FEATURE: BRAT Summer: The Role of Women in the Rise of U.K. Physical Music Sales

FEATURE:

 

 

BRAT Summer

IN THIS PHOTO: Charli xcx/PHOTO CREDIT: Yasmin Istanbouli

The Role of Women in the Rise of U.K. Physical Music Sales

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2024 was one…

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

with distinct features. In terms of the music that was ruling, women were very much on top. When it came to the best-reviewed albums and the music making the biggest impressions, women were dominating. I suspect this will continue throughout this year. An article from The Guardian caught my attention. Not solely reviving a decline in physical music, the role of women in music last year at least did ensure that there was a revival at the very least:

“Charli xcx’s Brat summer may have given way to cold winter, but the success of albums by female artists helped arrest a two-decade-long decline in sales of physical music.

Women led the way in recorded music this year, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), topping the singles chart for 34 out of the 52 weeks and accounting for half of the top 20 albums for the first time.

Albums by female artists including Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx and Billie Eilish were the engine room of growth as combined sales of streaming and physical music rose by nearly 10% to smash past 200m albums or their equivalents as measured by the BPI.

Amid the encouraging numbers, the BPI sounded a note of warning that the government’s proposals to allow artificial intelligence firms to sidestep copyright rules put the UK’s powerhouse recorded music industry at risk.

But despite the looming digital threat, sales of analogue formats – led by vinyl – performed strongly.

Vinyl sales have risen for 17 successive years and increased rapidly again, up 9% to 6.7m units. Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department led the pack, beating Oasis’s first album, Definitely Maybe, amid excitement around the band’s reunion.

CD sales have been in steep decline in recent years but were down by just 300,000 to 10.5m, led by Coldplay’s Moon Music. Factoring in 182,000 sales in other formats such as cassettes, sales of recorded music in physical form rose by 1.4m to 17.4m, the first increase in two decades”.

Some might say that the best-selling album by women are from huge acts. That doesn’t really matter. They have contributed to much to the industry in terms of money generated. If people are buying vinyl and especially C.D.s and cassettes, then it is worth heralding these major artists. They have ensured that valuable physical formats remain vibrant and relevant. I don’t think it is a case of the physical format being desirable because it seems old-fashioned. Fans want to have this tangible connection to the music. This article explores the dominance of women last year:

“This year’s list not only celebrates musical diversity but also highlights the significant contributions of female artists across a number of genres. From Taylor Swift’s introspective The Tortured Poets Department to Charli XCX’s bold and unapologetic Brat, women have been leading the charge with boundary-pushing, genre-defying work. It’s also worth noting that across the pond Beyonce has become the first black woman to have an album top the country charts.

Why representation matters and is good for the industry

For decades, conversations about gender disparities in music have pointed to the underrepresentation of women. Female artists often face challenges in achieving the same level of visibility and industry support as their male counterparts.

In 2024, however, the narrative is shifting. This increase in representation is significant because it paves the way for a new generation of young women to see themselves in these roles. It normalizes success for female artists at the highest levels, creating a more equitable and inspiring musical landscape.

The strong presence of women on this year’s charts signals a growing appreciation for diverse voices in music. Women like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter bring unique perspectives and stories, while established artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish continue to grow and develop.

As we move into 2025, let’s hope this momentum continues, ushering in an era where women’s success in music isn’t a surprising headline but an established norm”.

I suspect that this year will keep physical formats alive. I do hope so. It is not surprising women dominated last year. I think that they have been producing the very best music. Not to say men have been insignificant. One cannot discount them. In terms of originality and impact, women have been in charge. Their fanbases more dedicated, passionate and loud. So much dedication from them. It does lead to the question as to how this clear success and dominance translates this year. Festival bills are still not where they should be. Headline slots not automatically correcting and balancing. I do think that the industry needs to look at the facts. That women have been selling so many albums and producing such amazing music. Artists like Charli xcx creating this phenomenon and, in the process, perhaps the greatest album of 2024 with BRAT. I suspect that a festival like Glastonbury will have at least one female headliner, though there should be more. Other major festivals will drop the ball. It is a conversation we keep having but shouldn’t have to! Across the industry, more respect to women and more opportunity. Ensuring that there is far less sexism and misogyny. That there is not clear imbalance in various corners. Year on year, women are providing music with something truly special. The fact that they have contributed significantly to the health of physical music alone should be rewarded this year. Though, as the music industry is inherently sexist, it might take a while to shift. It is long overdue, but when it comes to the amazing women in the music industry, they need to be…

GIVEN them their dues.

FEATURE: It Started with a Kick: The Making of Kate Bush’s 1978 Debut

FEATURE:

 

 

It Started with a Kick

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in Hilversum performing Wuthering Heights on the Dutch series, TopPop, on 25th March, 1978

The Making of Kate Bush’s 1978 Debut

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THE final feature…

that marks Kate Bush’s debut album, The Kick Inside, at forty-seven takes us to the beginnings. If anyone wants to read more about The Kick Inside, I would suggest this book from Laura Shenton. There has not been a lot written about Kate Bush’s 1978 debut. In book form, anyway. It is such an important album it is surprising that more has not been published. It is my favourite album ever. It was released on 17th February, 1978. It introduced the world to a truly unique artist. I am going to finish with a couple of features around the extraordinary The Kick Inside. AIR Studios is now located at Lyndhurst Rd, London, NW3. It used to be situated in Oxford Circus by the tube station. It was a central location that was convenient for artists of the time. However, it being the heart of London meant there was this bustle and smog that surrounded the space. Even so, it was a perfect studio for Kate Bush. Opened in October 1970 by George Martin, it was this legendary studio space. Bush had began recording The Kick Inside before she recorded the majority of it in the summer of 1977. In June 1975, Bush entered AIR Studios to record The Man with the Child in His Eyes and The Saxophone Song (plus the unreleased track, Maybe/Humming). Bush reflected on her time at AIR Studios in June 1975. It would have been intimidating for any artist to step into that studio, let alone a sixteen-year-old. When she spoke to Tom Doyle in 2005, she recalled how brave she was. She was certainly brave. Determined even at that age, it was a wonderful experience overseen by David Gilmour. In July and August 1977, Bush was back there to complete the remaining eleven songs on the album. It was a very happy and exciting time. Bush learning new disciplines and working alongside seasoned musicians.

With comparative veterans like Ian Bairnson, David Patton and Stuart Elliott used to band work and no strangers to studios, there perhaps was this perception that Bush was this hippie chick that was going to be nothing special. This would be something routine and quick but not last in the memory. However, when Bush sat at the piano and started playing songs like Wuthering Heights, jaws nearly hit the floor! It was a revelation for these musicians. They were not used to an artist like Kate Bush. Even so, there was not a lot of trouble with communication. They bonded well and there was this mutual affection and trust. The routine would involve Kate Bush at the piano playing through the next song. The musicians would take it in before producer Andrew Powell handed out the chord charts. It was this disciplined and wonderful time where established musicians were perhaps learning in a new way. What was astonishing is the complexity of the songs. Compared to Pop music of the time, subjects tackled by Bush were by no means ordinary and predictable! Even when she wrote about love and lust, there was something poetic and almost classical about it. Harking back to an older time. From the pages of fiction. These immersive and engrossing worlds. Even though Andrew Powell produced The Kick Inside, he wasn’t guiding the recording like others would. In the sense an artist would largely be directed by the producer. Instead, Bush was giving the musicians these complete songs. A drummer like Stuart Elliott playing to her vocal. Responding to that top line and melody. These players probably used to not performing around a vocal. Having to play to a backing track and the vocal being dropped on top of it. It was almost like a live album. If later albums seemed more studio-bound and intense when it came to multiple takes and the use of technology, The Kick Inside is professional and polished but it also has a loose feel. As though all the songs were recorded live with very little modification.

Unlike other albums, Bush had honed, or at least was familiar with, these eleven songs (recorded in 1977). There was very little new creation in the studio. It meant the sessions were productive but not over-long. Backing tracks took four days. There was an incredible chemistry and energy. A connection and respect between Bush and her musicians. One of the most notable aspects of The Kick Inside is how her distinct vocal techniques, layers and sounds were there from the start. Tracks like Them Heavy People and Room for the Life. A blend of the strange and humorous. A cast of characters being woven into songs. Even if the band Bush played with were traditional in the sense of drums, guitars and bass, there were more unusual instruments mixed together. Beer bottles, boobams, clavinet and mandolin. Bush bringing in influences from her childhood. Her brother Paddy playing on the album no doubt opened her mind to sounds and sensations beyond the charts and commercial radio of the 1970s. Wuthering Heights was a revelation. Recorded during a full moon in March 1977, when the song was played back in the studio, Bush was moving and dancing along. Working out choreography that, with the assistance of Robin Kovac, would be used in the videos for the song. Or live performances at least. If the media and comics at the time found Bush ripe for parody after she released Wuthering Heights, Bush knew that she had written a song based on this passionate love affair. This incredible story written by Emily Brontë. EMI wanted James and the Cold Gun released as the debut single. There were other ideas from label men but few suggested Wuthering Heights. Bush fought for it. It was during a heated meeting when EMI’s Head of Promotions, Terry Walker, entered the room that things changed. He came in, put something on the desk, and said “Oh, hi, Kate. Wuthering Heights…great first single”. Perhaps the best timing in music history! Thanks to Tom Doyle’s Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush for that information.

Before finishing, I will bring in a couple of reviews for The Kick Inside. First, I want to drop in some words from Kate Bush from 1978. I was interested in this interview from Melody Maker published in June 1978. Bush undertook so many interviews in 1978! A lot of them were quite sexist and obsessed with her looks. There are a few that stand out as being quite serious. This is one of the more respectful and interesting interviews:

“I think you can kid yourself into destiny. I have never done another job. It's a little frightening, because it's the only thing I've really explored, but then again, so many things are similar. They all tie in. I really feel that what I'm doing is what everyone else is doing in their jobs.

"It's really sad that pressures are put on some musicians. It's essential for them to be human beings, because that's where all the creativity comes from, and if it's taken away from them and everybody starts kneeling and kissing their feet and that, they're gonna grow in the wrong areas."

Everybody associates the whole star trip with material gains.

"But it's wrong. Again, the only reason that you get such material gains from it is because it's so media-orientated. If it wasn't, you'd get the same as a plummer.

"I worry, of course, that it's going to burn out, because I didn't expect it to happen so quickly and it has. For me, it's just the beginning. I'm on a completely different learning process now. I've climbed one wall and now I've got another fifteen to climb, and to keep going while you're in such demand is very hard. It would be different if I had stayed unknown, because then it would be progressing."

Kate Bush is a frequently sensuous woman but she has no wish to be hooked as a sex symbol or anything concerned with selling her body (metaphorically speaking) to achieve ambitions. She has, for instance taken a meticulous interest in EMI's promotion campaign to ensure that the sex angle isn't played.

"The sex symbol thing didn't really occur to me until I noticed that in nearly every interview I did, people were asking: 'Do you feel like a sex symbol?' It's only because I'm female and publicly seen. The woman is tended to be seen on that level because it gets them through quicker, like the actress who sleeps with the producer makes it.

"That seems so dated, because we're all shifting to a different level now. The woman's position in music is really incredible now. It's getting more and more accepted, if not more than men at the moment. God, there's so many females in the charts.

"I felt very flattered that those people should think of me in those sex symbol terms. That was my first reaction, but it can be very destructive. For a start, there are so many incredibly good-looking women around, and their craft is in that. They're either models or acting, so their physical image is important. What I really want to come across as is as a musician, and I think that sort of thing can distract, because people will only see you on a superficial level."

She would like to think, too, that being female has nothing to do with her success and that she is being judged primarily as an artist. She has very strong views on the matter.

"When I'm at the piano writing a song, I like to think I'm a man, not physically but in the areas that they explore. Rock'n'roll and punk, you know, they're both really male music, and I'm not sure that I understand them yet, but I'm really trying. When I'm at the piano I hate to think that I'm a female because I automatically get a preconception. Every female you see at the piano is either Lynsey DePaul, Carole King...that lot. And it's a very female style.

"That sort of stuff is sweet and lyrical, but it doesn't push it on you, and most male music -- not all of it, but the good stuff --really lays it on you. It's like an interrogation. It really puts you against the wall, and that's what I'd like to do. I'd like my music to intrude. It's got to. I think that anything you do that you believe in, you should club people over the head with it!

"Not many females succeed with that. Patti Smith does, but that's because she takes a male attitude. I'm not really aware of it as a male attitude. I just think I identify more with male musicians than female musicians, bucause I tend to think of memale musicians as...ah... females. It's hard to explain. I'd just rather be a male songwriter than a female. What it is, basically, is that all the songwriters I admire and listen to are male."

She loves Steely Dan and David Bowie ("I wish I could write constructions like his.") But she was probably most influenced by Bryan Ferry, during his days with Roxy Music and Eno. "It was the moods of the songs. They had a very strong effect on me, because that had such atmospheres.

"I really enjoy some female writers, like Joni Mitchell, but it's just that I feel closer to male writers. Maybe I want to be a man," she laughs. "I like the guts than men have in performing and singing --like the punks. Like the way Johnny Rotten would use his voice was so original, and you get very few females even having the guts to do that, because they unfortunately tend to get stereotyped if they make it.

"I really enjoy seeing people doing something that isn't normal, you know. It's so refreshing. It's like that guy, you know, 'Cor baby, that's really free.' John Otway. It was amazing watching him perform and you just don't get females like that."

What surprised me most about Kate, and it shouldn't have because she's only nineteen, was her awareness of the new wave. She seemed to regard new wave bands as contemporaries, and her comments about those bands in relation to her work seems to emphasise that.

