FEATURE:
An Endless Sky of Honey
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978
What Is Left in the Kate Bush Archives?
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THIS is another feature that is inspired….
by a recent Record Collector edition focusing on Kate Bush. I was interested in the section, The Unreleased Kate, which is about music that has not been released yet. I have discussed this subject before; asked whether we may see some demos come out or anniversary editions of her albums. Maybe that is unlikely but, as I read the pages of this feature, it would be tantalising to have some of these unheard recordings out in the world! It seems that there were plans to have expanded editions of her albums come out prior to Aerial being released in 2005. That idea was laid out in 2000 and, with these new editions out, many might have guessed that a new album was on its way. I would have loved to have seen that and, as there is such a swell of love for her music in 2020, many people would love to see expanded releases of her albums – perhaps with demos, outtakes or conversations from the studio included to give weight and wider story to these incredible works. There has been some greatest hits packages such as The Whole Story in 1986 and This Woman’s Work of 1990. The 2018 Remastered series brought in some B-sides and covers but, with Humming being the only rarity that people might not have heard, it does seem that there are a lot of gold left in the vaults! It is appropriate that Record Collector covered the subject of unreleased Kate Bush music, as there is something inherently collectable and desirable about her work.
IN THIS PHOTO: A young Kate Bush/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
If there was to be plans for expanded albums, then they would not necessarily need to be tied to anniversaries. The Kick Inside, her debut, is forty-five in 2023, so it is still a long way until that release could come out. That said, 50 Words for Snow is ten next November, whilst The Dreaming is forty in 2022. It would be a bit of a headache releasing albums on anniversaries, as they would be out of sequence and there would be notable gaps between them. I think a campaign in 2021 to get expanded editions would be a treat for fans and it would introduce Bush’s work to new people. James R Blandford was writing in Record Collector and he took us back to 1972-1973 for some of the earliest unreleased pearls. I have heard The Cathy Demos and some stuff that was recorded around then and, whilst many of the songs are great, the sound quality is not at its best. It is not surprising that there are these recordings when Bush was in her early-teens. She was raised in a very musical household where conventional and untraditional music was shared. She listened to T. Rex, Roxy Music, Elton John, Captain Beefheart, The Beatles and others, whilst her brother Paddy - who played violin and carried a love of folklore - had an influence. By 1972, Bush had written sixty songs, so it was clear that she had this incredible talent and impressive work rate! There was an L.P. that was pressed by a German label in 1986.
Tapes were sent to distributors back in 1982, and this mini-album of piano recordings was eventually released as Kate Bush – The Early Years. White labels were prepared for distribution but, when Bush’s family got wind, legal action was threatened and a warehouse full of these albums was destroyed. Two of the songs that would have appeared on that album, Something Like a Song, and The Gay Farewell, were found on The Cathy Demos. New to this collection were songs such as You Were the Star, and Atlantis. A pressing of The Cathy Demos did appear on eBay in 2004, but there has not been a wide release. I think it would make a fascinating addition to The Kick Inside - hearing these earlier recordings would allow one to see how Bush progressed by the time of her debut; we could hear some of the songs that could have made it onto her debut album. In 1973 – around the time of The Cathy Demos -, David Gilmour visited Bush at her home and he was there to hear her play and sing. Of course, he put up the money so that she could record professionally and, spotting her unique talent, he was instrumental when it came to bringing her to a record company. It is possible that there are some recordings from those visits, though it is unlikely the quality would be good - would anyone in Bush’s circle want the recordings out into the world? Bush did record in August 1973 at Gilmour’s sixteen-track home studio in Essex.
Between ten-twenty songs were recorded during that visit, and Passing Through Air was one of the songs recorded then (it would appear as a B-side to Army Dreamers in 1980). There was not a lot of activity between 1973 and 1975 but, in 1975, Bush did record three songs professionally for EMI producer Andrew Powell. The songs were The Saxophone Song (tiled Berlin at the time), The Man with the Child in His Eyes, and Maybe. Recorded at AIR Studios, all three tracks have made their way to the public. There are contentious claims from a former boyfriend of Bush’s, Steve Blacknell, that he inspired songs such as The Man with the Child in His Eyes, The Saxophone Song, and Frightened Eyes. A version of The Man with the Child in His Eyes exists from when Bush was fifteen, so there is doubt as to whether Blacknell was the real inspiration behind the song. Regardless, there was this period between 1973-1975 where some songs were recorded and released, and others which might not have been released in any form. In 1989, a batch of demos from 1976-1977, The Phoenix Recordings, were leaked. The recordings were played on Phoenix radio station, KSTM, by a former EMI employee, John Dixon. That broadcast was in 1982, so there is confusion as to why it took seven years to surface. Dixon helped plug The Kick Inside in the U.S. and, again, having those as an appendix to The Kick Inside would be something! On that collection were fourteen unique songs, in addition to others which was later heard on albums or appeared somewhere else.
