FEATURE:
A Long-Overdue Honour…
PHOTO CREDIT: PA
Kate Bush and Her 2013 CBE
___________
I wanted to revisit…
IN THIS PHOTO: On 30th November, 2014, Kate Bush attends a champagne reception at the 60th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards at the London Palladium/PHOTO CREDIT: David M. Benett/Getty Images
a great moment in 2013 when Kate Bush was awarded a CBE. On 10th April, this was a rare trip to see The Queen. I have written before how Bush has not received a Damehood or any further honours. I feel she is the sort of person who would welcome it. Some refute such honours, mainly because of our current government and their ineptitude. The CBE was a moment when Bush was recognised for her services to music – some thirty-five years after her debut album came out. It would be a year after this when she returned to the stage with her Before the Dawn residency in London. Rhino looked back on a great day for Kate Bush in their 2017 feature:
“Four years ago today, Kate Bush was named a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which – we think you’ll agree – was a most excellent decision by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Kate Bush has never been what you’d call a social butterfly, so the mere fact that she made a public appearance to receive her CBE from the Queen was impressive in and of itself. In a highly unsurprising move, Bush opted not to speak to journalist in the wake of receiving her CBE, but she was kind enough to release a statement on the matter:
“I feel incredibly thrilled to receive this honour, which I share with my family, friends and fellow musicians and everybody who has been such an important part of it all. Now I’ve got something special to put on top of the Christmas tree”.
I bring up the CBE of 2013, as Kate Bush is nominated for the second year running induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Although she is deserving of a space there, I don’t think it will be her year (this is the third time she would have lost out). Often seen as a queen of music, meeting our actually Queen would have been quite an event for Bush! It was not the first time Kate Bush had met The Queen. In 2005, she seized on the opportunity to ask her for an autograph! Of course, The Queen does not give out autographs – Bush has said in interviews since how she made a tit of herself that day. I love the fact that she got to meet again our monarch – whose platinum jubilee is this year – and receive an honour that was long-overdue. I do wonder she will become a Dame at any point, or whether there are more honours coming her way. In terms of music prizes, it is also the right time for somebody to bestow her a lifetime achievement award or something similar. Given the rising acclaim, influence and fanbase she has, I do feel it is very much deserved! Such a phenomenal artist who is among our most treasured and loved, the day Kate Bush visited The Queen in April 2013 was a…
PHOTO CREDIT: PA
DEFINITE career highlight.