"I don't regard myself as a rock'n'roll writer. I'd love it if someone said they thought I wrote rock'n'roll songs. That'd be great, but I don't think I am. Some of the punk and new wave songs are so clever. Quite amazing, really. It's a modern poetry idiom. Some of the lyrics are fantastic, so imaginative, not sticking to a reality level, shooting off and coming back again."

She mentioned the Boomtown Rats as "amazing" and was genuinely ecstatic when I told her of the Rats' fondness for her music.

"Do they? Really? Oh, I didn't think they'd be into me. Great! Fantastic! I wonder if really beautiful punk groups like that -- I think the Stranglers are really good, too, there are so many -- I wonder if they think I'm...not so much square, but whether they think... ah...square...Sort of oblong.

"I really admire those bands, and I really admired the Sex Pistols tremendously. I don't know if I liked them that much, but some of their songs were great. I admired them so much just for the freshness and the guts, although I did get a hypey vibe off it, and that they were in fact being pushed around, because it seemed more an image that was being forced upon them, from what people were expecting.

"I feel apart from those bands, because I feel I'm in a different area, but I really like to think that they get off on me like I do them. That's why I don't see them as contemporaries, because I'm apart. It's not a matter of being above or below them, but if it was, I think I'd be below them.

"I think they're on a new level, inasmuch as...it's hard to explain. They're definitely hitting people that need stimulation. They're hitting tired, bored people that want to pull their hair out and paint their face green. They're giving people the stimulation to do what they want, and I think I'm maybe just making people think about it, if I'm doing anything."

Do you see that as the main difference between your role and others'?

"Yeah. I'm probably, if anything, stimulating the emotional end, the intellect, and they're stimulating the guts, the body. They're getting the guts, jumping around. That's a much more direct way to hit people. A punch is more effective than a look. Teachers always give you looks."

Would you like to have that effect on people?

"I don't think I could becase..." She stumbles over the next bit. "...it's not what...I'm...here to...do. I really love rock'n'roll. I think it's an incredible force, but there's something about it that I don't get on with when I write it, maybe because I'm very concerned about melodies in my music, and generally I find rock'n'roll tend to neglect it a bit because it's got so much rhythm and voice that you don't need so much music.

"Some of the new wave, though, is so melodic. Like the Rich Kids {early EMI-produced new wave band led by Midge Ure}. I'm not really a rock'n'roll writer yet. I'd like to be, though, and I hope I'll become more that way orientated.

"Mind you, I identify with new wave music. We're both trying to stir something in the attitudes we've got, but I honestly don't know if I'm doing it. I guess I'm more interested in stirring people's intellects. It's longer lasting but not so much fun as new wave.

"The good thing about people like the Boomtown Rats is that not only is it really good, but it's really exciting and fun, and maybe my things are sometimes a bit too intricate to become fun. They're more picking pieces out and examining them. There's very little music on my album that will make you want to stamp your feet violently and hit your head against the wall.

"To actually understand what I'm about you have to hear the lyrics, which is a lot to expect; whereas in something like the Boomtown Rats, it's the complete energy that knocks you over”.

I will wrap up with a couple of reviews. The first, from the BBC from 2008 states how The Kick Inside is a one-off. No album since it sounds the same. That is true nearly seventeen years after the BBC review. For those who do not know about the album need to listen to it:

“The tale's been oft-told, but bears repeating: Discovered by a mutual friend of the Bush family as well as Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Bush was signed on Gilmour's advice to EMI at 16. Given a large advance and three years, The Kick Inside was her extraordinary debut. To this day (unless you count the less palatable warblings of Tori Amos) nothing sounds like it.

Using mainly session musicians, The Kick Inside was the result of a record company actually allowing a young talent to blossom. Some of these songs were written when she was 13! Helmed by Gilmour's friend, Andrew Powell, it's a lush blend of piano grandiosity, vaguely uncomfortable reggae and intricate, intelligent, wonderful songs. All delivered in a voice that had no precedents. Even so, EMI wanted the dullest, most conventional track, James And The Cold Gun as the lead single, but Kate was no push over. At 19 she knew that the startling whoops and Bronte-influenced narrative of Wuthering Heights would be her make or break moment. Luckily she was allowed her head.

Of course not only did Wuthering Heights give her the first self-written number one by a female artist in the UK, (a stereotype-busting fact of huge proportions, sadly undermined by EMI's subsequent decision to market Bush as lycra-clad cheesecake), but it represented a level of articulacy, or at least literacy, that was unknown to the charts up until then. In fact, the whole album reads like a the product of a young, liberally-educated mind, trying to cram as much esoterica in as possible. Them Heavy People, the album's second hit may be a bouncy, reggae-lite confection, but it still manages to mention new age philosopher and teacher G I Gurdjieff. In interviews she was already dropping names like Kafka and Joyce, while she peppered her act with dance moves taught by Linsdsay Kemp. Showaddywaddy, this was not.

And this isn't to mention the sexual content. Ignoring the album's title itself, we have the full on expression of erotic joy in Feel It and L'Amour Looks Something Like You. Only in France had 19-year olds got away with this kind of stuff. A true child of the 60s vanguard in feminism, Strange Phenomena even concerns menstruation: Another first. Of course such density was decidedly English and middle class. Only the mushy, orchestral Man With The Child In His Eyes, was to make a mark in the US, but like all true artists, you always felt that Bush didn't really care about the commercial rewards. She was soon to abandon touring completely and steer her own fabulous course into rock history”.

I will end by featuring most of a Pitchfork review from Laura Snapes. She notes how The Kick Inside might seem like a young woman (nineteen when the album came out) likening her work to birth. The songs her children. In fact, it was a middle finger to that lazy assumption. So unlike many of her peers, these songs were almost profound and against what was expected from modern Pop artists:

“What made Bush’s writing truly radical was the angles she could take on female desire without ever resorting to submissiveness. “Wuthering Heights” is menacing melodrama and ectoplasmic empowerment; “The Saxophone Song”—one of two recordings made when she was 15—finds her fantasizing about sitting in a Berlin bar, enjoying a saxophonist’s playing and the effect it has on her. But she is hardly there to praise him: “Of all the stars I’ve seen that shine so brightly/I’ve never known or felt in myself so rightly,” she sings of her reverie, with deep seriousness. We hear his playing, and it isn’t conventionally romantic but stuttering, coarse, telling us something about the unconventional spirits that stir her.

And if there is trepidation in the arrangement of “The Man With the Child in His Eyes,” it reflects other people’s anxieties about its depicted relationship with an older man: Will he take advantage, let her down? This is the other teenage recording, her voice a little higher, less powerfully exuberant, but disarmingly confident. Her serene, steady note in the chorus—“Oooooh, he’s here again”—lays waste to the faithless. And whether he is real, and whether he loves her, is immaterial: “I just took a trip on my love for him,” she sings, empowered, again, by her desire. There’s not a fearful note on The Kick Inside, and yet there is still room for childish wonder: Just because Bush appeared emotionally and musically sophisticated beyond her years didn’t mean denying them.

“Kite” unravels like a children’s story: First she wants to fly up high, away from cruel period pains (“Beelzebub is aching in my belly-o”) and teenage self-consciousness (“all these mirror windows”) but no sooner is she up than she wants to return to real life. It is a wacky hormone bomb of a song, prancing along on toybox cod reggae and the enervating rat-a-tat-tat energy that sustained parodies of Bush’s uninhibited style; still, more fool anyone who sneers instead of reveling in the pure, piercing sensation of her crowing “dia-ia-ia-ia-ia-ia-ia-mond!” as if giving every facet its own gleaming syllable.

“Strange Phenomena” is equally awed, Bush celebrating the menstrual cycle as a secret lunar power and wondering what other powers might arrive if we were only attuned to them. She lurches from faux-operatic vocal to reedy shriek, marches confidently in tandem with the strident chorus and unleashes a big, spooky “Woo!,” exactly as silly as a 19-year-old should be. As is “Oh to Be in Love,” a baroque, glittering harpsichord romp about a romance that brightens the colors and defeats time.

She only fails to make a virtue of her naivety on “Room for the Life,” where she scolds a weeping woman for thinking any man would care about her tears. The sweet calypso reverie is elegant, and good relief from the brawnier, propulsive arrangements that stood staunchly alongside Steely Dan. But Bush shifts inconsistently between reminding the woman that she can have babies and insisting, more effectively, that changing one’s life is up to you alone. The latter is clearly where her own sensibilities lie: “Them Heavy People,” another ode to her teachers, has a Woolf-like interiority (“I must work on my mind”) and a distinctly un-Woolf-like exuberance, capering along like a pink elephant on parade. “You don’t need no crystal ball,” she concludes, “Don’t fall for a magic wand/We humans got it all/We perform the miracles.”

The Kick Inside was Bush’s first, the sound of a young woman getting what she wants. Despite her links to the 1970s’ egime egime, she recognized the potential to pounce on synapses shocked into action by punk, and eschewed its nihilism to begin building something longer lasting. It is ornate music made in austere times, but unlike the pop sybarites to follow in the next decade, flaunting their wealth while Britain crumbled, Bush spun hers not from material trappings but the infinitely renewable resources of intellect and instinct: Her joyous debut measures the fullness of a woman’s life by what’s in her head”.

On 17th February, 1978, Kate Bush released her flawless debut album. In fact, there is one other feature I want to bring in before closing. It is from 2023 and argues how The Kick Inside kicked Punk into touch. A rather direct and simple genre, Bush’s music was much more complex, beautiful, accomplished and interesting. It is no surprise that sexist critics couldn’t comprehend a genius when they heard one:

“Punk was so straightforward that in an age of complex prog rock, it was difficult to comprehend. In fact, in Charley Walters’ scathing Rolling Stone review of the Sex Pistols’ ‘Pretty Vacant’ he just about inadvertently defined the punk movement: “The music is overly simplistic and rudimentary,” he correctly wrote in the same way that a spade review might say that it is only good for digging. Before adding for good measure, “It’s also not very good.”

But suddenly, this rogue clan of spiky-haired loons began kicking up a storm—a maelstrom so unique that it was wrestled with and intellectualised as a musical statement that beheaded the bourgeoisie with an axe of pure individualism and blunt expression. Thus, it’s perhaps no surprise that when Kate Bush arrived as yet another curveball right in the middle of all this, she too was a missed point.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr play The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'

She wasn’t yet 20 when her masterful debut album, The Kick Inside, arrived in 1978. But the starlet didn’t fit into the narrative and as such, she was seen as a fly in the ointment. Her reviews at the time were scathing. The Guardian called her an “odd combo of artiness and artlessness,” and dismissed her as a “middlebrow soft option.”

And NME followed up the barrage with the following: “[Kate Bush] all the unpleasant aspects of David Bowie in the Mainman era…. [Bowie manager] Tony DeFries would’ve loved you seven years ago, Kate, and seven years ago, maybe I would’ve too. But these days I’m past the stage of admiring people desperate to dazzle and bemuse, and I wish you were past the stage of trying those tricks yourself.”

Now, however, The Kick Inside is rightly regarded as a masterpiece. What happened? Well, the zeitgeist moved on quickly from the punk kickstart. It was a necessary lightning flash, and it changed the world, but after five short years, it had mutated into new wave for the most part. Oddly, the much-maligned Bush effort proved to be a pivotal moment of diegesis in this story.

You see, ultimately, Bush was the pinnacle of punk: if the movement was all about breaking away from the stilted norm in an individualistic and expressive fashion, then it doesn’t get much more profound on that front than the wailing ways of ‘Wuthering Heights’. As John Lydon proclaimed himself in a BBC interview: “At first, it seemed absurd, all that aaaaah and weeee, it was way up there,” Lydon commented. “But it wasn’t that at all. It fits. Those shrieks and wabbles are beauty beyond belief to me”.

The majestic The Kick Inside turns forty-seven on 17th February. Often seen as a stepping stone to better work from Kate Bush, it needs to be reassessed as an album as worthy, brilliant and necessary as Hounds of Love (1985). I hope people celebrate The Kick Inside in the coming days. A mighty and hugely original album, I still can’t quite get to bottom of its layers and nuances. It offers something new every time I pass through it. Even though she was nineteen when her debut arrived, Kate Bush’s career…

STARTED with a kick!

FEATURE: Rock the House: Run-D.M.C.’s King of Rock at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

Rock the House

Run-D.M.C.’s King of Rock at Forty

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FEW acts in music history…

IN THIS PHOTO: Run-D.M.C. performing at the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 13th July, 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect

possess as strong a trio of albums as Run-D.M.C. The group’s first three albums are remarkable. Formed by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizel, they hail from Hollis, Queens, New York City. Their 1984 debut, Run-D.M.C., is a critically acclaimed masterpiece. Their third studio album, Raising Hell, may well be their most acclaimed and popular. Three compelling, inspiring and timeless albums within three years, that is quite some feat! Not that King of Rock is the lesser of the trio, though it is not held quite in the same esteem as its predecessor and successor. However, as it turns forty on 21st January, I wanted to spend time with it. I will come to some reviews for this amazing album. King of Rock saw Run-D.M.C. adopting a more Rock-focused sound. A few of its tracks boasting impressive riffs. King of Rock was ranked at number forty-four on NME’s list of the 50 Albums Released In 1985 That Still Sound Great Today. Before getting to a couple of critical reviews for Run-D.M.C.’s second studio album, I want to come to a feature from Albumism. In 2020, they marked thirty-five years if a hugely influential and important album:

“After being initially dismissed by Larry “Bud” Melman (of Late Night With David Letterman fame) for not “belonging” there, Joseph “Run” Simmons and Daryl “DMC” McDaniels stalk through the fictional hallowed halls, kicking down doors, completely unimpressed. The two mock broadcast performances by Bud Holly, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. They make a point to step on a replica Michael Jackson’s glove, break a replica of Elton John’s glasses, and crown a bust of one of the Beatles with one of the duo’s trademark hats. Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell strikes a mean B-Boy pose. Run wields an electric guitar like a blunt instrument and menaces the camera with it. They finish by sauntering out of the exhibit after spray-painting “Run-DMC, King of Rock” on the wall.

