FEATURE:
Kate Bush: The Tour of Life: Between Never for Ever and The Dreaming…
I have looked at particular years in her career. I am using Gaffaweb once again and what they have resourced. In terms of dates and events, they are a precious and incredible source of guidance and information. There are a couple of reasons why I am focusing on 1981. It was the year between Kate Bush releasing Never for Ever and The Dreaming. In 1980, in September, her third studio album reached number one in the U.K. It was a turning point for her in terms of sound and production. I have written about this so many times, though it does warrant repetition. Lionheart, Bush’s second studio album, was released in November 1978. Fairly similar in scope to her debut, The Kick Inside (released in February 1978), she took a big leap for her third album. In a short period of time – and with 1979’s The Tour of Life in-between -, there was this expansion of her sound and lyrics. There was an event bigger leap for The Dreaming. More experimental, denser, darker and perhaps heavier, the Fairlight CMI was more in the mix. Kate Bush, producing solo for the first time, wrote an album that established her as ‘an artist’. Rather than a Pop artist or someone who was seen as parody-worthy, The Dreaming was this big statement. I am fascinated by the year before. Bush finished promoting Never for Ever at the end of 1980. Its final single, Army Dreamers, came out in September 1980. It is unusual that there were not more singles. Three came out from that album, and the final one arrived two weeks after the release of Never for Ever. It would have been great for a fourth single to come out early in 1981 – maybe All We Ever Look For or Delius (Song of Summer). Perhaps there was this pressure in 1981 for Bush to put something out. By June 1981, it has been nine months or so since any album material had come out.
I am focusing on 1981 as it was the year when Kate Bush put out the first single from The Dreaming. Sat in Your Lap was released on 29th June, 1981. This album saw more singles released. Some in the U.K. and others specially for the foreign market. Spanning from 1981 to Night of the Swallow in November 1983. Less commercial successful singles than on Never for Ever, Bush pretty much was going straight from Never for Ever and the promotion to immersing herself in her fourth studio album. It was an intense time. However, it was not the case she was shackled to the studio constantly. 1981 was a varied and productive one. Midway through the year, she released the exciting first taste of The Dreaming. Looking at the timeline, and we can see how packed her year was:
“January 1, 1981
Kate is voted Best Female Artist for the third consecutive year in Capital Radio's listeners poll.
Kate takes two months off from everything to "recharge her batteries.".
At the first MIDEM Video Awards Keef MacMillan wins the Best International Production Award, and Kate wins the Best International Performance by an Artist Award, both for the Babooshka video.
February 1981
Kate's childhood home, East Wickham Farm, which has at its core a 14th-century hall, is listed as a building of special historic interest.
Kate does some session work on a cover version of her song Them Heavy People by new EMI artist Ray Shell.
February 21, 1981
Kate is voted Best Female Singer of 1980 in the Sounds poll.
March, 1981
Kate is making demo tapes of the material for her next album at her own demo studio.
April 1981
In a special Sunday Telegraph opinion poll Kate is voted "most liked" and "least liked" British Female Singer.
May 1981
Kate goes into Townhouse Studio with Hugh Padgham as engineer to begin the recording work of The Dreaming album. The backing tracks for three songs are put down before Nick Launay takes over as engineer. In a session that lasts until the end of June more backing tracks are laid.
Kate is tempted by the offer for her to play the Wicked Witch in the Children's TV series Worzel Gummidge, but she is already too far involved in the album and has to turn down the offer.
Let’s pause there and see that Bush achieved and did over the first five months of 1981. I love all that award recognition in January. Never for Ever was a big commercial success. It became the first album by a British female solo artist to top the UK Albums Chart. Only right that Bush would be garnered with awards. However, we can see that Bush needed time to recharge. Although there was not a load of recording and studio time in the first half of 1981, Bush was still being awarded and recognised by the industry. In February, that Sounds poll. I really love how she did some session work too. I had never heard of Ray Shell and his cover. A weird outing, but one Bush was pleased to do! East Wickham Farm being acknowledged as a site of historic interest. No doubt Kate Bush’s association helped it achieve that honour. Even though she wanted to recharge the batteries, she did work on demos and started to pit stuff together. Sat in Your Lap must have been recorded by that time, as it would not be long until the video was made. By May 1981, Bush was very much back in work mode. It would have been awesome if Bush accepted the offer of playing The Wicked Witch in Worzel Gummidge. Quite a thing to see! If the first half of 1981 was relatively calm, the second half would mean she was in the studio a lot more:
June 1981
The video for Sat In Your Lap is made at Abbey Road.
June 21, 1981
Sat In Your Lap is released. A pivotal point in Kate's career.
July 1981
Kate goes into Abbey Road studios with Haydn Bendall as engineer to complete the backing tracks.
Kate goes to Dublin to record the track Night of the Swallow with members of Planxty and The Chieftains.
July 14, 1981
Kate appears on the children's programme Razzmatazz to explain how the Sat In Your Lap video was made.
August 1981
Kate goes into Odyssey Studios with Paul Hardiman as engineer to record the overdubs on all tracks in a four-and-a-half month session.
August 6, 1981
Kate appears on the BBC TV programme Looking Good, Feeling Fit.
October 1981
Kate is working to exhaustion again on the album, and decides to take a short break, to visit Loch Ness.
The edited version of Keef MacMillan's video recording of Kate's live show is released on video-cassette.
November 12, 1981
Kate attends a party at Abbey Road Studios to celebrate the studios' 50 years of operation. She cuts the celebration cake with Helen Shapiro.
November 21, 1981
Kate appears on the commercial TV programme Friday Night Saturday Morning, a new chat show, at the invitation of the host, zoologist Dr. Desmond Morris, to talk about her music and expressive dance.
December 22, 1981
Kate takes a break from recording to tighten melodies and lyrics”.
Even though The Dreaming was not released until September 1982, it was challenging and demanding album to complete. Bush needing to recharge at the start of 1981. By the end of 1982, she needed rest and recharge once again after brutal recording and promotional duties. That forty-fifth anniversary of Sat in Your Lap. It was a pivotal moment for her. Reaching number eleven in the U.K., this was a departure from what fans expected. This percussive song that was frantic at times and there were lots of interesting and unusual elements, pleasing that it was a commercial success. Kate Bush very much showing that she was not the artist that was being lampooned and parodied after her first couple of albums. Between studios and recording various songs, there were these interesting moments. The rather weirdly-titled Looking Good, Feeling Fit does sound like a sexist nightmare. Something that seems prurient rather than about fitness, Bush did get a chance at least to show that she was committing to dance and her new material would have that sense of movement and energy. She was going head-first into an album that took a lot out of her. However, The Dreaming is arguably her first masterpiece. That period between August and October 1981 is key. Having returned to work after a break from battery recharge, she was pushing it quite hard. Perhaps some expectation from EMI in terms of when the new album would be out. Good that she visited Scotland to take a bit of time out. To walk in the countryside and see if she could find the Loch Ness Monster! Abbey Rod turns ninety-five this November. Kate Bush playing an important part in the studios’ fiftieth birthday celebrations. That appearance with Dr. Desmond Morris is really fascinating. I wish there was a better-quality video of it. An argument that so many of her interviews and music videos need an upgrade. A few days before Christmas in 1981, Bush still working hard and focused on her new album. The Dreaming would arrive less than nine months later. However, 1982 was one of her busiest. The busiest since 1978. So much studio time and hard work to get The Dreaming ready. From awards and recharging batteries to a tantalising acting offer in Worzel Gummidge, it was very much a case of…
NO rest for the wicked.