FEATURE:
You Say We’re Fantastic?
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
Kate Bush’s Wow at Forty-Seven
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WHEN thinking about…
one of Kate Bush’s best singles, I am not going to repeat what I said before. I am going to include some resources I have used before but, in terms of framing, there is another direction I want to go in. Wow was the second single from Kate Bush’s second studio album, Lionheart. Released on 9th March, 1979, it turns forty-seven soon. It is important to learn a bit about the song. I have discussed aspects of this song for a recent feature. One where I explore characters in her songs, I mentioned Emily and The Actor from this song. Their roles and importance. However, stepping away from that, there are others things to spotlight. It was a number fourteen single in the U.K. I will talk about that. And critical reaction. However, here we get some interview archive from the Kate Bush Encycloepdia, where Kate Bush discussed one of her best songs:
“I’ve really enjoyed recording ‘Wow’. I’m very, very pleased with my vocal performance on that, because we did it a few times, and although it was all in tune and it was okay, there was just something missing. And we went back and did it again and it just happened, and I’ve really pleased with that, it was very satisfying.
Lionheart Promo Cassette, EMI Canada, 1978
‘Wow’ is a song about the music business, not just rock music but show business in general, including acting and theatre. People say that the music business is about ripoffs, the rat race, competition, strain, people trying to cut you down, and so on, and though that’s all there, there’s also the magic. It was sparked off when I sat down to try and write a Pink Floyd song, something spacey; Though I’m not surprised no-one has picked that up, it’s not really recognisable as that, in the same way as people haven’t noticed that ‘Kite’ is a Bob Marley song, and ‘Don’t Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake’ is a Patti Smith song. When I wrote it I didn’t envisage performing it – the performance when it happened was an interpretation of the words I’d already written. I first made up the visuals in a hotel room in New Zealand, when I had half an hour to make up a routine and prepare for a TV show. I sat down and listened to the song through once, and the whirling seemed to fit the music. Those who were at the last concert of the tour at Hammersmith must have noticed a frogman appear through the dry ice it was one of the crew’s many last night ‘pranks’ and was really amazing. I’d have liked to have had it in every show.
The first single and taste of music from 1979, it was an interesting period. Kate Bush released two albums in 1978. The Kick Inside, her debut, was a huge success. It spawned some incredible singles and sold over a million copies. There was not quite the same success and impact for Lionheart. Sort of rushed By EMI to capitalise on success Bush has accrued, Lionheart came out in November 1978. I think it is interesting the first single from Lionheart is Hammer Horror. The final track on the album, one would imagine that would be the second or third single. It is not a conventional lead single. Maybe Bush felt it was the biggest departure from The Kick Inside and it would be a more interesting release than anything else. Her chart positions were not great at this point. The Kick Inside was a big success. Wuthering Heights and The Man with the Child in His Eyes were released and were high-placing singles. International singles like Moving were also successful. The whole package of album and singles showed that Bush could be critically acclaimed and commercially viable. Few artists this original were selling as many units and seeing their singles do well in the charts. Maybe there was something about Lionheart that was different. Not to say the singles were a failure. Wow did pretty well, though it was not as big as what she saw on The Kick Inside. 1980’s Never for Ever would see some resurgence in terms of chart positions. Even though critics were sexist and insulting towards Kate Bush from the start, there did seem to be more love for The Kick Inside than Lionheart. Wow is an amazing song that deserved more respect. I did source it in the feature where I looked at the character in Wow, but reviews were pretty bad. Even the more positive ones came with a note of disappointment. Some of the reviews were plain misogynistic. Sounds included this in their review for Wow: “I realise that a lot of people would like to go to bed with her, but buying all her records seems a curious way of expressing such desires”.
There was this interesting shift in terms of critical appreciation. The Kick Inside got Kate Bush praise and affection, though there was sexism and mockery in some quarters. Lionheart was less well-received and many were cold towards it. Then 1979’s The Tour of Life was acclaimed and rapturously received by crowds. Never for Ever was her first number one album, yet the reviews were not universally positive. 1982’s was less commercially successful and the reviews were mixed. Then 1985’s Hounds of Love saw her embraced once more. With every new phase and shift, there was a new take on Kate Bush. Wow is a distinct, incredibly interesting and strong song. Yet, as 1978 and 1979 were years when Bush was a prime target for comedians and satirists, Wow played right into their hands. One of the last singles where Bush was very much in the mould of this hippy-dippy artist, Never for Ever’s first single, Breathing, was maybe a way of her to get away from some of that mockery. Even then, she could not escape press disapproval. In spite of some good reviews, Breathing was still dismissed by some. However, it is curious why Wow did not chart higher. Did press impressions of Bush affect the buying public? You could say Wow is not as strong as Wuthering Heights or The Man with the Child in His Eyes. Hammer Horror was perhaps not the right first single from Lionheart. However, Wow is Bush at her brilliant best! Maybe if Wow came out first it would have been a top ten. It was a top twenty single, so you can’t say it was a disaster at all. I do feel like the conversation around her was still dismissive. Looking at Wow now and we can recognise it is a brilliant single and one of her best. However, back in March 1979, there was not sure this positivity and appreciation. I think that Bush was given a bit of a rough ride for Lionheart. Some of it was to do with the hurried nature of the album. Even so, there are some great songs on the album. Wow is one of them. As it tuns forty-seven on 9th March, I wanted to revisit it. If you have not heard the song or haven’t in a while, then do go and check it out. It is one of Kate Bush’s best moments. If there has been more kindness towards the single in years since it was released, there was some critical coldness in 1979. Forty-seven years after its release and this Kate Bush single…
STILL sounds wonderful and entrancing.