Even without the video, the song itself is as arresting as it is confrontational. Run-DMC were already no stranger to incorporating electric guitar into their music, with the success of “Rock Box” from their self-titled debut album Run D.M.C. (1984). However, “King of Rock,” well, rocked even harder, “with a sound so strong that it’s knocking down trees.” Session-player Eddie Martinez shreds a hard rock groove that dominates the track, backed by the simplest of drum tracks. On the mic, Run and DMC swagger like the baddest motherfuckers on the planet Earth, “rocking without a band.”

When I heard “King of Rock,” something about it spoke to me in a completely different way that artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, or Van Halen ever had. There was a power in Run-DMC’s raps that was undeniable and still reverberates three-and-half decades later.

There was no denying the brashness and confidence that the pair radiated. Rappers have been proclaiming that they are the best to ever pick up a mic since the first emcee ever picked up a mic. But rappers had always sought to express their domination over other rappers. On this single, and moreover, the album, Run-DMC were putting Rock & Roll icons on notice.

King of Rock is mostly thought of these days as the album sandwiched between Run-DMC’s groundbreaking debut and Raising Hell (1986), which turned them into unquestioned superstars. It was as financially successful as either album, going Gold in six months, but ultimately not certified Platinum until a couple of years later. But in re-listening to it in full for the first time in years, with this album, the trio was asserting that they were ready for prime time.

Run and DMC further honed their lyrical technique of rhyming in tandem, which they first displayed on Run-D.M.C., and fueling each other was their energy throughout King of Rock. Occasionally each emcee will kick a short verse, but often they go line for line, word for word, and even syllable for syllable.

The pair’s ability to rhyme as a unit is on full display on “You Talk Too Much,” where they decry dastardly liars who talk trash. Hip-Hop beat creation was still in its formative stages during the mid-1980s, so the song, like all the others on the album, relies on the understated genius production of Larry Smith. Here he works the drum machine and keyboards to perfection, with Run and DMC chiding the nameless sucker because “your mouth’s moving fast, and your brain’s moving slow.”

Run-DMC delves into socially conscious hip-hop with “You’re Blind,” a screed against greed and the valuation of money over humanity. The pair alternately berating slumlords for profiting off of the poor without giving back and rebuking hustlers, drug-dealers, pimps, and wannabe gangsters for living off the misery of the community.

Even the fairly goofy songs on the album are musically compelling. “It’s Not Funny” is held together by innovative drum programming and sharp scratches by Jay, who precisely cuts up slowed down vocals from an Eddie Murphy stand-up. “Roots, Rap, Reggae” pays homage to hip-hop’s Jamaican roots, with Run and DMC bouncing off of each other over a minimalistic, low-tech version of a reggae riddim. They’re assisted by dancehall legend Yellowman, fresh off the success of King Yellowman (1984). It’s ultimately a lightweight track, but one of the early cross-genre collaborations between respective stars of their musical kingdoms.

King of Rock is at its strongest when Run and DMC keep things focused on their own exploits. “Can You Rock It Like This,” the album’s third single features the pair describing the cost of their superstardom. The track, reportedly ghost-written by a young LL Cool J,  begins with Run boasting about “signing autographs for three months straight” while DMC brags about how his “face is a thousand lipstick flavors.” But the two walk the line between basking in the attention their stardom has earned them and exasperation at their lack of privacy.  Still, they ultimately commit to their continued super-stardom, proclaiming, “And if you mess with us, you’ll be a real short liver / You may be big but our bodyguard’s bigger!!!!!”

The album ends with “Daryl and Joe,” the third installment of Run-DMC’s “Krush Groove” series (preceded by “Sucker MCs” and “Hollis Crew” and followed by “Together Forever”). The track is a culmination of all of the styles, both musical and lyrical, the group utilizes throughout King of Rock. Larry Smith put together continuously changing drum tracks and keyboard progression that sounds inspired by Art of Noise’s “Close to the Edit.”

Run and DMC are at their fiercest on “Daryl and Joe,” delivering their lengthiest verses on the album, extolling their skills as emcees. “Travel round the world with my mind at ease,” Run boasts. “No Calvin Klein, just wearing Lee’s.” DMC, as always, is a commanding presence on the mic, booming, “When I perform, many hearts I warm / I’m better known, as the Quiet Storm / I don’t talk too much but I got beef / When I kill emcees, I cause grief.” Jay continues to showcase his prowess on the tables providing his scratches throughout the track, but really getting loose during the extended outro”.

It is fascinating looking at a run of three phenomenal albums. How the former compelled and built to the second which then affected the latter. From The Beatles to Madonna to Radiohead, we can look at their trios of classic albums and the relationship between them. I don’t think that it is fair to say King of Rock is a lesser cousin of Run-D.M.C. and Raising Hell. It is a stunning album from one of Hip-Hop’s true pioneers. I will move on to a review from AllMusic. They shared their thoughts on an album that warrants more discussion and investigation:

“Take the title of Run-D.M.C.'s King of Rock somewhat literally. True, the trailblazing rap crew hardly abandoned hip-hop on their second album, but they did follow through on the blueprint of their debut, emphasizing the rock leanings that formed the subtext of Run-D.M.C. Nearly every cut surges forward on thundering drum machines and simple power chords, with the tempos picked up a notch and the production hitting like a punch to the stomach. If the debut suggested hard rock, this feels like hard rock -- over-amplified, brutal, and intoxicating in its sheer sonic force. What really makes King of Rock work is that it sounds tougher and is smarter than almost all of the rock and metal records of its time. There is an urgency to the music unheard in the hard rock of the '80s -- a sense of inevitability to the riffs and rhythms, balanced by the justified boasting of Run and D.M.C. Most of their rhymes are devoted to party jams or bragging, but nobody was sharper, funnier, or as clever as this duo, nor was there a DJ better than Jam Master Jay, who not just forms the backbone of their music, but also has two great showcases in "Jam-Master Jammin'" and "Darryl and Joe" (the latter one of two exceptions to the rock rules of the album, the other being the genre-pushing "Roots, Rap, Reggae," one of the first rap tracks to make explicit the links between hip-hop and reggae). Even if there a pronounced rock influence throughout King of Rock, what makes it so remarkable is that it never sounds like a concession in order to win a larger audience. No matter how many metallic guitar riffs are on the record, this music is as raw and street-level as the debut. It manages to be just as dynamic, exciting, and timeless as that album, as it expands the definition of what both Run-D.M.C. and rap could do”.

Before finishing up, I will bring in a review from Rolling Stone. King of Rock and You Talk Too Much are among Run-D.M.C.’s most popular and recognisable tracks. Ahead of its fortieth anniversary on 21st January, I was keen to spend some time with an underrated and terrific classic. I hope others discuss King of Rock and ensure it is heard and seen by a new generation:

"I'm the king of rock, there is none higher," insists D.M.C. at the beginning of the title cut, adding, "Sucker emcees should call me Sire!" It's an outrageous boast, even given the usual braggadocio of rap artists, but for all its audacity, it's a rhyme that's damned hard to refute. There may be better rappers around than Run and D.M.C., but together with Jam Master Jay they make the freshest team you're likely to hear, and in hip-hop circles, fresh is the compliment that counts.

What makes Run-D.M.C. so different? Its sound, for one thing. Where most rappers try to bring home the beat by working out verbal variations on the band's groove, Run-D.M.C. attacks on all fronts. The drum tracks treat the beat like a basketball being slam-dunked; Jam Master Jay slips and slides through the rhythm with his scratching and cutting; even Run and D.M.C. get into the game, adding emphasis with lines or by dropping in and out of unison. And their delivery is so well integrated into a rap's pulse that you almost hear them twice, first as part of the dance beat, and then as part of the story.

Catching every word is important, though, because Joe Simmons and Darryl McDaniels – Run and D.M.C. – definitely have something to say. Even though King of Rock offers nothing on the level of their first single, "It's Like That," the LP does deliver some worthwhile commentary. "You're Blind" uses an ominous guitar riff to punch holes in some of the illusions about underclass life, while "Roots, Rap, Reggae," cut with Yellowman, pays belated tribute to the musical connections between Kingston and the Bronx. Jam Master Jay gets into the act on "It's Not Funny." backing the hard-time rap with a scratch-mixed groove built from an angry "ha, ha – very funny."

But the most resonant moments on King of Rock come from the way the trio employs electric guitar. This isn't entirely new – on Run-D.M.C., their debut LP, "Rock Box" dressed up the pulse of an electric drum with the whine of heavy-metal guitar – but "King of Rock" takes the idea to the limit, letting Run-D.M.C. crunch and pop like a sort of hip-hop Black Sabbath. It's a real breakthrough, because by demonstrating that both rap and heavy metal run on the same primal energy, Run-D.M.C. makes an important point: The difference between one fan's music and another's is not nearly as great as radio or MTV might suggest. Whether or not Run and D.M.C. will extend their reign outside of their current following remains to be seen, but King of Rock shows that these guys are no mere pretenders to the throne. (RS 444)”.

For those who are not aware of Run-D.M.C.’s second studio album, I would advise people to check it out. King of Rock is a the second of a golden run of albums from the Queens legends. Not as played and talked about as much as it should be, I think it still sounds fresh and relevant today. An album that has no doubt inspired other artists. If you have not played it in a while, then please do…

SPEND some time with it.

FEATURE: Changes: Remembering the Iconic David Bowie

FEATURE:

 

 

Changes

IN THIS PHOTO: David Bowie in 1975/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Schapiro

Remembering the Iconic David Bowie

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IT is quite bittersweet…

PHOTO CREDIT: Christian Simonpietri/Sygma/VCG via Getty Images

entering a new year and having to think about a music icon that is no longer with us. David Bowie would have celebrated his seventy-eighth birthday on 8th January. On 10th January, we remember Bowie as it will be nine year since he died. Such a shock that nobody was prepared for, the world lost one of music’s all-time greats. To both mark his birthday and also remembering him, I will end this feature with a mixture of David Bowie classics and some deeper cuts. I know other people will pay tribute to David Bowie in their own way. It is hard to believe he has been gone for nine years now! His absence is still being felt. Nobody in music quite like him there will ever be another with his mix of talent and invention. Prior to coming to that playlist, I want to bring in Biography’s words about one of music’s pioneers:

“Who Was David Bowie?

Rock star David Bowie's first hit was the song "Space Oddity" in 1969. The original pop chameleon, Bowie became a fantastical sci-fi character for his breakout Ziggy Stardust album. He later co-wrote "Fame" with Carlos Alomar and John Lennon, which became his first American No. 1 single in 1975. An accomplished actor, Bowie starred in The Man Who Fell to Earth in 1976. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Shortly after releasing his final album, Bowie died from cancer on January 10, 2016.

Early Years

Known as a musical chameleon for his ever-changing appearance and sound, David Bowie was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, South London, England, on January 8, 1947.

Bowie showed an interest in music from an early age and began playing the saxophone at age 13. He was greatly influenced by his half-brother Terry, who was nine years older and exposed the young Bowie to the worlds of rock music and beat literature.

But Terry had his demons, and his mental illness, which forced the family to commit him to an institution, haunted Bowie for a good deal of his life. Terry committed suicide in 1985, a tragedy that became the focal point of Bowie's later song, "Jump They Say."

After graduating from Bromley Technical High School at 16, Bowie started working as a commercial artist. He also continued to play music, hooking up with a number of bands and leading a group himself called Davy Jones and the Lower Third. Several singles came out of this period, but nothing that gave the young performer the kind of commercial traction he needed.

Out of fear of being confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees, David changed his last name to Bowie, a name that was inspired by the knife developed by the 19th-century American pioneer Jim Bowie.

Eventually, Bowie went out on his own. But after recording an unsuccessful solo album, Bowie exited the music world for a temporary period. Like so much of his later life, these few years proved to be incredibly experimental for the young artist. For several weeks in 1967 he lived at a Buddhist monastery in Scotland. Bowie later started his own mime troupe called Feathers.

Around this time he also met the American-born Angela Barnett. The two married on March 20, 1970, and had one son together, whom they nicknamed "Zowie," in 1971, before divorcing in 1980. He is now known by his birth name, Duncan Jones.

Pop Star

By early 1969, Bowie had returned full time to music. He signed a deal with Mercury Records and that summer released the single "Space Oddity." Bowie later said the song came to him after seeing Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey: "I went stoned out of my mind to see the movie and it really freaked me out, especially the trip passage."

The song quickly resonated with the public, sparked in large part by the BBC's use of the single during its coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The song enjoyed later success after being released in the United States in 1972, climbing to number 15 on the charts.

Bowie's next album, The Man Who Sold the World (1970), further catapulted him to stardom. The record offered up a heavier rock sound than anything Bowie had done before and included the song "All the Madmen," about his institutionalized brother, Terry. His next work, 1971's Hunky Dory, featured two hits: the title track that was a tribute to Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan; and "Changes," which came to embody Bowie himself.

Meet Ziggy Stardust

As Bowie's celebrity profile increased, so did his desire to keep fans and critics guessing. He claimed he was gay and then introduced the pop world to Ziggy Stardust, Bowie's imagining of a doomed rock star, and his backing group, The Spiders from Mars.

