FEATURE:
And Let My Body Catch Up
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a still from the Rubberband Girl music video
Kate Bush’s Rubberband Girl and Eat the Music
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HERE are a couple…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional photo for Eat the Music
of Kate Bush songs that people might not be aware of. To be honest, I think Bush herself might not have a lot to say about them. As the singles are celebrating anniversaries soon, I wanted to write about them. Taken from her album, The Red Shoes, Rubberband Girl was released on 6th September, 1993. It reached number twelve in the U.K. That is quite an impressive chart position! The opening track from the album, Bush did re-record it for her 2011 album, Director’s Cut. I think she sort of regrets reworking the song and had her doubts whether it should have been included. She did say this to MOJO in 2011:
“I thought the original 'Rubberband' was... Well, it's a fun track. I was quite happy with the original, but I just wanted to do something really different. It is my least favourite track. I had considered taking it off to be honest. Because it didn't feel quite as interesting as the other tracks. But I thought, at the same time, it was just a bit of fun and it felt like a good thing to go out with. It's just a silly pop song really, I loved Danny Thompson's bass on that, and of course Danny (McIntosh)'s guitar. (Mojo (UK), 2011)”.
Whether that means Bush was not happy including Rubberband Girl on The Red Shoes or Director’s Cut, I am not sure. In any case, the original is a wonderful song that are among my favourites of hers. It has a jauntiness and elasticity to it that is infectious! This idea of being knocked down and having resilience is inspiring. At the time, I think Bush herself did need that sort of strength and resolve. Her mother died on 14th February, 1992. She split with Del Palmer (her engineer and musician boyfriend) around the time of The Red Shoes, and it was a difficult period in general. Bush released the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve in November 1993. It was not well-received and, even though her writing and direction is okay, the fact that she starred in it too means she took on a lot.
After The Red Shoes, she would not put out a new studio album until the 2005 double, Aerial. She started a family (Bertie was born in 1998), and I think everything came to a head. Looking back, she had barely taken a break by 1993. The Red Shoes is a good album, but it is not regarded as one of her best. I think Rubberband Girl is one of the best songs, and shows that there was stuff to enjoy. Returning to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia, and here are a few more details about the first single from The Red Shoes:
“Song written by Kate Bush. Originally released as a single by EMI Records in the UK on 6 September 1993. Also released on her seventh album The Red Shoes. The song was subsequently also released as a single in the USA, on 7 December 1993.
Formats
'Rubberband Girl' was released in the UK as a 7" single, a 12" single picture disc, a cassette single and a CD-single. In the USA, the single appeared on CD only. A cassette single was also released in Canada.
All formats feature the lead track and the B-side Big Stripey Lie. On the 12" single and some CD-singles, an extended mix of Rubberband Girl appeared. in the USA, the B-side was Show A Little Devotion instead of Big Stripey Lie.
Versions
There are four different versions of 'Rubberband Girl': the album version (which was also the single version) and an extended version, both released in September. A year later, a 'U.S. remix', credited to American DJ Eric Kupper, appeared as an extra track on the single release of And So Is Love. And in 2011, a re-recording of Rubberband Girl appeared on Bush's album Director's Cut”.
I love the video for Rubberband Girl. Like her debut single, Wuthering Heights, we got a U.S.. video. America had a different Wuthering Heights video because they found our version a bit scary and odd. I am not sure whether that was the case with Kate Bush trampolining in the Rubberband Girl video, or whether she just wanted to do something different herself. I have included both video is in here so that you can compare for yourself. As the single is twenty-nine on 6th September, it is well worth bringing it to the spotlight. I don’t know whether it happens so much now, but artists used to put out different singles for different parts of the world. Maybe the idea was that more of the album was being promoted, and some songs might not translate well in various countries. When it came to the first single from The Red Shoes, the U.S. got Eat the Music. Entirely different to Rubberband Girl, it is one of the underrated gems on The Red Shoes. Whilst I think Rubberband Girl is more primed for the American market, Eat the Music did reach ten on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart. Again, let’s bring in some information about the song:
“Song written by Kate Bush. It was originally released as the lead single for The Red Shoes in the USA on September 7, 1993, while everywhere else in the world Rubberband Girl was released. In the UK, a small handful of extremely rare 7" and promotional CD-singles were produced, but were recalled by EMI Records at the last minute. A commercial release followed in the Summer of 1994 in the Netherlands and Australia, along with a handful of other countries. The song's lyrics are about opening up in relationships to reveal who we really are inside.
Formats
The USA CD-single featured the album version and 12" version of 'Eat The Music', along with Big Stripey Lie and Candle In The Wind. A 2 track CD-single, released in the Netherlands in the summer of 1994 featured 'Eat The Music' and You Want Alchemy. The Dutch and Australian 4 track CD-singles featured these two tracks plus the 12" version of 'Eat The Music' [which is actually the 4'55 US edit, see below] and 'Shoedance (The Red Shoes Dance Mix)'. It is worth noting that the Australian CD-single came in a 'Scratch And Sniff' card sleeve”.
I really like The Red Shoes, but I always thought the track order was wrong. Rubberband Girl is a good opener, but I think Lily would be better. In any case, Eat the Music should definitely come as the second track. On The Red Shoes, we have Rubberband Girl, And So Is Love, Eat the Music, then Moments of Pleasure. The mood sort of goes up and down, and up and down again, so it is a bit uneven! I feel Rubberband Girl and Eat the Music should be side by side, whether tracks one and two or two and three. Anyway. They are singles that fared differently and share very little common ground, apart from the fact they have great energy. I love then both, and it shows what musical diversity is on The Red Shoes. Rubberband Girl is more in the Pop/Rock mould, whereas Eat the Music has this Calypso/Balla sound. This is an interesting direction that was not explored too much more on The Red Shoes. Both tracks feature horns, but Eat the Music has valiha and kabosy from Justin Vali. There is some vocal work from Kate’s brother, Paddy Bush, plus an assortment of terrific brass. Two brilliant songs from a very underrated album, I was keen to mark the approaching twenty-ninth anniversaries. After 1993’s The Red Shoes, Kate Bush did slowly retreat from the limelight to focus more on herself and family. Aerial arrived in 2005, and it marked this wonderful return. The Red Shoes is an album that more people should know about, as it features…
SOME really brilliant music.