The first set of songs appeared on cassettes but suffered from terrible sound quality. A series of bootleg E.P.s, The Cathy Demos, were issued as five 7”, where the sound quality was greatly improved. This is the best collection of recordings from that broadcast, but there are several C.D. bootleg compilations which vary in quality. Bush was asked in 1993 about the possibility of releasing these songs and, whilst she was against it then, I wonder whether her viewpoint has shifted in the intervening years? It would be wonderful to have an expanded release of The Kick Inside with these rarer songs included. Bush performed as part of The KT Bush Band in 1977, and there were recordings of some songs from the band on a tape called Fiddle. Recorded at London’s De Lane Lea Studios – as recalled by band member Brian Bath -, there are some interesting tracks on there. One, Scares Me Silly, is a gem that has never featured on an album or a B-side, but it would be eaten up by fans! There have been various sets of The Kick Inside demos, and it makes me wonder whether there are embryonic versions of songs that appeared on that album (and Lionheart). A 2009-released set of demos was put into the world with some studio banter included. It would be perfect to have the demos and studio chat included on an expanded release of The Kick Inside – as Blandford noted in his feature.
There was not a lot of opportunity for many new recordings after the release of The Kick Inside, as promotional engagements were heavy. Bush and The KT Bush Band did start work on Lionheart at Bush’s childhood home East Wickham Farm. Included in the songs performed were Hammer Horror, and Wow (at different tempos). It would be interested to see those recordings come out as part of an expanded Lionheart set. One song from the album, Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake, was played on a radio station in 1982, but Bush was not happy with the version – feeling that a lot of raw energy required for such a song was lacking. Ten tracks were included on Lionheart in 1978, but there were two other tracks recorded. One of these was Never for Ever. That would be the title of Bush’s follow-up album, and it is a mystery why a possible title track was not released. The song itself is very beautiful, so it would be awesome to hear it on a new release! 1979’s The Tour of Life was filmed (but a full-length version of the show was never released) and it would be good to hear recordings from that tour on a release – maybe as part of a Lionheart set or as part of a Never for Ever one. The On Stage E.P. turned up in 1979, and there were four songs from the tour that featured. 2014’s Before the Dawn is available on C.D. and vinyl, so I am curious whether The Tour of Life will ever get such treatment.
Various demos from Never for Ever are known – including two versions of Babooshka -, and there are many who would love for them to get a proper release. One song from summer 1979, Kidnapped on a Building Site, has never been included in any album or single. A particularly elusive song, The Magician, was recorded for the film, The Magician of Lublin, but, as no soundtrack has been released, we are not sure whether that song will ever come out. I think there must be some demos and various version of songs that appeared on 1982’s The Dreaming, but we know little of any. Bush’s productivity did dip a bit and, as she worked on the demos and album in a more private manner, perhaps there is less chance that sufficient extras can be exhumed and organised for an expanded release of The Dreaming. Although this album would have been quite challenging to record and there would be have been various takes recorded, it is hard to say how much Bush kept and whether she has archived them. The same can be said of Hounds of Love. Few outside of Bush’s circle knew about the album recording and what was happening. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of known demos and unreleased material from The Dreaming in 1982 through to Aerial in 2005. There are bits and pieces from that period but, compared to the output from 1978-1980/1981, it is quite scant. Bush set up her Fish People label and has put out the Remastered albums, so she is not averse to retrospection and looking back. I wonder whether her revisionism stance will change and she will yield to allow expanded albums to come out. James R Blandford also noted how there are videos and a whole archive there that needs to come out in a new form, which makes me wonder whether the next couple of years will see new sets arrive with these lesser-known songs. 2020 has been such a crappy year, so any glimmer of hope in that respect would be wonderful. It seems, when we look back on the material that Bush recorded but never released, it is…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performing Suspended in Gaffa in 1982
QUITE a treasure trove!