His 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, made him a superstar. Dressed in wild costumes that spoke of some kind of wild future, Bowie, portraying Stardust himself, signaled a new age in rock music, one that seemed to officially announce the end of the 1960s and the Woodstock era.

More Changes

But just as quickly as Bowie transformed himself into Stardust, he changed again. He leveraged his celebrity and produced albums for Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. In 1973, he disbanded the Spiders and shelved his Stardust persona. Bowie continued on in a similar glam rock style with the album Aladdin Sane (1973), which featured "The Jean Genie" and "Let's Spend the Night Together," his collaboration with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Around this time he showed his affection for his early days in the English mod scene and released Pin Ups, an album filled with cover songs originally recorded by a host of popular bands, including Pretty Things and Pink Floyd.

By the mid 1970s, Bowie had undergone a full-scale makeover. Gone were the outrageous costumes and garish sets. In two short years, he released the albums David Live (1974) and Young Americans (1975). The latter album featured backing vocals by a young Luther Vandross and included the song "Fame," co-written with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar, which became Bowie’s first American number one single.

In 1980, Bowie, now living in New York, released Scary Monsters, a much-lauded album that featured the single "Ashes to Ashes," a sort of updated version of his earlier "Space Oddity."

Three years later Bowie recorded Let's Dance (1983), an album that contained a bevy of hits such as the title track, "Modern Love" and "China Girl," and featured the guitar work of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Of course, Bowie's interests didn't just reside with music. His love of film helped land him the title role in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). In 1980, Bowie starred on Broadway in The Elephant Man, and was critically acclaimed for his performance. In 1986, he starred as Jareth, the Goblin King, in the fantasy-adventure film Labyrinth, directed by Jim Henson and produced by George Lucas. Bowie performed opposite teenage Jennifer Connolly and a cast of puppets in the movie, which became a 1980s cult classic.

Over the next decade, Bowie bounced back and forth between acting and music, with the latter especially suffering. Outside of a couple of modest hits, Bowie's musical career languished. His side project with musicians Reeve Gabrels and Tony and Hunt Sales, known as Tin Machine, released two albums, Tin Machine (1989) and Tin Machine II (1991), which both proved to be flops. His much-hyped album Black Tie White Noise (1993), which Bowie described as a wedding gift to his new wife, supermodel Iman, also struggled to resonate with record buyers.

Oddly enough, the most popular Bowie creation of that period was Bowie Bonds, financial securities the artist himself backed with royalties from his pre-1990 work. Bowie issued the bonds in 1997 and earned $55 million from the sale. The rights to his back catalog were returned to him when the bonds matured in 2007.

Later Years

In 2004, Bowie received a major health scare when he suffered a heart attack while on stage in Germany. He made a full recovery and went on to work with bands such as Arcade Fire and with the actress Scarlett Johansson on her album Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008), a collection of Tom Waits covers.

Bowie, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, was a 2006 recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He kept a low profile for several years until the release of his 2013 album The Next Day, which skyrocketed to number 2 on the Billboard charts. The following year, Bowie released a greatest hits collection, Nothing Has Changed, which featured the new song "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)." In 2015, he collaborated on Lazarus, an Off-Broadway rock musical starring Michael C. Hall, which revisited his character from The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Bowie released Blackstar, his final album, on January 8, 2016, his 69th birthday. New York Times critic Jon Pareles noted that it was a "strange, daring and ultimately rewarding" work "with a mood darkened by bitter awareness of mortality." Only a few days later, the world would learn that the record had been made under difficult circumstances.

Death and Legacy

The music icon died on January 10, 2016, two days after his 69th birthday. A post on his Facebook page read: “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer."

He was survived by his wife Iman, his son Duncan Jones and daughter Alexandria, and his step-daughter Zulekha Haywood. Bowie also left behind an impressive musical legacy, which included 26 albums. His producer and friend Tony Visconti wrote on Facebook that his last record, Blackstar, was "his parting gift."

Friends and fans were heartbroken at his passing. Iggy Pop wrote on Twitter that "David's friendship was the light of my life. I never met such a brilliant person." The Rolling Stones remembered him on Twitter as "a wonderful and kind man" and "a true original." And even those who didn't know personally felt the impact of his work. Kanye West tweeted, "David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations." Madonna posted "This great Artist changed my life!"

In February 2017, Bowie was recognized for the success of his final album, as he was named the winner in the Best Alternative Rock Album, Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical), Best Recording Package, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song categories at the Grammy Awards.

In late 2017, HBO unveiled a trailer for the documentary David Bowie: The Last Five Years, which explores the period in which the artist released his final two albums and brought his stage musical to life. Airing January 8, 2018, on what would have been his 71st birthday, the documentary features never-before-seen footage of Bowie and conversations with the musicians, producers and music video directors who worked with him on his final tour.

In the spring of 2018, Spotify's "David Bowie Subway Takeover" was unveiled in New York City's interconnected Broadway-Lafayette and Bleecker Street stations. An extension of the "David Bowie Is" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, the subway displays included splashy photos, fan artwork and quotes from the musician, with each major piece containing a Spotify code for audio accompaniment”.

On 8th January, we celebrate David Bowie’s seventy-eighth birthday. It is sad knowing that two days later we mark nine years since he died. With his final album arriving on his birthday and two days before his death, he left this masterpiece, Blackstar. It will take many years before many of us can get our heads around the fact this idol is not around anymore. What we can do is celebrate his music and what he left the world. A true original that will inspire and be remembered for decades and possibly centuries to come, you cannot ask for more than that! To honour David Bowie, below is a career-spanning playlist combining a lot of his better-known numbers but also some lesser-played works. It goes to show that the Starman was…

LIGHT years ahead of everyone.

FEATURE: Jeux Sans Frontières: Will Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel Ever Collaborate Again?

FEATURE:

 

 

Jeux Sans Frontières

IN THIS PHOTO: Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush attending the BPI Awards in London on 9th February, 1987 after winning in their categories (Gabriel won British Male Solo Artist (and Best Video of the Year for Sledgehammer), whilst Bush won in the British Female Solo Artist category)/PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

Will Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel Ever Collaborate Again?

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THERE are few people…

IN THIS PHOTO: Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush on stage together during a benefit concert for Bill Duffield at the Hammersmith Odeon on 12th May, 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Max Browne

more influential to Kate Bush than Peter Gabriel. I have written before how they were connected through the years. In brief, their first association was during a benefit concert Kate Bush held for Bill Duffield in London in 1979. He was a young lighting assistant/engineer who tragically died during the warm-up gig for The Tour of Life. In his memory, Bush made one of her tour dates a benefit for someone who she knew briefly but liked very much. Steve Harley was also on the bill (he and Peter Gabriel had previously worked with Bill Duffield). Peter Gabriel would inspire Bush to embrace technologies like the Fairlight CMI. He introduced her to that revolutionary piece of kit. She also recorded at Townhouse Studios for The Dreaming (1982). Gabriel recorded there previously and she was compelled to use that space because of him. There was a time when they were going to write a song together called Ibiza. That never came to pass. Bush appeared on three Peter Gabriel songs across two albums. For his third eponymous album released in 1980 (otherwise known as Melt), Bush provided backing vocals for Games Without Frontiers and No Self Control. Even if those two songs involved little more than small input from Bush, it was hugely effective. She is haunting on Self Control; seductive on Games Without Frontiers. The two had this close friendship. Bush took guidance from Gabriel when it came to emphasising percussion and putting that up front. How he recorded and the sort of sounds he put into his albums. In 2000, Gabriel accidentally let slip to the world that Kate Bush had a son (Bertie was born in 1998). That blew up in the tabloids. He almost let slip that Bush was planning a 2014 residency! I am not sure whether those blunders cost them their friendship, though I think they are still quite close.

That is a very rushed and brief overview of their history. From 1979, there was this kinship. Both very assured and pioneering artists who were experimental and built their own studios, Bush would appear on a Peter Gabriel song for the third time for Don’t Give Up. Released in 1986, it is a song where Gabriel and Bush compliment each other perfectly. Initially the part was going to go to Dolly Parton but she turned it down. Even if Bush’s first take was not to her satisfaction and she needed to record her vocal again, what she produced was perfect! The video of the two embracing is so beautiful and tender. I will move on in a minute. Before that, I want to bring in a feature from PROG, where we learn about how Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel came together. From a tragic event was born this decades-long friendship:

“In 1979, an accidental death during Kate Bush's UK tour led to a chance meeting with Peter Gabriel, and a creative partnership was born from tragedy

When Kate Bush embarked on her groundbreaking The Tour Of Life in spring 1979, it turned the notion of a live concert on its head. Fully choreographed by Anthony Van Laast, the sold-out 28-date tour was a visualisation of her first two albums, The Kick Inside and Lionheart. Much was made of it costing between £200,000 and £250,000 and employing 40 people – it was just at the very cusp of the touring industry being taken seriously. Such was the furore about the upcoming spectacle, there was a BBC TV Nationwide special on the tour to coincide with the opening night at Liverpool Empire.

However, for Bush, it would end up being overshadowed by the tragic, accidental death of Bill Duffield, her 21-year-old lighting director. On April 2, 1979, after a warm-up gig at Poole Arts Centre, Duffield was undertaking the so-called ‘idiot check’ where the final crew member present inspects the entire performance area to make sure nothing has been left behind. He fell 17 feet through an unlit open panel on the stage to a concrete floor below and died a week later in hospital from his injuries.

A memorial concert for Duffield was planned at the end of Bush’s tour on May 12 at Hammersmith Odeon. The evening was to be an emotional tour de force, where Bush was joined by two artists who had previously worked closely with Duffield – Peter Gabriel and Steve Harley. They duetted with Bush on Them Heavy People and The Man With The Child In His Eyes. Bush joined Gabriel on his yet-to-be released I Don’t Remember and they all sang The Beatles’ Let It Be to close.

If Duffield had not died, Bush and Gabriel may not have met. They hit it off immediately; Gabriel’s painstakingly free approach to his work was to inform her in a way few artists had ever done. The meeting had a profound effect on her – within months she would be singing on Gabriel’s third album, and through those recording sessions, she first encountered the Fairlight CMI synthesiser. Years later, in 1986, she accompanied him on one of his most powerful statements.

An evocative ballad, Don’t Give Up was partially inspired by the startlingly evocative Dorothea Lange pictures of Americans during the Great Depression. Written as a duet, Gabriel initially envisioned Dolly Parton to sing with him. Instead he turned to Bush, who was then enjoying huge commercial success in the wake of Hounds Of Love, to add the impassioned female vocal part. Over the gentle swell of Richard Tee’s gospel-influenced piano part, the song was a masterpiece of understatement that was in step with the straightened times lurking beneath the shiny veneer of the era.

Don’t Give Up spoke directly to a disaffected population. In 1981, Margaret Thatcher’s Employment Secretary Norman Tebbit infamously used an analogy about his father being out of work in the 30s, and instead of rioting, he got on his bike and looked for work. This became interpreted popularly as telling the unemployed to ‘get on their bike’ to find a job. Gabriel’s tale of a dispirited man at the end of his tether looking for work touched a raw nerve with millions of listeners in the UK and, latterly, the world”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate and Paddy Bush alongside Peter Gabriel during recording of Bush’s 1979 Christmas special, Kate/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

The two crossed paths at various times through their career. Whether it was sharing a stage at an award show or when Peter Gabriel was on Kate Bush’s 1979 Christmas special, they were very much in each other lives a lot. There is no doubt that Gabriel was this exciting and unique musician that spoke to Kate Bush in a way few others have. In terms of his use of technology and how unusual his music was compered to the mainstream and artists around them. I am going to include as many videos and photos of them together before wrapping up. I will come to the main point of this feature shortly enough. On the credits for Bush’s 1980 album, Never for Ever, she thanked Peter Gabriel for “opening the windows”. In the sense that he provided her with inspiration. The connection with the Fairlight CMI. Jon Kelly, who produced Never for Ever with Kate Bush, recalled how Peter Gabriel would pop into the studio a few times and sit there quietly and watch. I can hear shades of Peter Gabriel’s previous albums in Never for Ever. Songs like Babooshka, I feel, connect to Peter Gabriel. Maybe he was getting ideas for his next album. His fourth eponymous album, released in 1982 (otherwise known as Security), could have taken elements from Never for Ever. Also, Bush would have been influenced by Peter Gabriel’s music at the time for 1982’s The Dreaming. Hounds of Love maybe in some ways influencing Peter Gabriel’s So. They were definitely keeping an eye on each other. There is a suggestion from some that Kate Bush’s befriending of Peter Gabriel was quite calculated.

The fact Kate Bush wanted to be just like Peter Gabriel. Maybe there was some of that at the start, through there was an instant connection and mutual respect. They had a lot in common and there was never any real competitiveness. Bush and Gabriel always respectful of one another. It would be cynical to suggest that Bush zeroed in on Gabriel for commercial and musical gain. She approached him to play that 1979 benefit concert for Bill Duffield. There was this sense of reciprocation. Bush appeared on two Peter Gabriel albums. He featured in her Christmas special. Gabriel had this unorthodox music approach, less-than-traditional lyrics and was a visionary. This definitely appealed to Kate Bush. She said in an interview how Gabriel was the only artist who had the same approach as her, in the sense he was going for the emotional content of the lyrics. He also changed his voice too for various tracks. It was during the Never for Ever sessions Bush was invited to Townhouse to record with Gabriel. That experience opened her eyes. A studio she would soon use, it was also perhaps the first time Bush collaborated with another artist for a studio album. She did collaborated with Roy Harper, but in terms of frequency, Gabriel might have been key in terms of casting Bush’s voice in a different context. I also forgot that Bush performed with Peter Gabriel on I Don’t Remember during the 1979 Bill Duffield tribute. So it is four Gabriel songs in total (three studio and one live outing). I always forget (ironically!) I Don’t Remember, as people really talk about Games Without Frontiers and No Self Control. I am not surprised they did not manage to write Ibiza together. Both are independent songwriters and would have found it hard to share a song and make it work. Bush was clearly enamoured and in awe of the technology Peter Gabriel had at Townhouse, and that really influenced her when she recorded The Dreaming. It is her most Gabriel-sounding album.

