FEATURE:
The KT Bush Bond
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush and Del Palmer/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
Remembering the Great Del Palmer
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WE woke up today (7th January)…
to the news that Del Palmer has died. Announced yesterday, Kate Bush News brought us a heartbreaking announcement that Palmer passed away on Friday (5th January). It is still very numb thinking that he is not here anymore. Without any realisation that he was ill, it is especially winding and shocking that we have to process such gutting news:
“We are heartbroken to tell you that Del Palmer passed away at home, yesterday, Friday January 5th, surrounded by his family. Del had dealt with health issues over the last few years and the announcement came today on social media from his niece, Debbii Louise Palmer on behalf of Del’s family. We don’t need to tell anyone out there the monumental role Del has always played in Kate’s work and music – it’s impossible to quantify. As this news sinks in, we will have more to share with you all about our friend Del, and we will be talking much more about his incredible life and career in the coming days as we remember this remarkable musician and wonderful, irreplaceable man.
We extend our deepest sympathies to Del’s family and loved ones, to Kate, to his many friends, and all the people who knew and worked with Del throughout his brilliant career in music. He’ll be so very missed. Rest in peace, Del. You are so loved – Seán, Peter, Krys and Dave x”.
One of the most upsetting aspects about the loss of Del Palmer is how it will affect Kate Bush. They were in a relationship for many years and Palmer was someone very dear to her. Even when they broke up and Bush was in a relationship with her now-partner Danny McIntosh, Palmer would often accompany Bush to events and was a loyal friend and rock. Someone she felt incredible around, she trusted nobody else to engineer her albums. Bush’s most recent album, 50 Words for Snow, featured Palmer playing. He engineered it (listed as ‘Recorded By’ in the album notes I think).
Having lost him in his early-seventies, it seems a sadly premature end to a life that was extraordinary. On 23rd December, Kate Bush wrote a brilliant Christmas message. It seemed like this year might be one for optimism and new music from her. Given the fact that Bush will not work with another engineer and Del Palmer is the only person she wants recording her music, it does seem like Palmer’s passing now signals the end of Bush’s recording career. Unless an album was already recorded, I don’t think she will follow it up. Also, in 2024, there are three big anniversaries where Del Palmer was very much a part of. The Tour of Life is forty-five. He was a big part of that. A member of her band, I think about him as being essential to Bush’s album recording and live performances from that period (and long after). Even though he was not as involved with 2014’s Before the Dawn, the fact that it is ten makes me think of him. He just comes to mind when I think of it. The Sensual World, her sixth studio album, is thirty-five this year. Palmer played on that album. We have to mark these major things without him being in the world. I will concentrate more on him very soon. My mind casts back to the K.T. Bush Band. The K.T. Bush Band was formed in 1977 with Kate. Bush on vocals and piano, guitarist Brian Bath, drummer Vic King and bassist Del Palmer.
My mind races around time periods. Even before 1977, Del Palmer and Kate Bush were friends. Someone who was with her and in her inner cire before that, he got a first-hand view of the young Kate Bush’s talent taking shape. Working alongside Bush in the K.T. Bush Band, those small gigs around London where she was playing songs that would get worldwide attention soon after must have been fascinating. I don’t think we talk much about Del Palmer in terms of Kate Bush’s work. Not only was Palmer a member of her band and engineer. His friendship and importance in her life inspired Bush’s writing. This creative bond that entwined with the romantic. The strength he gave her. A bedrock and someone who kept her grounded but also pushed her, it will be so draining reading what Kate Bush writes about this loss. No doubt this is the biggest tragedy Kate Bush fans have ever faced. Apart from Bush’s brothers John (Jay) and Paddy, Del Palmer is the most important member and name in her career (discounting her son and partner). They knew each other for decades. That trust and relationship they formed was incredible. The loss of Del Palmer means we are almost at the end of an era. We are processing the news and what all this means. Whether we will see any new work ever from Kate Bush. Rather than making it about her, I wanted to highlight how close the two still are. Del Palmer is the longest-serving member of her team and band.
