FEATURE:
In Search of Peter Pan
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush received the Editors Award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards at the Palladium, London, on 30th November, 2014/PHOTO CREDIT: Alan Davidson/Rex/Shutterstock
The Mystery, Legend and Privacy of Kate Bush
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I have been having this discussion…
PHOTO CREDIT: Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpik/Alamy
on social media regarding Kate Bush and how she releases music. There is almost something mystical and mythical. In terms of her modern promotion – everything from 2005’s Aerial onwards -, there has not been the big campaign trail. Probably something she did more in the earlier years, we do not get teaser videos, build-up or whispers of new music coming. We are all grateful that she is in communication with her fans, though some wonder whether her silence or the lack of updates signals a path towards retirement – or whether new music is being made and Bush is keeping quiet at the moment. I think we are used to artists posting everything on social media and knowing when an album comes out. We get surprise albums and ones dropped out of the blue. Most artists do not do this, as it is a little riskier and you wonder how beneficial and profitable that approach is. Those artists that have been around and we suspect might be working on something but we can’t be certain. Definitely, The Cure and Tom Waits are known for keeping a bit quiet. I think it all comes down to private life and whether an artist feels comfortable providing updates and engaging with fans about new music. I suspect that Kate Bush has written some new songs - though how are fans to know whether she will release an eleventh studio album or she is retiring?! I can appreciate it is frustrating. I was having another discussion about Before the Dawn and the fact the DVD has not be released. The live album is seven in November. Kate Bush confirmed that the set was recorded. In fact, four different performances of were actually captured. Two with an audience, and two performances on ‘dark’ nights where they could shoot close-ups. People who could not afford to go to London to see her will be deprived of seeing perhaps her last live outing. Is holding onto that DVD not putting the fans first?!
PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Lichfield
It is a hard balance when it comes to Kate Bush now. We all want new music and need to know that there is a sign and sense that something will come some day. Almost like searching for Peter Pan or this mythic figure in the wild (both of which she has written about!), how do we know whether this icon is going to grace us with more music?! I guess we cannot demand it. Bush does not do interviews without promoting something, so it that clash between respecting her privacy but also wondering what is happening. There have been no dates or any plans put forward for a new album. No sign that Before the Dawn will get any reissue or there will be a DVD release. If both of these things did happen, it would give fans access to a once-in-a-lifetime live experience. New material, even if it came with an announcement that this would be her last, would at least be something. I don’t know what the solution is. Wanting to keep private and work at her own pace, can expect more of Kate Bush?! After Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) went to number one last year and Bush spoke with Woman’s Hour, she did show her appreciation to the fans. Maybe that should have been the spark she needs to release a new album. So, will there be one?! There is this situation where we will never know until Bush makes an announcement one way or another. Will she ever say anything?
The fans have no right to demand anything but, as there has been a long pause between albums, I can appreciate some impatience. In fact, by December, it will have been her longest gap between albums. The Red Shoes was released in November 1993. Aerial came out in November 2005. That twelve-year gap will be surpassed soon. 50 Words for Snow arrived in November 2011. There have been updates from Kate Bush on her official website through the years. Reissues and stuff like that, yet nothing in the form of a single or album. She did release Lyra in 2007, though that was for the film, The Golden Compass. Maybe one day an announcement will go up and that will be that. Nobody knows whether Bush has firm plans to release another album, so it is quite painful for her fans. Just some inkling or tease would be enough! We know that is not how she operates! In any case, I can appreciate there is tension mixed with desire. Fans respect Bush enormously, so we could never be angry or demanding. That said, such is the new wave of affection for her – and a new generation of people are discovering her music -, one cannot help but understand there is a perfect opportunity and moment to release something. Most of Bush’s studio albums come out between September and November inclusive. Perhaps a new album this year might be out of the question. She would normally allow a couple of months between the announcement and the album coming out. I guess it is not out of the question. I suspect the moment has passed by.
Anyone who knows anything about Kate Bush can accept that she will not be on social media and we just have to wait. There is this sense that, now she has this new fandom and legacy, so many people want to hear something new. Before, Bush had a young son and wanted to focus on home. Now her son is twenty-five, there is less reason to delay. It is a very hard situation to resolve in that sense. Bush will be taking her time and is not on a deadline. She has her own label, Fish People, and would release an album through here. In a year where we are still talking about her previous work, maybe she wants to see out 2023 and plan something new for 2024. We can but hope something materialises in 2024. Maybe Bush’s rationale for a gap this large is that we have heard from her. Her music, even if it is a song from 1985, has been celebrated. As fans look back and see why she is such a genius, they also want something fresh. It is completely understandable if Kate Bush is not releasing any other albums. I guess the fans would like to know. Same goes for the DVD of Before the Dawn. In the drawer and collecting dust, is there not any chance this will come to light?! This fevered mix of excitement, appreciation, guessing and tension is very much there. We all want to see Kate Bush be happy. If that means no more music and coming away from the public eye, the fans can get behind that. I suspect she has not done yet with new music. It is that waiting and social media silence that is deafening. She is a private person. Not one to tease an album or play any sort of media game, she is delightfully old-fashioned and pure in that sense. Doing things on her terms. I suppose the fans are owed a general answer to the question: Is there going to be a new album in the coming years? As no interview is planned where someone can ask that, it is a case of waiting – nearly twelve years now as it happens. We would all allow the blessed Kate Bush to take her time, though all we ask is that she…
GIVE us a sign.