Kate Bush was particularly impressed by the gated drum sound that Gabriel used at Townhouse. You can hear that on numbers through The Dreaming. Hugh Padgham was the engineer for Melt. Bush went worked with Padgham in 1981 for The Dreaming. Though he doesn’t have fond recollections of their time together – maybe too much experimenting and it not being that engaging -, it shows that Bush was taking sounds, technology and even personnel from Peter Gabriel! What always intrigues me is how Gabriel has not appeared on a Kate Bush album. Neither have really talked about that omission. No doubt Bush would have been tempted to ask him and maybe include Gabriel on Never for Ever or The Dreaming. Bush used backing vocalists for albums to that point, though no truly big artists had ever appeared on her albums at that point. Maybe they would steal focus or it would seem like an easy way for her to get attention. I often wonder what it would have been like if Peter Gabriel appeared on a few tracks from The Dreaming. Maybe popping in to help on Get Out of My House, Houdini, Pull Out the Pin or even Sat in Your Lap. He could have provided male vocals for a few lines on All the Love. I think the fact Bush was not writing for men or doing duets meant that it would have been hard to include Gabriel. Would he have been happy doing backing vocals similar to the ones Bush did for him in 1980?! Instead, it was a case of Bush appearing on Gabriel’s albums and the two of them keeping this friendship going. There was not a lot of interaction after 1987. There are three albums where I feel Gabriel could have appeared but did not – and I wonder if he was asked.

The first is 1993’s The Red Shoes. That album featured guest vocals by Prince and Lenny Henry (among others). There are songs on there I could well see Gabriel fitting into. Perhaps more instrumentally than vocally. 2005’s Aerial could have benefited from his vocals. On Somewhere in Between, where Bush sings with the late and missed Gary Brooker. I always felt that was a song that had Peter Gabriel written over it. Though Brooker is wonderful, was Peter Gabriel ever in her thoughts?! The same could be said for tracks on 50 Words for Snow. Gabriel could have done the vocal that Andy Fairweather Low does for Wild Man. Maybe he could have been included in a track like Lake Tahoe. All these possibilities. The creative partnership running between 1979-1986/’87 (they performed on stage together in 1987 for Amnesty International’s Secret Policeman's Third Ball at the London Palladium on 26th March). Even though they are still friends, why was there no further studio collaboration post-1987? You can read about the artists Bush collaborated with here. She never did get to work with a hero of hers, David Bowie. Paul McCartney has not appeared on her albums. I would, above all else, love to hear Peter Gabriel on a Kate Bush album as it would reignite this creative bond. Gabriel is still so innovating. His latest album, 2023’s i/o, was hugely acclaimed. With Gabriel still recording and Bush stating she is down to consider working on a new album, there is this question as to whether the two friends will join forces. I would love to hear Peter Gabriel in the mix! Maybe not a duet like Don’t Give Up, there would be this blank canvas where Gabriel could be included.

Who knows. I have been thinking about them both and how they came together. In such odd and unhappy circumstances, Bush was clearly bonded quickly with Gabriel. Seeing the way he worked, the two observed each other work and there was this connection. Bush appearing on four Peter Gabriel songs and the two performing together for her 1979 Christmas special. It is clear they kept in contact for years after 1987, though no new studio collaboration. We can never write the possibility off. Many hope a new Kate Bush album has fewer collections than 50 Words for Snow. If there was only one spot, people might want someone like Björk. Maybe Paul McCartney. For me, it would be Peter Gabriel. This studio reunion between two old friends who have a very similar musical mindset, fans of both would love it! It is a new year and there are all sort of potential bits of news. How awesome would it be if one were that Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush were working together! In 2011, during an interview with The Quietus, Peter Gabriel was asked about Don’t Give Up:

“With ‘Don’t Give Up’, did you originally ask Kate Bush to recreate her part or did you choose Ane Brun for the project?

PG: Well, I wanted to do it this way because I’d been singing it on tour with Ane and she’d been doing such a beautiful job. There’s an interesting story about this song. Because there was this reference point of American roots music in it when I first wrote it, it was suggested that Dolly Parton sing on it. But Dolly turned it down… and I’m glad she did because what Kate did on it is… brilliant. It’s an odd song, a number of people have written to me and said they didn’t commit suicide because they had that song on repeat or whatever, and obviously you don’t think about things like that when you’re writing them. But obviously a lot of the power of the song came from the way that Kate sings it”.

Will we see Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel uniting in 2025?! We can never rule it out. One of the most interesting chapters of her career is her respect of and work with Gabriel. How they have this long and loving friendship. I wonder when the last time is they spoke. If they exchange Christmas cards! It is clear that the geniuses are incredibly similar artists and have this singular talent. It would be a real dream if the two stepped into the studio together…

ONCE again.

FEATURE: The Boy from Greenwich: Remembering the Great Del Palmer

FEATURE:

 

 

The Boy from Greenwich

Remembering the Great Del Palmer

_________

ON 5th January, 2024…

PHOTO CREDIT: Syra Larkin on Facebook

the Kate Bush community was rocked to its core. We have had to hear news of people who Kate Bush has worked with pass. From dancers to musicians who played with her, the losses are always tragic. However, when we think of that inner circle and those closest to her, we have not had to endure that kind of shock. Her two brothers Paddy and John are still wish us (and hopefully will be for a very long time). Bush lost her parents years ago and Bush herself has been in good health. It is that stability that and comfort that we hope will not shift for a very long time. However, arguably someone who counts as a member of the Bush family was Del Palmer (born in Greenwich on 3rd November, 1952). In terms of his significance and closeness to Kate Bush. The two dated for decades and were very close. Palmer played on most of Bush’s albums. They were part of the KT Bush Band in 1977. Palmer was part of The Tour of Life in 1979 and was a close friend of the Bush family. Someone who brought so much to Kate Bush’s life, his honesty and directness was valuable to her. When so many people said everything she did was great and were afraid of hurting her, Del Palmer could cut through that. It was an invaluable sounding board. A terrific bass player who was a key part of the mix for her studio albums, Palmer initially started off being part of Bush’s band and entourage. He started to eventually engineer her albums and was the sole engineer for her most recent album, 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. You could hear Palmer’s expertise and influence on albums such as The Dreaming (1982) and Hounds of Love (1985). As he and Kate Bush were in a relationship, he would often be by her side and there for gruelling recording sessions. The person that she confided in and would be this crucial collaborator, even though they broke up, Del Palmer remained in her life. One of the only people she could trust with her music, Palmer’s death on 5th January last year was a massive shock.

I had no idea Palmer was ill at all. I know he had stepped away from his Facebook page for a bit and was less active, though I assumed that was because he and Kate Bush were working on an album together. It was obviously because he was ill. It was a massive blow to learn of his death at the age of seventy-one. Like a family member to Bush, this is what she posted on 10th January last year:

“It’s hard to know what to say… He was a big part of my life and my work for many years.

It’s going to take a long time to come to terms with him not being here with us.

He was incredibly creative – talented in lots of different ways. He was a brilliant musician, bass player, a great artist – he was always drawing. Once he covered a whole recording consul in cartoons. It took him days and it looked absolutely stunning.

He taught himself to be a recording engineer, engineering several of my albums and later releasing his own.

I’m going to miss him terribly.

Kate”.

Being such a personal loss, Bush kept it brief but expressed her huge shock. It would have been news that devastated her. Many wondered what Del Palmer’s death would mean for future Kate Bush music. As her engineer, would she want to work with someone else? Bush intimated recently that she was keen to work on new material, though it will be strange that Del Palmer is not there anymore! Whether it is his distinct bass work or his incredible engineering, there will be this bittersweet quality to Bush’s as-yet-unannounced eleventh studio album.

I wanted to commemorate Del Palmer ahead of the first anniversary of his death. Bring in some interview with him from the archives. I have been reading biographies of Kate Bush and moved by the way Del Palmer was still very close to Kate Bush after they broke. In 1993, when there was promotion for the short film Bush wrote, directed and starred in, The Line, the Cross and the Curve, Palmer accompanied her on promotional duties. Like the Hounds of Love premiere in 1985, Palmer was by Bush’s side in 1993 and 1994 when she was promoting her film. That film premiere was in November 1993. When Bush jetted to New York, Palmer was with her. In 1994, at a fan convention, Del Palmer was there and helped with the auction. Even though they ended a fifteen-year romance, Palmer and Bush were close. He even moved to Reading and was close to where Bush lived. People would observe Bush’s new partner Danny McIntosh working in the house with Del Palmer in the studio. It was like an extended family!

IN THIS PHOTO: Del Palmer and Kate Bush at the premiere for Hounds of Love on 9th September, 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

This undying friendship that remained to the end. Palmer was there for the hardest times. When Bush’s mother died in 1992, Palmer no doubt would have provided a comforting shoulder and that reliability. Being a good friend who cared for her very much. In 1994 when she was in New York and looked visibly exhausted and drained. He was there at the start of her career to give her moral and musical support. Right by her side when making the masterpiece, Hounds of Love. Even though there were arguments and frequent disagreements, there was a great deal of love and mutual respect. Del Palmer in awe of Kate Bush’s talent, to the extent that he could not work with anyone else. It is important to remember the great man a year after his death. Last year starting tragically when we lost someone so loved by Kate Bush fans around the world. One can listen to songs on The Red Shoes such as You’re the One and link them to Del Palmer. It is still hard to believe that he is no longer here!

I will move to two interview with him and then wrap up. Del Palmer spoke with Future Music in November 1993 about working on The Red Shoes. There was also a track-by-track guide to this exciting new album. I have edited it a bit, but I would urge people to read the whole thing:

“After a four-year silence, Kate Bush is back with a new album. Mark Jenkins quizzes producer Del Palmer on the ins and outs of her opus The Red Shoes.

KATE BUSH. One of the most original songwriters/musicians in the popular music world, and certainly the most distinctive British female star around. It's been four years since her last album The Sensual World - only Kraftwerk and Peter Gabriel seem quite as tardy in coming up with new material. Despite a few collaborations with The Comic Strip, Kate hardly seems to have been busy during this time. What has she been up to?

One reason for the silence has been a complete changeover in the set-up at her impressive personal recording studio, at which she started work on The Red Shoes using 48-track analogue techniques, but changed midway to digital recording - along with all the advanced editing possibilities that implies.

At the time of writing, Kate is busy working on videos for the new album, but FM has tracked down Del Palmer. He's worked on all of Kate's albums and engineered and produced Tbe Red Shoes.

He's undoubtedly the best man to supply us with background on the inspiration behind Kate's latest work, the recording techniques involved and to offer a blow-by-blow account of the genesis of each of the album's 12 tracks.

The Red Shoes is set for release on EMI Records on November 1.

Del tells what Katie Did

"ODDLY ENOUGH, the idea of this album," explains Del, "was to get it recorded quickly and get out on to the road with it." Kate's only previously played one short tour. "It didn't work out that way, but the idea did influence the way the album was put together. Because I wanted to concentrate on engineering and didn't want to be in the live band, I didn't play much bass on the album, and we used the same drummer and bassist - Stuart Elliott and John Giblin - almost throughout. A lot of the time we got them to play together live to create a consistent backing for a song, even if we had to go back and change that as the song developed.

Now, with plans for live performances of The Red Shoes shelved, listeners are left with an album which has a preponderance of tight, live-sounding tracks. Some of these will be aired in a 50-minute film which, like the album itself, is influenced by the tale of The Red Shoes filmed by Michael Powell in the 1950s. The film will feature Kate herself in an acting role as well as Miranda Richardson, choreography from Lindsay Kemp and work from Terry (Monty Python) Gilliam's animation studio.

Let's take a track-by-track look at how The Red Shoes came together.

Rubberband Girl

Chosen as first single from the album, Rubberband Girl is up-tempo and infectiously melodic. Originally, the first single was intended to be Eat The Music. but during the production of the film to accompany the album, Rubberband Girl seemed to be catching everyone's imagination, and has proved to be a substantial chart success.

Although the song has a relatively straightforward pop/rock feel, the vocals are multi-tracked and some of them seem incredibly low-pitched. "This song and And So Is Love are typical of the live band feel," explains Del. "We were trying to create a very accessible, live sound and the fastest way to record was to have at least two or three people playing together initially.

"On Rubberband Girl the bass, drums and basic keyboards were all done together, but we did change the whole track afterwards in the sense of editing it digitally rather than re-doing tracks. The bass and drum sound was important because we wanted to have them consistent throughout the album."

Although Stuart Elliot and John Giblin's performances tended to go on to tape 'live' at an early stage, this didn't avoid the need for subsequent changes. "When you put later tracks down, the earlier ones sometimes have to change because the whole feel of the piece changes. Sometimes we had to do the bass and drums three or four times, not because we were unhappy with the original performances, but because the feel of the song had altered as new tracks were added. Rubberband Girl is one of the few that worked first time - it just has a basic rock feel with a riffing guitar, the backing vocals went down first and then we tried various lyrics and lead vocal ideas.