Someone she had utter faith in. I don’t think we will see Bush want to work in the studio or with anyone again – or at least not for a long while. I want to end capturing some words from Del Palmer. Whereas Kate Bush was the main media attraction, we did get interviews where Palmer spoke. About working with Bush and his role. There are two interviews I want to come to. The first, from Sound of Sound, is from December 1993. It was conducted during the sessions for The Red Shoes. Published shortly after the album was released (November 1993), there are some fascinating insights:
“Del takes up the story: "During early 1990, Kate said `I want to do something, I want to go in the studio and work.' During the early stages I can set up a sound for her, set up some keyboards, show what to do on the console, and leave her to it. She'll work for days until she's got something, then we'll get the musicians in and carry on from there."
As both prducer and artist, Kate Bush is extremely focused and knows exactly what she wants. So when Del comes up with a particular sound, she wastes no time in telling him whether or not it's what she's looking for.
"There have been lots of times when I've had quite heated arguments with her--I'd say something wouldn't work, to which her response has been, `Indulge me...Just do it.' For example, on the Hounds of Love album there's a part that goes `Help me, baby, help me, baby,' which cuts in and out very quickly, which she wanted to do by turning the tape over and cutting in and out with the records switch. I said it would just be a mess, but she said, `Look, just do it, will you?' So I did it and of course it worked, and I had to eat humble pie. I've eaten so much humble pie over the years that I'm putting on weight!"
Kate is apparently not averse to placing her own fingers on the faders, especially in relation to the vocals as well as much of the instrumentation. "I was able to just set her up with a sound, and she'd take care of it herself," explains Palmer. "She'd record all the vocals, then phone me up and say, `Let's put it all together'."
These days, Kate Bush tends to write about 90% of her material as part of the overall recording process in the studio, largely because of the difficulty of trying to recreate the spontaneity and the feel of the demos.
"We just couldn't do it," says Palmer, "so we decided to use the demos as the basis for the albums. We started off by taking the demos, transferring them, then working on top--then it struck us that we should just do away with that whole process, develop the home studio and record absolutely everything right onto the multitracks and keep everything that was done. Now, a lot of the stuff that we start with doesn't make it right through to the end, but at least the flavour of it does.
"There's no fixed method to how Kate works, but generally speaking she will say, `Can you get me a drum pattern that sounds like this?' She'll sing me something and I'll program the Fairlight with a simple eight-bar loop, never any more than that, and then she'll program a sound in the Fairlight and get a tune going. Then she'll say, `I've got something, can I put a vocal down?' Something that may only amount to `la-la-la-ing`, but almost every time there'll be a specific little bit of lyric that will give her an idea, which in turn becomes the basis for the song. So we put it down, and that becomes the basic demo that we're going to work with; an eight-bar drum pattern, a keyboard and a very rough guide vocal. From that she can tell whether it's worth pursuing an idea or not. Some get discarded at this point, while others progress a little bit further before it becomes obvious that they too are not going to work."
Until the Red Shoes project, it was traditional to bring in the musicians one at a time to record their parts. Firstly--and, from Kate Bush's point of view, most importantly--the drummer, followed by the bass player (often Del Palmer himself); this would then allow her to review how each song was progressing and to make any necessary alterations prior to the guitarists and other musicians entering the fray. This time around, however, it was decided from the outset to record quickly and to aim for more of a band feel, so most of the tracks were recorded with a least bass, drums and, in several cases, keyboards being played together.
Palmer, wishing to concentrate on his role as engineer, didn't play the bass guitar; the same bass player and drummer worked over the course of ten separate days to fuel the group atmosphere, though guide guitars weren't deemed necessary. However, `Rubberband Girl' does feature a keyboard pattern performed by Kate with an acoustic guitar sample.
"On the track `Big Stripey Lie', Kate played electric guitar as well," points out Palmer. "She said to the guitarist we were using, `I'm really into the guitar. I'd really like to be able to play it,' and he said, `Oh, here, play this one (a Fender Stratocaster) for a bit.' So, he showed her a few chords, and--this is no kidding--a week later she was in front of this Marshall stack in the studio giving it her all! I've never seen anything like it. She's a natural--she was playing lead guitar and no one would know it wasn't an experienced guitarist."
