FEATURE:
And So I Want to Join In…
IN THIS PHOTO: ‘Kabuki Kate’, from the Hounds of Love shoot, 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
Why a Kate Bush Tribute Album Is Hugely Relevant Today
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PEOPLE try to speak…
IN THIS PHOTO: The award-winning, hugely acclaimed and prolific producer, the queen that is Catherine Marks/PHOTO CREDIT: Vintage King
for Kate Bush and assume she had made decisions about certain things. In the past, I have asked why she has not been made a Dame. People have said she has been offered and refused. There is no proof that ever happened. Same with directors or producers approaching her to make a cinematic version of Hounds of Love’s second side suite, The Ninth Wave. People will say she has been asked about a tribute album and whether that is okay. I see no reason why she would reject this. In the past, artists have covered Kate Bush. A few recent attempts When it comes to collating artists on a tribute album, this has not happened. Not major artists. I don’t feel there would be huge interest for unknown artists or smaller acts. You would need to combine them. I think that a tribute album now would be timely. Kate Bush’s greatest hits album, The Whole Story, turns forty in November. Maybe waiting until 2028 for when Wuthering Heights and The Kick Inside turn fifty. Her debut single and album respectively, why has their not been a major project where artists combine and cover her songs?! I think that it is overdue. I feel it should all happen at Abbey Road Studios. I am not sure who would produce it, but Catherine Marks and Tony Visconti come to mind. The latter almost worked with Kate Bush. A possibility of him producing one of her albums. She politely refused. Catherine Marks is one of the greatest producers. Award-winning and with such an eclectic C.V., she is also Mercury Prize-nominated, as she worked on the Help(2) album. Raising funds for War Child, it would connect to Kate Bush. Little Shrew (Snowflake) was released in 2024. Bush releasing the single and video to raise donations for the charity. It would be an expensive project, though a fifteen-track double album recorded and mixed at Abbey Road I feel would be wonderful. It could raise funds for War Child.
A very cool vinyl, cassette and C.D. release, you could unite major artists with slightly smaller ones. Those who have either cited Kate Bush as an influence or you clearly can hear her music in theirs. I think the budget wouldn’t be a massive issue. I feel the most difficult issue is getting the list whittled down. So many artists you could choose. Maybe uniting some in duets. Having strings on some tracks, I would love to see heavyweights like Catherine Marks and Tony Visconti joins forces. Thinking about the cover of the album, a classic photo from someone like Gered Mankwoitz, John Carder Bush (Kate Bush’s brother) or Guido Harari. Maybe a new illustration or design. It would be fascinating. One of the reasons why I am thinking about a Kate Bush tribute album is because there is so much more awareness of her music. In terms of how it has spread since Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was featured on Stranger Things in 2022. Opening her work to a new generation. I do feel though that people have not dug deeply enough. Look at Spotify, and Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) possibly has more streams than the rest of her back catalogue combined. I fear she is still defined by this song. Of course, it could feature in a tribute album. It does not mean that she is retired and people are remembering who she was. There will be a new album soon enough. I think that a Netflix Kate Bush documentary is being made. I feel a book that charts her influence would be beneficial, though you’d have to revise it multiple times because so many people are nodding to her work! For an album, you could also have narration. Tracks like Jig of Life (from Hounds of Love) has a spoken part. In 1985, that was by her brother, John Carder Bush. An actor like Jessie Buckley (who is a Kate Bush fan) could do that part now. A 2028 album release would be possible. Getting all these artists to Abbey Road could be pricey, though many will visit the U.K., so their parts could be recorded then. They would not need to all be in the studio at the same time. Kate Bush recorded out of Abbey Road Studios, so artists paying their respects in that hallowed space would be incredible.