"In most songs the lyrics change a lot during the recording process, although a basic seed remains solid. It often gets to the point of struggling over just one word which has to be returned to many times -there's never any pressure to write a song to fill a particular function, like acting as a single or being a very slow ballad, so the whole feel can often change,"

And So Is Love

Del says this is his favouritc track on album. "This one seems to have the most effective band sound to me; we had Gary Brooker (from Procul Harum) on Hammond organ and Eric Clapton on guitar, and that was just a couple of months after his son died. I admired him for doing that - he'd promised to do it and he wanted to stick to his commitment. Eric only really plays in one style, but he's a genius at what he does, so that was a highlight for me.

The track's original backing is a sequenced 4-bar Fairlight pattern which was played to the musicians to give them a feel for the piece.

"Usually we keep more of the Fairlight sound", says del, "but in this case it got scrubbed apart from the toms so it could all stay in strict tempo, so it could all be played live."

Kate's Series III Fairlight is pretty obsolete now, and most of its capabilities could be reproduced by a computer and a couple of Akai S1000s. However, she's got used to the machine over the years and has a lot of favourite sounds on it. "On this track there's a little flute/reed sound, but the Fender piano sound is a real one and the drums are Sl000 samples. We only have a very small room for acoustic recording and the sound of the room tends to get on to drum recordings, so we used a lot of S1000 drum samples triggered from Simmons pads plus real cymbals. Stuart Elliott knows that our drum recorcling can be a long and arduous process and he might get called back four or five times - not because we're unhappy with what he's done, but because the track changes as it develops."

The Song of Solomon

Just as Kate used a section from .James Joyce's Ulysses on The Sensual World album, Song of Solomon uses biblical texts almost verbatim. "This is one of the first tracks we mixed and it's very simple. The sampled harp sound on the Fairlight alternates with the piano - the toms were originally played, but the final sounds are sampled from an Emu percussion unit but with a boomy bottom end added - the originals were more like tablas and they sounded too lightweight along with the ethereal harp and piano. The original tom sound is gated so that it just produces a short click, and the click is used to trigger the Fairlight. We had to advance the track on the digital multi-track to get the timing right, then move it back again with a digital delay so you've got a mixture of toms where some are on the beat and some are slightly off it. The good thing about the Fairlight is that it's stereo so you can sample a whole drum kit in one go."

The Red Shoes

The album's title track seems to have an Irish folk music influence, with a big bass drum sound and an unusual legato bass part, but again this stems from the music of Madagascar. "It's fascinating how music from different parts of the world can have these similarities. All the mandarins and mandolas are played by Paddy, who has really gone into this sort of music, and he also plays all the various whistles and flutes on the track".

Big Stripey Lie

This track is fascinating in that the bass and guitar sounds which seem typical of dub specialist Jah Wobble and quirky American indie rock bands are in fact all played by Kate herself, who picked up a guitar during the recording sessions and within a couple of weeks was asking for Marshall valve guitar amps to be delivered so she could create screaming guitar solos. "It's a sort of stocking-filler track, the last one to be written, and has a sort of Captain Beefheart impersonation on the bass and guitar."

The bass sound is intentionally overdriven on the mixing desk, but also partly results from Kate's style of playing it - her energetic style overloads the compression on the desk without actually creating distortion due to high volume. Chirpy keyboard sounds on a Yamaha DX7 and an unexpected violin part combine to make this one of the most absorbing tracks on the album, despite the fact that it's untypical in its overall recording method - "this one was done quite quickly by the old method of putting down one track ata time, so it's not representative of the band-orientated approach on the rest of the album."

Why Should I Love You

This one actually was recorded in collaboration with Prince - Kate went to see him at a gig and was flattered to be asked to meet him after the show, when they discussed a collaboration. Unable to physically get together in the same room, they swapped multi-track tapes, with a slave reel returning from Prince's Paisley Park studio covered in vocals, guitar solos and keyboards. "The problem then was to put the track back together into something resembling its original form while retaining the best of what Prince had done. He hadn't added one of the vocal parts which would have been particularly good for him, so it basically took two years to put it back together. What's left is his lead guitar, some digital synths and some chorus vocals. Then Lenny Henry came in to do a vocal on the end - he's really got a great voice and ought to be doing a serious record of his own."

You're The One

Again featuring Hammond organ and Fender piano, this track also includes a rare synthesizer melody line and features Jeff Beck on guitar. "His style is completely different from Eric Clapton's - they're both great players but with very different aproaches.Jeff came in a couple of times to fix things up because he wasn't completely happy with them, and the end result is like classic '70's and 80's rock, with the Hammond from Gary Brooker again."

If you're deeply committed to pop of a particular persuasion, listening to The Red Shoes can be a very unsettling experience. Kate Bush has little regard for fashion, transitory musical tastes or transparently obvious lyrics.

If you're in the mood for a sonic experience which stretches the limits of style, vocal technique and compositional mixing and matching, this could be the album for you - and if initial response to the single release of Rubberband Girl is anything to go by, it seems abundantly clear that Kate Bush is back in a big way”.

The final interview is another around The Red Shoes. In December 1993, Sound on Sound spent time with Del Palmer, where we got insight into the sound and sights of Bush’s seventh studio album. It is wonderful reading these words and picturing Palmer and Bush putting the album together. Even if they were separated and now friends, he was clearly proud of working with her:

“[Sidebar] There's been a lot of publicity about Kate Bush's new album, The Red Shoes ; RICHARD BUSKIN goes behind the scenes with engineer/producer Del Palmer to discover exactly how the album was recorded, and how pop's most enigmatic lady really works.

Kate Bush's private studio was initially set up to record demos for Lionheart ; Del Palmer was the only band member interested in operating the tape machine! Fifteen years on, Del is Kate's main man with the faders, and what was once a demo studio has evolved into a sophisticated private recording facility.

Located in barns adjacent to the Bush country home, today's studio is equipped with a 48-channel SSL 4000E console with G-series computer, two Sony 3324A digital machines, a Studer A80 half-inch, and a couple of U-Matic video recorders.

Del takes up the story: "During early 1990, Kate said `I want to do something, I want to go in the studio and work.' During the early stages I can set up a sound for her, set up some keyboards, show what to do on the console, and leave her to it. She'll work for days until she's got something, then we'll get the musicians in and carry on from there."

As both producer and artist, Kate Bush is extremely focused and knows exactly what she wants. So when Del comes up with a particular sound, she wastes no time in telling him whether or not it's what she's looking for.

"There have been lots of times when I've had quite heated arguments with her--I'd say something wouldn't work, to which her response has been, `Indulge me...Just do it.' For example, on the Hounds of Love album there's a part that goes `Help me, baby, help me, baby,' which cuts in and out very quickly, which she wanted to do by turning the tape over and cutting in and out with the records switch. I said it would just be a mess, but she said, `Look, just do it, will you?' So I did it and of course it worked, and I had to eat humble pie. I've eaten so much humble pie over the years that I'm putting on weight!"

Kate is apparently not averse to placing her own fingers on the faders, especially in relation to the vocals as well as much of the instrumentation. "I was able to just set her up with a sound, and she'd take care of it herself," explains Palmer. "She'd record all the vocals, then phone me up and say, `Let's put it all together'."

These days, Kate Bush tends to write about 90% of her material as part of the overall recording process in the studio, largely because of the difficulty of trying to recreate the spontaneity and the feel of the demos.

"We just couldn't do it," says Palmer, "so we decided to use the demos as the basis for the albums. We started off by taking the demos, transferring them, then working on top--then it struck us that we should just do away with that whole process, develop the home studio and record absolutely everything right onto the multitracks and keep everything that was done. Now, a lot of the stuff that we start with doesn't make it right through to the end, but at least the flavour of it does.

"There's no fixed method to how Kate works, but generally speaking she will say, `Can you get me a drum pattern that sounds like this?' She'll sing me something and I'll program the Fairlight with a simple eight-bar loop, never any more than that, and then she'll program a sound in the Fairlight and get a tune going. Then she'll say, `I've got something, can I put a vocal down?' Something that may only amount to `la-la-la-ing`, but almost every time there'll be a specific little bit of lyric that will give her an idea, which in turn becomes the basis for the song. So we put it down, and that becomes the basic demo that we're going to work with; an eight-bar drum pattern, a keyboard and a very rough guide vocal. From that she can tell whether it's worth pursuing an idea or not. Some get discarded at this point, while others progress a little bit further before it becomes obvious that they too are not going to work."

Until the Red Shoes project, it was traditional to bring in the musicians one at a time to record their parts. Firstly--and, from Kate Bush's point of view, most importantly--the drummer, followed by the bass player (often Del Palmer himself); this would then allow her to review how each song was progressing and to make any necessary alterations prior to the guitarists and other musicians entering the fray. This time around, however, it was decided from the outset to record quickly and to aim for more of a band feel, so most of the tracks were recorded with a least bass, drums and, in several cases, keyboards being played together.

Palmer, wishing to concentrate on his role as engineer, didn't play the bass guitar; the same bass player and drummer worked over the course of ten separate days to fuel the group atmosphere, though guide guitars weren't deemed necessary. However, `Rubberband Girl' does feature a keyboard pattern performed by Kate with an acoustic guitar sample.

"On the track `Big Stripey Lie', Kate played electric guitar as well," points out Palmer. "She said to the guitarist we were using, `I'm really into the guitar. I'd really like to be able to play it,' and he said, `Oh, here, play this one (a Fender Stratocaster) for a bit.' So, he showed her a few chords, and--this is no kidding--a week later she was in front of this Marshall stack in the studio giving it her all! I've never seen anything like it. She's a natural--she was playing lead guitar and no one would know it wasn't an experienced guitarist."

THAT VOCAL SOUND

The trademark Kate Bush sound that has been developed over the course of the last four albums owes a lot not only to the pulsating, highly atmospheric, slightly discordant noises that seem to emanate from every direction, but also her own unique vocal style, with its breathy delivery and haunting presence.

"I can't take any credit for Kate's vocal sound," admits Palmer, "because it was originally shown to me by an engineer called Paul Arden who taught me so much. He would explain anything that I asked him about. One day he couldn't make a session, so he said, `Why don't you do it?' So I did, and he showed me how to get the sound which they had started using on The Dreaming. Kate loved it, and ever since then we've been using it.

"Basically, it's all down to an overdose of compression, and the fact that she really knows how to work with it. We set her up with a [Neumann] U47 in the live part of the studio--brick floor and stone walls--so it's very, very live--and then there's loads and loads of compression on the mic. The SSL desk's compression is very violent and works very well for this. So, what's happening is that every time she breathes in, you can hear it, so she has to be very specific in the way that she deals with this. She's backing off from the microphone all the time, really working it. We use a small amount of gating so you'll get the sound of the room and then it cuts off--a bit like the Phil Collins drum sound.

"If Kate's singing really loud she backs off from the mike and then she comes right in close for the quiet stuff, but when she breathes in, she does this to the side. I have to say that from a purely technical standpoint, it's really badly done, there's just so much compression on everything. But I'm not interested in being technical, I just want it to sound good, and if it does, then what's the point of changing it?

"When it comes to the mix you don't have to push the vocal up as high as you might imagine, because with that sound you're getting so much high frequency. It's real borderline stuff. Sometimes you can go too far, and it'll break up or distort, or it'll really blow your ears off, but if you get it just right, you're getting so much high frequency that you can just push the voice right down and it will still cut through everything."

On average, Kate performs four or five vocal passes for each part, and while compiling does take place, there is normally a clear contender for the master take. This is invariably deduced by way of Kate's own vocal chart, on which she makes notes while listening to the various takes. "Usually, Kate will record a complete section of her vocal and it'll work, then I'll just have to patch up a few bits."

When dealing with problems, Palmer tends to steer clear of the old cliche, `we'll sort it out in the mix.' For one thing, as Palmer is quick to point out, you have to be very sure that you *can* sort it out in the mix, so and Kate try to get things right as they put them down on tape. When it came to mixing the album, it was simply a matter of pacing, creating space and giving everything its moment. There were, however, a few exceptions”.

Last summer, there was an auction held of Del Palmer’s estate. Instruments and some of his paintings were sold. There were tributes from newspapers and music magazines. Kate Bush News paid tribute to him. Fans of Kate Bush shared their sorrow, but also the happy memories. How instrumental Palmer was in terms of Kate Bush’s career. He was so loved and cherished. His work lives on. We can hear his incredible musicianship through Bush’s albums. His engineering work. Videos of him being interviewed and appearing next to Bush. He will not be forgotten. On 5th January, it will be a year since his death - and I really hope that there will be remembrance. This incredible person who was in Kate Bush’s life since the 1970s, few meant more to her than him! For that, a year after we lost him, we offer eternal thanks and love…

TO the irreplaceable Del Palmer.