THAT VOCAL SOUND
The trademark Kate Bush sound that has been developed over the course of the last four albums owes a lot not only to the pulsating, highly atmospheric, slightly discordant noises that seem to emanate from every direction, but also her own unique vocal style, with its breathy delivery and haunting presence.
"I can't take any credit for Kate's vocal sound," admits Palmer, "because it was originally shown to me by an engineer called Paul Arden who taught me so much. He would explain anything that I asked him about. One day he couldn't make a session, so he said, `Why don't you do it?' So I did, and he showed me how to get the sound which they had started using on The Dreaming. Kate loved it, and ever since then we've been using it.
"Basically, it's all down to an overdose of compression, and the fact that she really knows how to work with it. We set her up with a [Neumann] U47 in the live part of the studio--brick floor and stone walls--so it's very, very live--and then there's loads and loads of compression on the mic. The SSL desk's compression is very violent and works very well for this. So, what's happening is that every time she breathes in, you can hear it, so she has to be very specific in the way that she deals with this. She's backing off from the microphone all the time, really working it. We use a small amount of gating so you'll get the sound of the room and then it cuts off--a bit like the Phil Collins drum sound.
"If Kate's singing really loud she backs off from the mike and then she comes right in close for the quiet stuff, but when she breathes in, she does this to the side. I have to say that from a purely technical standpoint, it's really badly done, there's just so much compression on everything. But I'm not interested in being technical, I just want it to sound good, and if it does, then what's the point of changing it?
"When it comes to the mix you don't have to push the vocal up as high as you might imagine, because with that sound you're getting so much high frequency. It's real borderline stuff. Sometimes you can go too far, and it'll break up or distort, or it'll really blow your ears off, but if you get it just right, you're getting so much high frequency that you can just push the voice right down and it will still cut through everything."
On average, Kate performs four or five vocal passes for each part, and while compiling does take place, there is normally a clear contender for the master take. This is invariably deduced by way of Kate's own vocal chart, on which she makes notes while listening to the various takes. "Usually, Kate will record a complete section of her vocal and it'll work, then I'll just have to patch up a few bits."
When dealing with problems, Palmer tends to steer clear of the old cliche, `we'll sort it out in the mix.' For one thing, as Palmer is quick to point out, you have to be very sure that you *can* sort it out in the mix, so and Kate try to get things right as they put them down on tape. When it came to mixing the album, it was simply a matter of pacing, creating space and giving everything its moment. There were, however, a few exceptions.
GUESTS OF DISTINCTION
With the exception of her piano (recorded with two 87s inside the lid and Massenburg Parametric EQ), Fender Rhodes and Yamaha DX7, all of Kate's keyboard sounds were produced using a Fairlight. The other musicians were provided with only limited room for experimentation, as she was characteristically specific in her directives, while also keeping an open mind and ear to any new ideas or sounds that might come her way. For this reason, Palmer has become accustomed to recording absolutely everything that goes on during the sessions.
"Even when the musicians are just setting up I record everything," he confirms. "Because she'll say, `Oh, do you remember that thing you did when you were warming up?', and of course if you haven't got it on tape you've lost it. So, whenever there's anybody in, I always have the half-inch running, then I can spin anything back in later."
All in all, a pretty wise approach; whereas some of the musicians within the `band unit' returned time and again, others simply contributed guest appearances and it would have been altogether more difficult--not to mention embarrassing--to have these people return to redo what they had already done.
Violinist Nigel Kennedy, featured on `Big Stripey Lie' and `Top of the City', was recorded in the deader of the two main live areas, standing on carpet. "The thing with Nigel is that he never stands still," says Palmer. "So, after talking to him, it seemed that the best way to work was to use a pair of 87s. They're so versatile, I use them for everything. One was about eight feet from the ground, pointing down over his (left) shoulder toward the violin, and the other was diagonally to his right and about three feet from the ground, pointing up toward his chest. Out of the two I think I used the overhead one the most, but it was just a juxtapositional thing to see how different the room would sound. Because the room's so small you could put a microphone anywhere and it would pick him up. I used the Massenburg EQ--you have to watch the mid-high frequencies--our rooms are so live and so specific that you can get a tone that'll go right through your ears."
