FEATURE:
The Gospel According to Kate Bush
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for her 1981 single, Sat in Your Lap (taken from her 1982 album, The Dreaming)/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
Encouraging More Writing and Conversation Around This Unique Artist
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SORT of connecting…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at her home in Eltham, London on 13th September, 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Cummins
to my Kate Bush features around her influence and legacy today. I wanted to think about Kate Bush as someone who has changed music and made such an impact. I wrote about this a while ago. How you could teach a course about her. I think there is a course you can take about Taylor Swift and her work. Nothing quite as extreme as that, perhaps. It is a shame that, given the scale of Kate Bush’s influence, more has not been written about her. I do think that there could be a seminar or event where she is discussed. There was quite a few years ago. Rather than being a dry talk where people lecture and it is seems quite flat, I think this is a period where Bush’s name has reached people who did not know about her before. She is such an icon and there is definitely an argument that she is one of the most important artists alive today. Whilst there are scores of books, documentaries and pieces out there relating to other artists, there is not as much when it comes to Kate Bush. Perhaps she would prefer it that way. I am writing this on International Women’s Day. Thinking about the pioneering women who has redefined genres, changed things, challenged norms and broken ground for other women coming through. Kate Bush is up there with the most important artists ever. I am not sure if she would want to be too out there and mentioned all the time. However, in 2026, despite the fact so many other artists follow her and so many women in music owe a debt to her, there is still this narrow knowledge of her music by so many people. Others who draw a blank. That is not a slight on them. Not everyone can know about every artist. However, I do think there is still a blind spot when it comes to Kate Bush.
For me, she is so much ricjher than a few selected songs. In terms of what she has said in interviews and how intelligent and mature she has always been. Not everything she has said has been right, or even politically correct. However, there could be a whole book published where interview extracts are published. I am not sure how many interviews Bush has been involved in through her career – it must be in triple figures -, though it is clear she has so much knowledge and a rich background. Not too much in terms of new books about her. I wonder whether we can ever truly get to the bottom of Kate Bush’s genius. However, there is so much to be shared with the wider public. For those who love their music but are not really that familiar with Kate Bush, I wonder what the best solution is. You sort of feel like Bush is one of the most influential artists. In terms of how she has affected some of the best artists of today. How she broke ground, records and is this remarkable producer. At a time when many women were not/not able to produce their own music. A live innovator and someone who always stayed true to herself, her brilliant work and wonderful words need to be explored and mined more. I am thinking about her entire career and all the live performances, interviews and her lyrics. She has collected together her own lyrics for the How to Be Invisible book, though these are selected cuts. There is a whole world about Kate Bush that needs to be spotlighted. There are great and updated resources like the Kate Bush Encyclopedia and Gaffaweb. However, I am always keen to get the gospel according to Kate Bush to as many people as people. Her fanbase, Fish People (?!), are out there in force sharing photos, facts and music. Even if Bush herself is not someone who goes online and posts about herself, there is a large sector of society that does not truly know about Kate Bush and her brilliance.
Many might ask what the big deal is when it comes to that. There are so many legendary artists who too are not as revered by as many people as they deserve. When it comes to impact, modern relevance, their incredible personality, wisdom and everything about them as a person and their music, how many people rival Kate Bush?! Perhaps I am biased in that sense. Even so, there is a case to make when it comes to Bush and her being under-discussed. Is she underrated? I think so. Even if Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is the only song most people know she recorded – which might have been the case as recently as a year or two ago -, there is still an absence of wider discovery. The media might not be helping. Not enough written about her. When they do, it is never really that engaging or deep. Do a Google search at the most recent Kate Bush articles and writing. Not too much that grabs your focus. Deeper pieces and something unprovoked by news or one of her songs being in focus. Just talking about Kate Bush’s interviews and what we can take away from those from throughout the years, there is so much to dissect. I guess one of the frustration comes from people I talk to about music blanking when it comes to Kate Bush. Only having this one reference point. I know she is not out there and releasing new music. However, I am always blown away by Kate Bush and learn new things. Big fans of her know about the finer details and are out there sharing her work and talking about her fondly. It would be great if more of Kate Bush was known to more people. In her 1981 single, Sat in Your Lap, Bush sings “I've been doing it for years/My goal is moving near/It says, look, I'm over here/Then it up and disappears”. There is something about those words that I can apply to Kate Bush’s legacy and how there is this lack of deeper understanding. How she has been doing it for years and yet many do not know about her or only one or two songs. We cannot blame them. This is a time when we need to be shouting about Kate Bush. New articles and the odd book. Getting artists together to talk about Kate Bush. Explore this icon from different angles. There are few artists who have ever lived who have made as big an impact on music and culture…
AS her.