FEATURE: Always Be Mine: Kate Bush: A Role Model for Communities and Outsiders

FEATURE:

 

 

Always Be Mine

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1981/PHOTO CREDIT: Clive Arrowsmith

Kate Bush: A Role Model for Communities and Outsiders

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ONE of the most important…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

aspects of Kate Bush’s influence and legacy is how she has touched communities beyond music. If you think about someone like David Bowie being this L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ icon. He is someone who speaks to outsiders too. Those who may feel alienated and misunderstood. This is the same with Kate Bush. This has been the case with her for years though, after the explosion of attention following the Stranger Things success – where her song, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was used in a key scene -, that has increased. Kate Bush gave Max strength. Whilst not explicitly mention in the series, many have speculated that Max might be bisexual. Max was at the centre a significant storyline that was focused around depression and suicidal thoughts. This occurred in Season 4, where she is targeted by Vecna. Max’s struggles were depicted as a metaphor for overcoming these feelings through a moving scene where she chooses to fight back against her desire to succumb to despair and depression; essentially ‘running up that hill’ to escape Vecna's evil grasp. Although Max didn’t attempt suicide on screen, her narrative is widely interpreted as a powerful representation of mental health struggles and the fight to stay alive. I have modified that from a Google search, though it shows that Kate Bush’s music had a key role in a series and scene that made a big difference to many people. Whether real or imagined, those struggling with mental health issues, being targeted or feeling ostracised, her music and words have huge power and importance. I said I would not return to Stranger Things for a while but, to start off this feature, it is an example of how Kate Bush is still so relevant and influential to this day. Even a song that was released nearly forty years ago, it transcended beyond the T.V. and resonated with people around the world! They identified with Max’s story and, as a consequence, found courage and comfort in Kate Bush’s best-known song.

Although Kate Bush does write songs that are individual and cannot be compared with other artists, there is a universal element to the words. That means her music reaches so many people and has this profound affect. Not only is Bush a role model for various sometimes marginalised communities and those sometimes voiceless. For women everywhere, she represents someone who succeeded in an industry by doing things her way. In an industry that remains sexist and misogynistic. Bush began producing her own work when she was in her early twenties. She was forthright about singles she wanted to have released. Being so strong-willed and independent was something of a revolution that has impacted so many women today. Not to compare her too much to someone like David Bowie, though he is someone people frequently discuss as this role model. An idol for communities like L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ people. Maybe we do not think of Kate Bush like that enough. Even if Kate Bush has not stated an alliance to the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community, it is not only Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) and its success in 2022 that has been adopted by many in that community. A song about men and women swapping places to better understand one another could be applied to misconceptions and prejudices around gender fluidity, sexuality and even trans rights. The latter of which has been in the public eye recently. So many high-profile names showing themselves to be incredibly toxic and transphobic. Kate Bush is someone who has acceptance and love for all people. As such, her music has this very personal meaning. I have no doubt she has saved people’s live. At the very least, she has made countless people feel less alone. This mother stands for comfort! Our queen able to have a deep understanding of people who may feel alone or attacked.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

This is particularly pertinent when you consider how Bush’s music has undergone this generational evolution the past few years. How her songs now are reaching a younger generation that may have recently not known who she is. Even if their only reference is a Hounds of Love classic – one of the biggest desires is for people to go beyond the obvious and dig deeper! -, they at least have this focal point and centre of gravity that they can bond themselves to. With platforms like TikTok and Instagram so powerful and popular, snippets of songs like Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) are shared and can connect with people instantly. It is impossible to say the impact this one song has had in the last two or three years. It is not, as Graeme Thomson writes in his book, Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, about her quirkiness. The costumes, the weird inflections and vocal elements; the videos and visual sensations. There is this openness and frank aspect of her lyrics. Bush has been personal in her lyrics but she has always stated how people interest her most. Not in a satirical or joking way. In a loving and compassionate sense. Bush’s body of work is one of the most positive, affectionate and intelligent in music history. As someone who perhaps sees herself as outsider or shy, she knows how important her music is to people like her. It goes beyond that singular kinship. There is a steeliness and ambition in her music that very few before her demonstrated. With social media being a somewhat toxic forum, various communities come under attack and are subjected to such ignorance. Music cannot completely overturn radicalism and bigotry. What it can and does do is provide voice and connection. Even if an artist has not personally met you, they can give this sense of solidarity and allyship. At the very least, they can give hope and strength against a torrent of blackness and hatred. Kate Bush is an artist who has a large community of fans across all walks of life. Whilst there is no official name like Swifites (Taylor Swift’s fans) or Lovers (Kylie Minogue’s fans), these Fish People/Love Hounds have a mother and idol in Kate Bush!

Bush was and is a maverick. A futurist and icon. Someone who is a visionary with no real comparable peer. She created idiosyncratic work that mixes dark and gothic scenes with stunning natural vistas of sunlight. These weird and wonderful characters and some very real and human emotional hits. It is the variety and breadth of her palette that means Kate Bush is this role model for so many communities. Bush could not have been a success and such an enduring idol if she had succumbed to the worst instincts of the music industry: that demand for more and more work. Bush has managed to protect her privacy and work on her own terms. She has reshaped the world and impacted culture in a way few others have. The 2022 Stranger Things episode was the latest incident of her being this enormous agent for positive and change. Someone who is rarely seen but has this undying and huge influence. Kate Bush is everywhere. One does not even have to think about the extremes of Kate Bush’s genius or her steely determination and `strength to see how she has influenced others. Think about her gentle and kind nature. At a time when nastiness and prejudice is a more fascinating and talked-about commodity than decency, Bush remains this example of a huge artist with no ego or arrogance. This provides incredible strength to not only communities and those who feel alienated; every one of her fans can take something from those wonderful qualities. This feature from 2022 argued how Kate Bush is a role model for gentle souls. These words seemed to sum Kate Bush up: “She remained polite and good natured but private from the world of publicity and gossip. She opted out of competing for status set by the culture and instead carved out her own timeless creative space that was entirely apart from trends and scenes. Most importantly, and here’s the hard part, she directed all of her will-to-power into the creative act and manifested something of such extraordinary uniqueness that she didn’t need to direct it into her personality. To young people growing up in the mean spirited social media age, this makes her a really powerful role model of a different way to be. There is another path for those who want to find it. Her creations will be treasured long after the pushy and the sharp elbowed have been forgotten. As a great man once said, it takes strength to be gentle and kind”.

I shall end with some quotes that support the theory that Kate Bush is an ally and icon for the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community. For other communities that often can feel attacked or not fully embraced. Although this article from 2014 unfairly attacks Miley Cyrus as being a bad role model and argues why Kate Bush is a better one, we need to see the article in healthier terms. Why Kate Bush is a good role for teenage girls (without dragging other artists down):

“The childishness is still there; but bearing in mind we're three decades on from her musical arrival, it's unlikely it's as contrived as it originally seemed. In fact, Bush might be the real Peter Pan of Pop. In her onstage drama she repeatedly presents herself as a fragile dependent abandoned by her appointed protector, forever crying for help. And while she's jettisoned the Wuthering Heights and Babooshkas, she's still drawn to songs like Cloudbusting, about children on the cusp of the disappointment of adulthood.

When it was released in 1985, Rolling Stone said of the Hounds of Love album – which she performed almost in its entirety in her shows this week – "Her vision will seem silly to those who believe children should be seen and not heard". As a 27-year-old she was artistically infantile, but in the most interesting, curious way. Thirty years on, she seems unchanged.

Assuming that the wild-eyed child-fixated figure was for real then, the authentic mighty Bush becomes a fascinating figure in the rock pantheon. Social media went into meltdown when the 22 Hammersmith gigs were announced earlier this year, and the run sold out in 15 minutes. How remarkable, that a middle aged publicity-shy woman without swagger or swank should hold such sway.

And while her natural disposition is a whispery fluttery one, Bush is not afraid of coming on like a no-nonsense mum when needs must. It's unheard of for an audience to put aside their smartphones during a show these days, but after she politely but firmly requested that that her audience maintained direct commination with her onstage, the house adhered. As, you feel confident, she knew they would.

I'm still not a convert to the earth mother thing – though I no longer write it off a mere schtick – but I can't think of many better role models for adolescent girls than Bush. Her unapologetic eccentricity, celebration of creative freedom, and, best of all, knowledge of and faith in her ostensibly weird self, is inspiring and empowering.

Like Miley Cyrus, she was signed to a major label in her teens, but unlike Cyrus (and this might not be Miley's fault) she has always appeared to be in complete control of what she did and how she was presented.

When she used her sexuality it felt like she was celebrating it, rather than employing it as a means of persuasion, pleading or protest. Listen and learn kids. And if you must, dance around a toadstool. Though even Kate Bush can't make that look cool”.

Kate Bush’s oddities and eccentricities – or her refusal to be boring, like everyone else, and be moulded into something the media wants – validates those who listen to her music and are like her. The media still lazily and idiotically labels Bush as a ‘recluse’. Because she is not a fame-hungry artist, she is dismissed as a hermit or someone who shuts herself away. As I have said many times, she is someone very normal who gets out plenty, but just not at premiers and that sort of thing. It is her remarkable reliability and un-starry quality that makes her a role model. I am going to get to two articles as to why Kate Bush is an L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ icon. In 2018, more than forty years since the release of her debut single, Wuthering Heights, Attitude wrote why Kate Bush remains an icon to the gay community:

“Queer people identified with Kate Bush because of that otherness, because of her bravery and defiance, her fearless examination of previously ‘taboo’ themes, and her often high-camp performance style. As Rufus Wainwright told The Guardian in 2006: “She is the older sister that every gay man wants. She connects so well with a gay audience because she is so removed from the real world. She is one of the only artists who makes it appear better to be on the outside than on the inside.”

The magnificent, lushly exotic ‘Kashka from Baghdad’ from 1978’s Lionheart, is one of the prime examples of Kate’s celebration of the joy of the outsider status. “Kashka from Baghdad,” she sings over sensual piano chords, “lives in sin, they say, with another man – but no one knows who.”

Kate fixes her gaze firmly on an outcast couple, the music alternately romantic, enigmatic, and menacing, as male backing vocals chant aggressively behind her as she shrieks “at night / they’re seen / laughing / loving” but, by the time the narrator observes that “they know the way to be happy,” the aggression has subsided into regal elegance.

It’s a powerful statement of approval, and Kate herself put it simply when she told Interview Magazine in 2011: “I just liked the idea of this couple. Nobody really knew much about them—and they’re obviously having a great time.”

Observational songs like ‘Kashka’ highlight Kate’s keen eye for detail and empathetic lyrical style; her warm, graceful acceptance – and endorsement – of homosexual desire marked her out as an LGBT advocate from the outset.

Her frank openness and recognition of a gamut of gender norms and of the reality of sexual fluidity became a recurrent theme in her work; ‘Wow’, a biting satire of the theatrical business, finds Kate singing “He’ll never make the scene / he’ll never make the Sweeney / be that movie queen / he’s too busy hitting the Vaseline.” If we were in any doubt as to her underlying meaning, her performance in the video removes all doubt as she taps her buttock on the payoff line.

Kate’s deep and thoughtful understanding of men in her songs is an underrated value in her arsenal; there are the men sent to war in ‘Army Dreamers’, or the kindly but increasingly distant father figure in ‘The Fog’, the misunderstood mathematician in “Pi,” and, most of all, the exquisite ‘This Woman’s Work’, where she sings about parenthood and birth from the male perspective. And no one could inhabit Peter Gabriel’s lyric as the voice of reason and comfort in ‘Don’t Give Up’ better than Kate Bush.

Kate made hits of these songs, and they remain enduring in the public consciousness. She brought the joys and sorrows of hidden human life to the forefront through normalising phrases and ideas, and streamlined all elements of her craft into a unique musical and visual style.

What at first the public may mistake for novelty, or frivolity, reveals itself over time to be intelligent, compassionate, and wise.

Kate Bush is an LGBT icon for several reasons, not least because she built a successful career, without compromise, on her own terms, with thorough originality, ingenuity, and, crucially, trueness to herself. She did, and continues to do, things her own way, and is undaunted in her distinctiveness and navigation of the peculiarities of life”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performing Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: United Archives/Alamy

In 2022, Pink News charted Kate Bush’s rise from a pioneering ally to an eternal gay icon. The Stranger Things accolades and exposure confirmed that and, in the process, opened up her legacy and work to a new generation of potential fans. Few artists have such an impact on communities like L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ people like Kate Bush:

“Of course, it’s not just the television gods Kate Bush can thank for sustaining her over the years. As with many female pop stars through the ages, a driving force of her enduring popularity has been her deep-rooted connection with the LGBTQ+ community.

“Becoming acquainted with all of Kate’s work was such a unique experience that I’ve never had since. It was like meeting a great friend that you know will be in your life forever,” Olly Waldron, a 23-year-old gay male DJ and Kate Bush superfan, tells PinkNews. To Waldron, Bush’s music offers an escapism from the mundanity of day-to-day life which is very appealing.

“Of course, her earlier performances and videography were exceptionally camp and theatrical. However, the world she built, not only with her storytelling lyricism but also her production, is the most perfect escapism,” he explains. “Kate transcended all norms and genres that were present in the music industry at that time which I think a lot of queer people can relate to.”

For Peter, a 52-year-old graphic designer and self-described ‘queer bloke’, it is Kate Bush’s status as an “outsider” that tethers her permanently to her queer fanbase.

“She holds a special place in the hearts of queer people because she stands proudly on the outside of the ‘straight’ world,” said Peter. “She comes at everything from an obtuse angle.

“She soothes me, she frightens me, she keeps me sane and she lets me be insane. She tells me that as long as she is around, I’m not the only freak.”

Kate Bush wrote a gay love song in the 70s

Although Bush’s pop hits like “Wuthering Heights”, “Babooshka”, and “Running Up That Hill” have delighted dancefloors in gay bars around the world for decades, most super fans will agree that the gayest moment in the singer’s career is undoubtedly the song “Kashka From Baghdad” from her 1978 sophomore album Lionheart.

This typically peculiar song tells the story of a woman watching a gay couple living in the house opposite her who only come out at night as they fear persecution.

“Kashka from Baghdad lives in sin, they say with another man but no one knows who,” Bush sings over a distinct instrumental of piano, strumento da porco and pan pipes. Later in the track she sings of how she “longs to be with them” because “they know the way to be happy.”

