FEATURE:
A Unique Storyteller
IN THIS PHOTO: A promotional image for Kate Bush’s 2011 album, Director’s Cut
Kate Bush: Her Videos and Assuming Greater Creative Control
___________
I am thinking of doing one more feature…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush directing the Hounds of Love video/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
that takes advantage of the recent MOJO where there are a number of articles about Kate Bush. It is wonderful when there are new magazine features and books, as even the most ardent fans will learn something new. One of the most interesting aspects of Kate Bush’s work is her videos and how they give new perspective to the songs. There is a definite stylistic change from the earlier videos and when Bush started to direct her own from the time of Hounds of Love album (in 1985). Tom Doyle writes for MOJO and he says how directing videos was as important to Bush as producing her music. When there is another producer directing the sounds, it can be like control is being taken away. Bush definitely felt this (to an extent) on her first couple of albums. One can definitely feel Bush pushing her limits harder and expanding her sound widely from 1980’s Never for Ever (which she produced with Jon Kelly) onwards. At that time, other directors were behind the camera. The first video Bush directed was the title track from Hounds of Love. The single came out in February 1986. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Bush wasted no time in making a video that was full of drama, beautiful shots and moments. Maybe not quite as accomplished as some videos in her cannon, Hounds of Love as a confident and fascinating first outing. One might assume that Bush taking the reigns regarding directing signalled a dissatisfaction with videos before then. That is not the case.
MOJO start at the beginning and the two videos for Wuthering Heights. One was made for the U.S. market where Bush was in a red dress dancing on Salisbury Plain. The second, where she wore a white dress, was directed by Keith MacMillan (‘Keef’) – the two would collaborate on several videos. That second video was shot to video rather than film and, with some dissolve trickery and dry ice, it is a classic in my opinion!. Maybe not sophisticated or ambitious, I think it is perfect for the song. The fact that the Wuthering Heights video was shot one afternoon, edited overnight and then sent to Top of the Pops the following day proved a quality video could be delivered quickly and fairly easily. After a fairly disastrous first appearance on Top of the Pops to promote the single (complete with an orchestra backing track (as a solo artist, Bush could not perform with a band) and an unhappy-looking artist), the idea that a video could be shown instead, understandably, intrigued Bush! Rather than it being a way to avoid live performance, Bush’s love of film and T.V. meant that she could connect with a medium that she was very enamoured of and fascinated by. Tom Doyle notes that Bush’s sonic vision is unique and so strong that it is only natural that she would want to have direction when it came to videos. I guess many songwriters write with a video in mind so, for Bush, the move to directing was only a matter of time.
Bush’s videos became more adventurous and filmic from The Dreaming onwards. The title track, whilst expensive and not a favourite of EMI, is a bigger production piece with more of a concept and budget. Sat in Your Lap features roller-skating and dunces caps and was a lot easier to shoot. That video was recorded in an afternoon at Abbey Road, whilst The Dreaming was shot using wide angles and had a more arduous process. This use of wide angles was unorthodox – as you need other shots to make a story move along -, but Bush was keen on, as director Paul Henry explained, “showing off the dance routine”. With a grungy, dusty look, this was Bush flexing her muscles. As she produced The Dreaming (album) on her own, that sense of ambition and autonomy bled into the videos. Although the video for The Dreaming was relatively pain-free, the editing was more of a problem. Bush wanted the choreography and moving to take centre stage, so she did not want close-up shots. Henry recalls how the final cut that was presented was not received well by EMI. They wanted things simpler and more conventional for the There Goes a Tenner single. Even though Bush was not able to repeat the experience of The Dreaming for There Goes a Tenner in terms of the visual style and wider angles, she threw herself into the acting side.
Paul Henry also directed the video for There Goes a Tenner, but he would not return for the video for Suspended in Gaffa. That song and There Goes a Tenner were released on the same day. Suspended in Gaffa was a single in continental Europe and Australia, whilst There Goes a Tenner was released in the U.K. For Suspended in Gaffa, Brian Wiseman helmed. Not that there was a massive falling out but, during the shoot for There Goes a Tenner, there was two set of directions: one from Henry and another from Bush. Not only eager to deliver a great acting performance, Bush was immersed in the concept and, as a natural director who had a lot of ideas, there were often mixed instructions and confusion on the set. Even though it might have been frustrating for a director to have to get their voice heard with an eager artist offering suggestions, it showed that Bush was getting closer to directing solo. For Hounds of Love, Bush was still brimming with ideas and directing zeal. For Cloudbusting, she suggested storyboard ideas and wanted to portray Peter Reich in the video (taking inspiration from the 1973 Peter Reich memoir, A Book of Dreams, the song is about the very close relationship between psychiatrist and philosopher Wilhelm Reich and his young son, Peter, told from the point of view of the mature Peter). Director Julian Doyle said she could not play a boy as this was very unusual and (he felt) people would not expect this. Although Bush is playing that role in the video, she has a more androgynous look and, without some serious make-up, she was never going to convince as a young lad!
It goes to show that Bush was really engaged with filmmaking and was excited to assume more responsibility. She did feel that she was not being given too much chance to have directorial input. One scene highlighted in the article is where Donald Sutherland (who played Wilhelm Reich) is arrested and driven away. Actually. Let’s back things up a bit. I find it amazing that Bush got Sutherland to appear in the video! Tenacious and ambitious, she originally suggested the second Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton. Sutherland initially turned down an offer but, without much hesitation, she knocked on his hotel door at The Savoy and won him over! With the director and cameraman in the front of the car in that final scene with Sutherland and two officers in the back, there was no room for Bush. When Doyle returned, Bush was unhappy about being left out (as he explains, there would not have been room to squeeze her in!). Not that there was a breaking or Bush felt other directors were pushing her aside, but she alone directed the videos for Hounds of Love and The Big Sky. With years of experience watching directors work and offering her guidance, she was growing in desire and efficiency. Those videos are excellent and, whilst the 1993 film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve could have been a success, she had very little money and time. As such, she was dissatisfied with the results.
That short film threaded several songs from the album, The Red Shoes, and it has some genuine moments of beauty and innovation. It would be interesting to see what she would do now if she tackled the project. In a way, Bush was assisting to directing her live performance during 1979’s The Tour of Life. She was definitely getting involved with the choreography and sets, so it was no shock that she would be heavily involved when it came to her Before the Dawn residency in 2014. The MOJO article ends with a 2005 interview where Bush reflects on a particular nutty idea: floating on her back in a twenty-feet-deep tank at Pinewood Studios when filming a visual for the Hounds of Love song, And Dream of Sheep. She endured mild hypothermia and, not surprisingly, Bush sort of questioned her sanity! It was an ambitious idea but, so many years since that Wuthering Heights video, Bush was involved and very committed. She has always understood the link between music and film and how important the visual aspect is. Even though Bush has not directed much since 1993, that is not to say we will never again see a short/video that she has directed. In the sense that Bush has had an attachment to her videos and she has been vocal and proactive has proved…
INSPIRATIONAL to so many artists.