That takes me to fans of her work and some major names. Which fifteen or so artists would make the cut? Paul McCartney was one of the famous names at her Before the Dawn residency in 2014. Bush is a massive fan of The Beatles and she and Paul McCartney have met. Which song could he tackle? I feel Aerial from the album of the same name. Perhaps an odd fit, I feel he could add something different. A great fit for him. A major reason for this album is Charli xcx. She might be tired of me mentioning her when it comes to Kate Bush (though she is not going to read this!), but her “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack track, House, loosely took inspiration from Kate Bush’s Get Out of My House. That song appeared on 1982’s The Dreaming. I would love for this to maybe be the single from the album, just so Charli xcx could cover the track and there being this incredible video. Sophie Muller directing. There could be two singles or choices. I feel Michel Gondry would be another amazing director who could bring to life a song like Mrs. Bartolozzi is another great song that was never a single, this Aerial track could have options when it comes to artists. Phoebe Bridgers and PinkPantheress come to mind. Very different to one another, they could take it in their own direction. Guest musicians on this album has plenty of options. Bush’s mentor and friend David Gilmour playing guitar. If we have Get Out of My House and Mrs. Bartolozzi on the album, then which thirteen other songs? Too many tempting options, it could be decided. I would think Billie Eilish tackling The Kick Inside’s title track. Björk is a big fan of Kate Bush and has mentioned The Dreaming as a favourite. She would add something unique to a song like Pull Out the Pin or All the Love. ROSALÍA would definitely need to be in the fold. I can see her doing something with epic with Jig of Life or a song from The Sensual World (1989) like Deeper Understanding. Maybe Kate Bush admirer Stevie Nicks could be included (as she and Lindsey Buckingham are apparently back in communication, could these two duet on a track?!).
The idea is not to go for obvious singles. Give light and new life to songs that are underrated or were minor successes. Though there is room for a take on a classic like Wuthering Heights. CMAT has covered the track before, and I would love to hear a studio version. Elton John playing piano on one track, as he is a big fan (and he and Bush collaborated on Snowed in at Wheeler Street, which was a track on 2011’s 50 Words for Snow). Florence Welch is someone compared to Kate Bush. She could take on Never for Ever’s Breathing or even add her own vibes to 50 Words for Snow’s Among Angels. I would like to see two artists combine on a song that only has Bush on vocals. I am thinking Florence Welch and Damon Albarn joining forces. Which other artists would be on the fantasy list? Solange, Tori Amos, Lily Allen, Big Boi, Olivia Rodrigo, Fiona Apple, Muse, London Grammar’s Hannah Reid and Madonna. Addison Rae, FKA twigs, Neil Hannon, Halsey, Caroline Polachek, Jessie Ware, Lorde, Chappell Roan, Peter Gabriel and RAYE. Blood Orange too. There would be a long list of potential inclusions. Producer Nigel Godrich is a fan. A potential engineer/producer choice? Radiohead too. They apparently have invited her into the studio. Bush has attended a gig of theirs in London. This is a fantasy and me being somewhat self-indulgent, though there is relevance. As we look ahead and are creeping near to the fiftieth anniversary of her debut single and album, a tribute album to celebrate her work. Who knows, she may well release a new album before then too, which will ignite people and lead to more artists discovering her work. Irish author and Kate Bush fan Sinéad Gleeson writing an album foreword or providing narration on a track.
The aim is two-fold: to celebrate this iconic and goddess-like artist whose influence is massive; to raise funds for War Child, sort of in the way Help(2) did, though this is specific to one artist, whereas that album saw multiple artist cover songs from a range of musicians. I seriously doubt Kate Bush has been approached about something like this and, if she has, no reason she would object. She has indulged in retrospection and revision. She realised the impact her work has and, if for a great cause and done affectionately, this could be a massive thing. It is rare that we get such a high-profile and, perhaps, expensive album for a single artist. Though Kate Bush is no ordinary or minor artist! Thinking back to a song(s) that could be a single from the album. Get Out of My House could feature high-profile actor fans of Kate Bush such as Florence Pugh, Ayo Edebiri and Margot Robbie. A director like Greta Gerwig. Actresses Laura Dern, Gemma Arterton and Sadie Sink. St. Vincent should be one of the musicians feature or a vocalist on a track. In-studio shots taken by Kate Bush collaborators such as Trevor Leighton or Guido Harari. Of course, all moot if Kate Bush puts a stop to it or, if money was too much an issue, those restraints. Given anniversaries approaching and the rising influence of this queen, why not do something like this?! I have not even mentioned Lady Gaga, The Last Dinner Party, Self Esteem, Suede, Kylie Minogue, and actors like Guy Pearce. I will stop. This is a project I would definitely love to see come to life, as it would earn money for War Child and combine artists and those throughout multiple disciplines. All showing their affection for Kate Bush. If the woman herself might feel bashful or like it is too much, its objectives should not give her hesitation. Bringing so many Kate Bush fans to Abbey Road Studios to provide their takes on her songs would be something Kate Bush fans (in their thousands and possibly millions) would…
FLOCK to buy!