FEATURE:
With a Kiss, I'd Pass the Key
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a parking garage with her crocodile (not real) friend 1978/1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Claude Vanheye
Are There Any Kate Bush Artefacts in the Vaults?
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THIS feature is inspired…
IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles at the press launch for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, held at Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street, London on 19th May, 1967/PHOTO CREDIT: John Downing/Getty Images
by me currently (10th/11th August) being in Liverpool. Whilst here, I visited The Liverpool Beatles Museum. There is so much fascinating things in there. From a pair of glasses worn by John Lennon to chairs, coffee machines, programmes, clothing and such worn and used by The Beatles. The museum is split into time periods so, on the first floor, there are artefacts and archives from before they were The Beatles. Included is the programme from The Woolton Village on 6th July, 1957. The day Paul McCartney and John Lennon met. Nearly seventy years ago, this historic moment started everything. I was in awe of all of the different items in there. Of course, Liverpool has this proud love of The Beatles. There is a whole Cavern Quarter where there are themed bars, The Cavern Club and The Liverpool Beatles Museum. It got me thinking about Kate Bush and something I have raised before. We know there are a lot of photographs and there will be outtakes and rarities that the public have not seen. Of course, we will never see a Kate Bush museum or anything like that. I have suggested an exhibition, similar to the one David Bowie has in London. That is actually the David Bowie Centre. Kate Bush would not want something as exposing. She is a current artist and her career is not over, so anything like this would seem like she is retired or dead. She is a very private person and I know there are bits on auction sites.
A while ago, there were some sketches and designs around 1979’s The Tour of Life. The ultimate artefact, and the one item related to Kate Bush I would love to own, is the handwritten lyrics to The Man with the Child in His Eyes. A fan bought them at an auction but, in my view, this is something that should be in a collection. Something the public can see. Bush may feel uneasy if she was on display like this. Rather than anything too invasive or grand, it got me thinking where all these items are that Kate Bush wrote, touched or had in his possession. Think about The Tour of Life and all those outfits. Props and original memorabilia. 2014’s residency, Before the Dawn, has plenty of costumes and cool bits. These must be somewhere, and I find it hard to believe they have been destroyed or given away. You feel that they are locked away somewhere. Beyond that, there are microphones, pianos and pieces of technology Kate Bush has used. What about the Fairlight CMI that featured on albums like The Dreaming (1982) and Hounds of Love (1985). That entire home-built studio that was erected for Hounds of Love. Has everything about it been disposed of? Stuff from East Wickham Farm such as pianos and organs too? All her videos and these intriguing items that form her career. We talk about her music and things like that, but there has not really been much conversation around rare items and artefacts that would be amazing to see. I can appreciate Kate Bush does not want everything laid out. A lot of these things would have been disposed or are owned by someone else. Lots of the clothing. If she will not open the vaults and give us demos and unheard takes, how about other things?
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional imnage for 2011’s 50 Words for Snow
There is definite public appetite and curiosity. I was waking around The Liverpool Beatles Museum and connecting all these items to moments in their career. It broke down this globe-straddling band to very small things. How the seemingly mundane had this whole new life. Everything we know about Kate Bush is thorough her music, interviews and live performances. That extensive wardrobe alone is one of the most varied and iconic in all of music. Just thinking about the white and red dresses from the Wuthering Heights videos. I do wonder what became of them. Even clothing she wore for the promotional shots used for 50 Words for Snow. You’d think they were taken away, as Kate Bush does not have them stored in the attic or in her wardrobe! The key that we see on Kate Bush’s tongue on the cover of The Dreaming. I’d hate to think that was tossed away. There has to be little items like this being kept somewhere. I think we could get a richer and more tangible connection to music and career if some of these artefacts and rarities were shown. Kate Bush Collectables is an incredible resource where we get some of these rarer items. My favourite is this entry ticket for The Tour of Life gig at the London Palladium on 17th April, 1979. We get some cool memorabilia and there is some neat stuff there. Though there is so much more that is going to be somewhere in the world but has not been seen by the public. I would love to see these iconic outfits and know what happened to them. Maybe one day there will be some opening of the archives or some of this stuff will come to light, though I find it interesting that, aside from things fans have and bits auctioned, there has been no discussion or word on where Kate Bush’s outfits and artefacts are. I think knowing more about these things tells us…
THE whole story.