FEATURE:
Some Say That Knowledge Is Something That You Never Have
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performing in London in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: Adrian Boot/urbanimage.tv
Can You Ever Know Everything About Kate Bush?
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THERE is no real hierarchy…
when it comes to Kate Bush and who knows the most. There are experts out there I would definitely defer to and know have this deep knowledge of Kate Bush. I think, no matter how much of your life you spend studying Kate Bush, you will always learn something new. I have spoken about this before. How there is going to be information or facts that pass you by. One of the reasons for reviving this topic is my own knowledge. Whether I know as much as I thought or should. I know I write about Kate Bush all of the time and a lot of people do come to me. Maybe it is memory or the inability to retain everything. I recently was involved in filming for part of a French documentary about Kate Bush. I was able to speak a bit about Kate Bush at East Wickham Farm and how the nature and environment around influenced her. Why it was important. However, there were some things that I did not know and a few questions asked where I could not recall the answer right away – and had to look them up later. Including David Gilmour and whether Kate Bush visited his studio before 1975 (she did). This is information that I did know but seemed to blank at the time. Also, there are some things I have written that I have been corrected about. I guess this is only natural. Like when Kate Bush really write The Man with the Child in His Eyes. A few facts about her songs and dates in her career. There are fan accounts on Twitter that I am constantly amazed by. Daily Kate Bush is a young Kate Bush fan who posts information and insight. Stuff about various songs and moments in her career. Some stuff that I did not know or forgot.
Not that I should know everything or am the leading authority on Kate Bush – as I am not! I suppose it is about pragmatism and the fact that nobody really can truly get to the heart of Kate Bush. However, I have been wondering whether my knowledge base is as wide and deep as it should be. When I post features, it is good that people share them and get something out of them. However, the fact that I learn so much from other people makes me wonder whether I have done enough or know enough. It may sound ridiculous. However, when I see a fact or something posted I did not know, I often ask myself how that passed me by! I have read pretty much every book about Kate Bush. I have tried to retain as much as possible from that. I do a lot of research on various websites. I do wonder whether there are avenues and corners that I have not navigated, as every day I get to learn something new. I do know that there are many who will always know more about Kate Bush than me, but I kind of feel like I need a refresher course or there needs to be this new website or resource where we can add information and share stuff. Rather than dwell on it or wonder whether I have done enough, it is all about learning and collaboration. It is always impressive that there are fans younger than me who know so much about Kate Bush. Learning from them. Whether it is an account like Daily Kate Bush or another fan account, that dedication and commitment is to be applauded. I don’t think Kate Bush is discussed as much as she should be. In terms of people writing about her and there being this wider discussion. I guess she has not released new music in a long time, though she is an artist who continues to influence artists. There still being this perception of her and a certain narrative that has not shifted since her career began.
I am going to wrap things up in a little bit. I think my aim going forward is to explore Kate Bush more. Ask fans where they get their information from. Learning as much as I can so that I can not only write more features and expand my knowledge. It is also good to chat with these fans and get to know them better. There is this great community that dedicate so much of their life to Kate Bush. Perhaps it does come down to memory and fallibility. Not being able to recall things not the same as not knowing them. It does motivate me to think about Kate Bush in a new way. I think I have been reading the same books and not really going deeper. Maybe dong some collaborative features in the future. Using my platform to diversify. I don’t think I will ever do a regular podcast. What I mean is going beyond features. Maybe something a bit more interactive. It is has been both humbling and inspiring following Kate Bush fans and discovering things I did not know before. Rather than ask these people how they know various things about Kate Bush – as it is quite impressive and I need to do better myself -, I will take it as an opportunity build my knowledge base. It takes me back to that question as to whether we can ever know everything about Kate Bush. Even those who have written books about her must have those gaps. I clearly do when it comes to things. There is scope for new Kate Bush webpages. Where as this rare or lesser-known information can go. A chance too to shout out to those superfans who are online and posting photos and facts about this iconic artist. Rather than see a ‘lack of knowledge’ about Kate Bush as a weakness or something to punish myself over, maybe it is…
A good thing.