FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Tour of Life
The Success of Her Albums vs. Singles
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ONE of the most notable…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
aspects of Kate Bush’s career is the comparative chart success of her singles and albums. I know it can be difficult putting together a consistent run of singles. With each song sounding different and released at different times, it can be tricky finding that balance. Even though Kate Bush had quite a few top twenty singles, there were others that charted much lower. However, when you look at her ten studio albums, her greatest hits collection, 1986’sThe Whole Story, and the 2016 live album, Before the Dawn, they all charted in the top ten in the U.K. In fact, with the exception of Lionheart – which reached number six – all of those albums charted in the top five. That is a remarkable achievement! Not many artists can claim such statistics. There is quite a gulf between Kate Bush’s albums and singles when it comes to commercial success. I suppose people will buy the album but think that the singles are really not as essential. In terms of singles released from her studio albums, I think Kate Bush has had four top five successes. There are a smattering of singles that reached the top twenty and a few that either didn’t chart or were very low. There Goes a Tenner reached ninety-three. That was from The Dreaming. Deeper Understanding (from Director’s Cut) reached eighty-seven, whilst Wild Man (50 Words for Snow) reached seventy-three. When those singles/albums came out in 2011, Bush had a run of eleven top ten albums. More impressive than this, top five albums in five different decades. I suspect, when an eleventh studio album does come out, it will place in the top five. One can look at some of her more modern singles. They charted quite low as they are digital releases. Maybe people streaming or buying the albums.
Kate Bush’s fans love to hear her music on a physical format. She urges her listeners to do that. If a single comes out digitally and there is no physical product then fewer people will buy them. Perhaps Bush does not see herself as a singles artist. It is about the albums. It wasn’t until 1982’s The Dreaming when we saw this huge and dramatic difference between the singles and album placings. The Dreaming reached three in the U.K. One of its singles, Sat in Your Lap, reached eleven. The remaining singles charted low or not at all. It wasn’t really a singles album. You can see albums like The Kick Inside (1978), Never for Ever (1980), Hounds of Love (1985) and even The Sensual World (1989) as having more obvious singles. It is hard when it comes to singles. Choosing ones that are commercial vs. ones that Kate Bush wants to put out there. If EMI wanted her to write singles and get radio play, Bush more and more was concerned with a body of work that was true to her vision and not motivated by the need to write hit singles. Hounds of Love compromised a bit in that sense. In terms of the album position (one in the U.K.) and the fact all of its four singles were top forty (three in the top twenty) meant that the balance was struck. However, since then, and especially from King of the Mountain (from 2005’s Aerial) onwards, Bush has not been too invested in singles. In the EMI years, they might have wanted three or four singles at least to come from each album. Aerial has one single. Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow had one single each. A taste of the album. Bush wanting people to invest in albums. Digital singles perhaps not holding any appeal. 50 Words for Snow sold 50,000 copies in the first week of its release.
I guess one can look at her album success and that is the main story. A single that went top twenty in the 1980s could have sold more than a top ten song from another decade. Same with the albums. The Kick Inside sold over a million and went to number three. It would have sold more than The Red Shoes, which reached number two in the U.K. The chart positions can be a bit misleading. In terms of the singles market, perhaps it was more about trying to fit in the scene at the time. Hammer Horror from 1978. Not really like anything around it. However, the album it is from, Lionheart, was a chart success. Is it a case of the albums being bought mainly by her fanbase and that love and dedication never waning. The singles being more about the general public. I wonder why there was such a discrepancy between the success of the singles from 1985’s Hounds of Love and those from The Dreaming. Was it a case of 1982’s music scene being dramatically different to what Bush was putting out, or are the singles on Hounds of Love better and more ‘radio friendly’? Everyone will have their own views. Both of those albums sold well, though The Dreaming was dwarfed by Hounds of Love. Lionheart reached number six in the U.K. but has sold more than The Dreaming – which reached three in the U.K. I am fascinated by the numbers. Why certain albums sold okay and charted high whereas others sold big and charted slightly lower. The same with singles. From her number one debut single, Wuthering Heights, in 1978, through to and including Army Dreamers (1980), Bush had all top forty singles in the U.K. One exception was Hammer Horror reaching forty-four. From 1980’s December Will Be Magic Again through to Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) in 1985, there was this weird period. Singles like Night of the Swallow and There Goes a Tenner struggling.
Certain singles released for specific countries and territories. They tended to struggle compared to those more on general release or released in the U.K. From Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Bush did not have another top five U.K. single for twenty years: King of the Mountain. The expectation and wait for new material accounts for the latter’s success. It is surprising that songs like The Big Sky (Hounds of Love), This Woman’s Work (The Sensual World) and even Rubberband Girl (The Red Shoes) did not crack the top ten. After King of the Mountain, there was this dive in single chart positions. Lyra (which featured in the film, The Golden Compass) was released in 2007 and reached 187. Deeper Understanding and Wild Man reached the top 100 but not by much. Even if there was inconsistency and real peaks and troughs, her albums remained solid and popular. The Red Shoes and Aerial went Platinum. However, Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow went Gold. That may seem like a decline. That being said, both of those latter albums were top five. I guess the fact each only had one single released and it was a time where physical singles were not a thing accounts in some ways to a slightly less impressive album sales haul. However, Kate Bush has remastered and reissued her studio albums since 2011. The overall sales figures given a boost whereas her singles are a thing of the past. Like The Beatles releasing a boxset with all of their singles in for the fans, I would love to have all of Kate Bush’s singles in this nice boxset! I wonder what accounts for the mixed fortunes of the singles compared to the solid showing for her albums. Fans knew when the albums came out and knew they wanted to buy them. Maybe the singles did not appeal too much or mixed reception from the press put some people off. Her albums were going to sell well no matter what. However, the singles has to compete with what was out at the time and had to fit in too. No surprise Hounds of Love’s singles did well considering the Pop and Rock scene of 1985. Compare that to, say, The Dreaming’s singles from 1981, 1982 and 1983 and The Red Shoes’ singles from 1993 and 1994. Everything around them vastly different. Especially the 1990s.
Maybe other people will have their theories. I wanted to explore this subject. In her early career, certain singles were released for different countries. Bush sometimes battling EMI to make sure the singles she wanted to come out were released. It is about the timing of the singles. The third, fourth or fifth single from an album is not going to do as well as the first or second. Also, I guess it depends how close the singles came out in relation to an album regarding their success. The Dreaming suffered because its first single, Sat in Your Lap, was released two years before the final one. However, when it came to albums like Hounds of Love and The Sensual World, it was a bit more consistent. In terms of albums that have a fair few obvious singles, I would say only The Kick Inside, Never for Ever and Hounds of Love stand out. It is a hard thing to judge and explain. You can say that it doesn’t matter how well the singles did but it would have done at the time. Even in 2005 or 2011, Bush needed the single to get attention and radio time. Even if the albums got into the top five, that is not to say EMI were okay with the singles being a bit patchy in terms of their commercial lure. I love how twelve albums from Kate Bush have reached the top ten! Few artists can match that! However, Bush’s singles ranged from chart toppers and those in the top ten to ones that didn’t chart or were very low-placed. So curious and interesting. Although Bush released some iconic singles and we must acknowledge that, it is very clear that the chart success and consistent run shows that she is…
VERY much an albums artist.