturally, EMI were keen to keep the ball rolling and get out a greatest hits collection. Bush was not hesitant, as the label had been quite patient when it came to The Dreaming (1982) – they were less than happy it took two years to release after Never for Ever and the fact it was not a huge commercial success – and Bush producing Hounds of Love solo. Many artists include a new single for a greatest hits package. I always wonder why, as most of them have enough great songs they would not need new material. That said, it gives the buyer something extra. A song that might not have been ready for their last album. In the case of Experiment IV, one wonders whether it could have ever fitted on Hounds of Love. In terms of its production and sound, it does have that connection. Thematically, it is a track that could only have been on the first side of the album. Even then, there are enough awesome songs! I love the track and the video. I hardly ever hear Experiment IV played on the radio or talked about as one of Kate Bush’s best songs – which I feel it is.
Reaching twenty-three in the U.K., Bush performed Experiment IV on the BBC television programme, Wogan, on October 31st 1986. It is a lip-synched performance - though the set and choreography are tremendous! Maybe people have forgotten about the track or are not aware of it. Thanks to an article from the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia, here is what Bush said about Experiment IV in 2019:
“This was written as an extra track for the compilation album The Whole Story and was released as the single. I was excited at the opportunity of directing the video and not having to appear in it other than in a minor role, especially as this song told a story that could be challenging to tell visually. I chose to film it in a very handsome old military hospital that was derelict at the time. It was a huge, labyrinthine hospital with incredibly long corridors, which was one reason for choosing it. Florence Nightingale had been involved in the design of the hospital. Not something she is well known for but she actually had a huge impact on hospital design that was pioneering and changed the way hospitals were designed from then on.
The video was an intense project and not a comfortable shoot, as you can imagine - a giant of a building, damp and full of shadows with no lighting or heating but it was like a dream to work with such a talented crew and cast with Dawn French, Hugh Laurie, Peter Vaughn and Richard Vernon in the starring roles. It was a strange and eerie feeling bringing parts of the hospital to life again. Not long after our work there it was converted into luxury apartments. I can imagine that some of those glamorous rooms have uninvited soldiers and nurses dropping by for a cup of tea and a Hobnob.
We had to create a recording studio for the video, so tape machines and outboard gear were recruited from my recording studio and the mixing console was very kindly lent to us by Abbey Road Studios. It was the desk the Beatles had used - me too, when we’d made the album Never For Ever in Studio Two. It was such a characterful desk that would’ve looked right at home in any vintage aircraft. Although it was a tough shoot it was a lot of fun and everyone worked so hard for such long hours. I was really pleased with the result. (KateBush.com, February 2019)”.
I feel Experiment IV is one of Bush’s most underrated singles. In terms of airplay, it ranks pretty low in the pecking order. It is a song that would have been good enough on Hounds of Love. The video is incredible and would have helped get the song quite high up the charts. The lyrics are frightening and vivid. One can really see themselves in the song (and immersed in the action). My favourite lines are: “They told us/All they wanted/Was a sound that could kill someone/From a distance/So we go ahead/And the meters are over in the red/It's a mistake in the making”. There is an interview from 1974 where David Bowie talked about similar things to what Bush covers in Experiment IV. With keyboards/synthesisers by Bush, Stuart Elliott on drums, guitar by Alan Murphy and violin from Nigel Kennedy, it is an incredible track that has this drive and intensity. A lost gem that few people discuss, I feel people should spin Experiment IV more. I am surprised it did not get higher in the singles chart. Maybe people had bought Hounds of Love and were going to buy The Whole Story – not feeling they needed to get the new single too. The last shot from the video – where Bush, in a cameo, climbs into a van and turns to camera putting her finger to her lips – is a popular GIF. I know that there is a band of Bush followers who really like Experiment IV. It is a song that has sort of been consigned to the past. Ahead of its thirty-fifth anniversary on 27th October, I wanted to highlight a fantastic single. I will do another feature about The Whole Story before its thirty-fifth on 10th November. If you have not heard the incredible Experiment IV, then play it now and absorb one of Kate Bush’s…
BEST singles.