Jeff Beck played his signature Stratocaster for `You're The One' in the control room with a tiny amp positioned underneath the front of the console and miked with a U87 positioned three inches away to the side and pointing in. "I was sitting at the console, Kate was to my right and Jeff was seated about four feet behind," explains Palmer, "so she could talk to him and was able to both operate the deck and stand up to adjust the rack."
In 2018, Del Palmer spoke with Irish Examiner. It was highlighted how Palmer has constantly worked on Bush’s music. Ahead of the interview, Palmer was making a return to Ireland to reprise his bass parts on some of Bush’s classic records as part of the acclaimed Kate Bush Songbook show. He was in Ireland with Bush before when recording for albums like Hounds of Love. Fond memories from his time there and the musicians he worked alongside. Palmer was playing with Mandy Watson and keyboardist and band-leader Michael Mayell:
“It’s a big deal for him to go back on the road as the last time he will have played many of these tracks was on Bush’s first, and only, world tour in 1979, after which she retired from live performance, until her comeback residency at Hammersmith Apollo in 2014.
My philosophy was, ‘I’ve been there — I’ve done the real thing.’ But Michael sold me on the idea — in the end I asked him if I could be involved.
His memories of the 1979 shows are glitteringly bright. The Tour Of Life was truly ground-breaking, incorporating “mime, magic and reading”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush, performing live onstage during The Tour of Life/PHOTO CREDIT: Jorgen Angel/Redferns
It also featured pioneering use by Bush of a wireless headset, so that she could sing and dance simultaneously (she had studied dance with David Bowie’s old mime tutor Lindsay Kemp).
These were innovations that would be copied by everyone from Madonna to Lady Gaga. It ran for just over a month — but changed live music forever.
“Nothing like that had been done before,” Palmer recalls.
“There were projections and costume changes and we played for three hours. It was very revolutionary. I remember the first night the audience going absolutely bananas.”
By that point, he’d been in Bush’s orbit for a little over two years. He was introduced via mutual friends in south London (he had known Bush’s older brother Paddy). The first time he saw her perform, Palmer understood his life had changed. He’d never encountered anyone like her.
“I knew I had to be involved. She was going to be huge — that was obvious to me when she was 17 and still a very raw artist. We had a residency in the Rose of Lee pub in East London.
"The first night there were about 10 people. By the time we finished the residency, there were people out the street who couldn’t get in the door, it was so jammed.
"Even then, she was using dry ice getting and down into the audience. She was remarkable, A little Energiser Bunny.”
By the time of Hounds of Love, Bush had come to a critical juncture. Her previous album, The Dreaming, had not been well reviewed (it was regarded as too experimental).
So a lot was riding on the new LP. Adding to that, both she and Palmer were determined to connect with their Celtic heritage.
“We were recording in Windmill Lane. Dónal Lunny was involved, John Sheahan [The Dubliners], Paddy Glackin [The Bothy Band]. Kate wanted to get back to her roots. On one occasion they had done a piece for Hounds Of Love called ‘The Jig of Life’.
They were all around her and played the piece and she was reduced to jelly. It just blew her away, she got so emotional. Irish music is for her and her family a very intense relationship.
There was also a trip to Waterford to meet Bush’s family.
“We went to look them up and they seemed to come out of the woodwork there were so many. ‘This is cousin Mick, this is cousin Johnny…’ There were thousands of them. They were so friendly”.
I will write more about Del Palmer in the coming days and weeks. I hope the interview and videos here give you some insight into his importance and how big a part he played in Kate Bush’s career. With 2011’s 50 Words for Snow maybe being a full-stop now in terms of their work together, we need to cherish his work. Spend time writing about and remembering this lovely man. It is a very sad time when we have to face the fact Del Palmer is not in the world. In years to come, I hope documentaries are made about Kate Bush where we see and hear Del Palmer on the screen. People talking about what an incredible force he was. Nobody will ever replace him or mean as much. He was more than a friend to Kate Bush. Even for those of us who never met him, it feels like we knew him and were friends. Lots of love to Del Palmer’s family and friends. I was keen to write something in reaction to the sad news. More tributes will be paid in the coming days to…
A truly remarkable human being.