“It blows my mind that she wrote and released such a pro-LGBTQ+ song as a teenager in the 1970s when it was then such a taboo subject,” says Olly.

“I was very young when that first came out and I didn’t know what to make of it,” Peter adds. “I couldn’t believe she was singing about homosexuality, it felt almost too much. I was scared I’d heard it wrong, and she was mocking but she wasn’t. I realise what a brave song that was now.”

For the many young Stranger Things fans discovering the enchanting world of Kate Bush for the first time this week, an abundance of spellbinding music and mesmerising performances await.

Bush’s vast catalogue of sounds and images can feel almost insurmountable at first, but it is a mountain so worth climbing for any queer pop music aficionado”.

Kate Bush is someone who gives so much strength and companionship to outsiders. To communities still under attack. Even for those who deal with mental health problems or personal struggles. Her natural compassion and kindness in conversation is represented through her music. Songs that people can identify with and see themselves in. Messages that hold enormous power and can mean different things to different people. From those misunderstood or feeling alone to people who feel like they do not feel like they fit in, Kate Bush is this idol and role model. This will be the case for decades to come. An extraordinary human being who is this singular artist. Determined, independent, idiosyncratic, humble, ambitious, odd yet relatable, Kate Bush has helped transform the lives of so many people. Her music has this incredible power. For those who are thinking of retreating or giving up, she has the ability to ensure that they…

STAY strong.

FEATURE: You Know It's Not for Real, She Just Holds Her Breath: The Unique Way Kate Bush Inhabits Characters

FEATURE:

 

 

You Know It's Not for Real, She Just Holds Her Breath

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

The Unique Way Kate Bush Inhabits Characters

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LIKE with so many of my Kate Bush features…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performing James and the Cold Gun at Poole Arts Centre for The Tour of Life in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Aris

I am turning to the good book. A Kate Bush bible: that would be Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush. As it was updated last year, I have been rereading it and getting all sort of ideas for features. Details I missed the last time I passed through it. One section caught my eye and made me think hard about Bush and her unique talent. It relates to the way Kate Bush inhabits characters. Think about all the great artists and what makes their music special. Many would highlight their voices, lyrics, composition skills or stage presence. There are few that come to mind where their ability to create characters and inhabit multiple worlds is at the top of the list. Maybe David Bowie or Paul McCartney come to mind. Artists that no doubt influenced Kate Bush when she was growing up. Not just doing accents and providing layers of backing vocals. In the sense that Kate Bush’s albums are defined by their variety and nuance. Songs that are all different to one another. How she sees them almost like films, in that there are multiple characters one discovers through her songs. Right from her debut, The Kick Inside, up to and including 2011’s 50 Words for Snow, Bush very much approaches her songs as if she was creating something visual. One might say that this means very little of her music is personal. How many of her tracks are nakedly about her?! You may feel that is a bad thing, though one of Bush’s ultimate strengths is how she can make her music so imaginative. So many major artists are very personal and do not often have other personas or characters through their music. It can make things seem very one-dimensional. Bush has said she doesn’t find herself that interesting.

If all of her songs were about her feelings and life, how engaging would that be for her and the listener?! It made me think about how she approaches the page. Once more coming back to that idea – which I wrote about recently – that films, T.V. and literature enforced her songwriting imagination. How she is fascinated by people. I am going to repeat some details I have included in other features. However, for this piece about Bush modifying and expanding her voice to embody characters and different sides of her personality, it bears repeating. I did write a feature a while ago how it would be cool if there was a book like Alex Pappademas and Joan LeMay’s Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan - American Music Series. In the book, we get more detail about the characters in Steely Dan’s albums. It is a fascinating angle. Kate Bush was also someone who put so many characters through her albums. Even if the book would not be as deep and long, there is still plenty of ammunition and potential! People do not really discuss the cast of people and voices that Bush weaves through all of her studio albums. It is likely that access to new technology enabled her to unleash and realise all the different characters she had in mind. How she could write in this more ambitious way. It started with 1980’s Never for Ever but hit its first peak for 1982’s The Dreaming. The late Ian Bairnson, who appeared on Sat in Your Lap and Leave It Open from The Dreaming (but had worked with Bush since her debut, The Kick Inside), explained how she was thinking more in terms of production and using unusual sounds. That the Fairlight CMI, drum machine and MIDI made her child-like with wonder and excitement. There is going to be some overlap with a recent feature I published about Kate Bush’s sonic experimentation and layers in her music. At the heart of all of this is the pursuit of the cinematic. Kate Bush seeing herself more as a director or auteur than a songwriter.

On The Dreaming, Kate Bush and Nick Launay worked closely together. He was an engineer at Townhouse Studios when she was recording there. Bush said she wanted her music to come across as experimental and cinematic, so his job was to capture the essence of the films playing over and over in her head. Dissect albums like The Dreaming and they are choked full of characters. Soldiers in the jungle. An escapologist and his wife. A haunted house and spirits possessed and turned into donkeys. Bank robbers and answerphone voices. There are voices and characters mingling together. Like scenes in films. Bush using technology and employing various techniques to get into the guise of multiple characters. As I have written before, she used props like chocolate and milk to give her voice more grit and mucus. Handy when recording songs like Houdini, when she had to achieve that sort of sounds for its chorus. Nick Launay recollected him and Bush working together at the front of the desk and at the other end there were huge bars of chocolate and a huge bag of weed. How to make her imagination real! If Bush used various substances to realise a particular effect or open her mind, she would use the studio and its surroundings so that she could create characters naturally. Nick Launay also told how it was always like making films. Bush as a director and Launay the assistant director. Discussing how to make these scenes and characters come to life. How Bush was so excited. Even though technology like the Fairlight CMI offered all sorts of new possibilities, it was still limited. Bush asking Launay how to make this character real. Whether certain things could be achieved.

I guess this feature should also mention Bush as a producer. How she asked these questions of engineers so that she could learn as a producer. Experimenting with technology, acoustics, chocolate and whatever was at hand to realise this larger vision! For the B-side of Sat in Your Lap (released in 1981), a cover of Donavan’s Lord of the Reedy River, Bush wanted to sound like she was a heroine. Not just herself. She wanted the song to sound authentic and like she was recording a music video. To get the affect she was searching for, she descended to the disused swimming pool in the basement of Townhouse so that her voice would reflect off of the water. That sense of a pre-Raphaelite heroine trapped in a watery painting. Bush was not only working on characters and the foreground. She was also working on the compositions and sounds to flesh out the characters. A sense of plugging in things, tuning this and playing around. At one point Bush did start to get lost. She took a sleeper train to Scotland and visited Loch Ness – whether to search for Nessie or unwind – and she spent the period running up to Christmas 1981 working at home. Working between Abbey Road, Townhouse, Odyssey Studios, and Advison Studios on Gosfeld Street, there was a lot of change and shifting. Whatever studio Bush was working out, she was like this director trying to realise all of these characters. The Dreaming very much like a film with ten distinct scene. The same with Never for Ever. Bush has also blended real-life figures and those imagined in her music. From Houidini, Frederick Delius, Catherine Earnshaw, Wilhelm Reich and Molly Bloom in the ‘real’/non-imagined world to a whole cast of people Kate Bush created, she fully embodied them all.

It takes me back to that thought as to whether any other artist has a larger roster of characters. Bush has also been praised for her empathy and breadth of reference. For example, one reviewer described her persona as an "old strain of English magic”. Tying into and updating a feature I wrote in 2020, it is amazing how Bush was less of a songwriter and producer. More like a novelist or film director. Someone thinking beyond the page. When she was in the vocal booth, Bush projecting like an actor. That quote about an “old strain of English magic had returned” was actually from The Waterboys’ Mike Scott in relation to Wuthering Heights and Kate Bush playing Catherine Earnshaw. There is this incredible resource from 2020 that takes us inside various characters from Kate Bush’s music. Rather than this being me repeating what I wrote in the feature about the vocal layers and sonic details in her songs, or going back to that book idea that should unite all Kate Bush’s characters – I will do a feature in the future where I name and explore every character she has created –, this is more about how Bush inhabited these characters. How she approached writing songs so that she create and realise these characters. Various methods she used as a producer. Whether it was utilising the studio or finding ways to alter her voice, it is fascinating!

Think about the importance of characters in Kate Bush’s music. Her first and most recent singles have a character at the forefront. Wuthering Heights has Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. 2011’s Wild Man has this Yeti or abominable snowman. Even if you see 2024’s Little Shrew (Snowflake) as her most recent single, that very much has a character at heart. How much time Kate Bush took to realise this shrew. Making the video for it more like a short film. Filmmaking and acting central to everything she does. Before finishing up, I wonder where that dynamic stemmed from. Why Bush was so compelled to create characters and work in a filmic way, when most of her peers were writing and recording in a more traditional manner. Less imaginative. I think Bush’s favourite director was Terry Gilliam (whom she approached to direct the video for Cloudbusting, that was eventually directed by Julian Doyle). The more I research about Kate Bush’s character fascination and her need to embody them fully and realise them wholly, I found archived interviews where she discussed her favourite films and ambitions to go into film (she was offered roles in films, including 1986’s Castaway, but wisely turned them down). Bush is clearly a massive film fan:

“My plans for the future... Well, I want to get into films. And I want to do more on stage. I love staging my own shows, working out the routines, designing the whole package, and using every aspect of my creativity.

What kind of films would she like to make?

My favourite is Don't Look Now. I was incredibly impressed by the tension, the drive and the way that every loose end was tied up. I get so irritated by films which leave ideas hanging. (1982, Company)

Being stuck there could be an idyllic time. I've enjoyed working alone, even as a kid, and I can collect all my thoughts together then. But the prospect of being there with my favorite films is exciting, because I love the cinema and rarely get the chance to visit it because of my work. So I'd go to town on my selection. Kagemusha.

Not a lot of people have heard of this one, but it's by the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. I just happen to think that this is one of his best. It was a toss up between this and his Seven Samurai, which is a tremendously atmospheric picture. However, I think this one wins the day. Psycho.

This is the kind of film that'll be around for years - like the Disney ones. When Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin of the Monty Python team got together on this they must have been inspired, because it appeals to kids and adults alike. The story is so original and seems to incorporate just about everything from pantomime, fairy tales, drama... the whole show. Don't Look Now

Marvellous Hitchcock stuff. Really vintage and one of the classics with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant. It's that buildup of mystery that fascinate me. Pinocchio

But more than other pop musicians or authors, miss Bush said movies have inspired her. Among film makers, she said she most admires Alfred Hitchcock, Nicolas Roeg and Terry Gilliam.

Their work has spoken to me as directly as that of any other kind of artist. Many of my songs I think of as very filmic. (1985, The New York Times)

Bush - who also produces her albums and plays piano and synthesizer - came close to going beyond four-minute videos when she flirted with the idea of making a film based on the ninth wave, the intriguing conceptual second side of the hounds of love.

What I wanted to do was turn that into a half-hour film integrating music with visuals. When I was writing it, I was really thinking visually. It was just unfortunate that by the time I had the opportunity to make the film I was just too tired. I did not have the energy. (1990, Los Angeles Times)

So many films touch you,even if it's only the atmosphere you're left with. There was The Innocents (ADAPTED FROM HENRY JAMES'S GHOST STORY The Turn Of The Screw AND DIRECTED IN 1961 BY JACK CLAYTON, STARRING DEBORAH KERR AND MICHAEL REDGRAVE) which I saw when I was a kid. It was so strong, and years later I wrote ``The Infant Kiss'' There's an old horror film called Night Of The Demon (ADAPTED FROM THE M.R. JAMES SHORT STORY ``CASTIN THE RUNES'' AND DIRECTED IN 1957 BY JACQUES TOURNEUR, STARRING DANA ANDREWS AND PEGGY CUMMINS) and that very much inspired `` Hounds Of Love'' (1990, Q Special)”.

There is more to explore when it comes to connecting Kate Bush’s film love and background to the way she approached her songwriting. I don’t think Bush consciously chose to create all these characters to avoid discussing herself. She does write personal songs. However, as she did not want to be famous and did not think people would be interested in her, she instead inhabited these compelling and distinct characters. So fully and enthusiastically involved in getting ‘into her part’. Again, it makes me wonder whether any artist ever had such a filmic approach. Does David Bowie come close? Who else comes to mind? Is Kate Bush the ultimate songwriting auteur and filmic-minded writer?! I have been listening back through all of Bush’s albums and approaching the songs like film scenes. A totally different listening experience! It is amazing how Bush is almost like this versatile actor. Thinking about it simply…

DROPS the jaw.

FEATURE: Daft Punk Is Playing at My House: LCD Soundsystem at Twenty

FEATURE:

 

 

Daft Punk Is Playing at My House

LCD Soundsystem at Twenty

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I am going to come to some features…

and reviews about LCD Soundsystem’s extraordinary debut album. One of the best debut albums of the past twenty years and, in fact, one of the best albums of the past twenty years, it does celebrate its twentieth anniversary on 24th January. Because of that, I want to spend some time with an album from a great band. Led by James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem was nominated for the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Perhaps its best-known single is Daft Punk Is Playing at My House. I would guide people to features like this. That was published in 2014 and is a track-by-track guide that celebrates ten years of LCD Soundsystem. I want to move to a couple of features about LCD Soundsystem’s amazing debut. Even if this note of caution that says it is not as good as the albums that followed it (their fourth, American Dream, was released in 2017). I want to start out with a 2014 feature from Stereogum, who marked a decade of a classic debut album:

“The reason I use “formal opening salvo” is that LCD, and James Murphy in general, had been kicking around for a few years prior to the release of LCD Soundsystem, and in ways relevant to the early ’00s NYC scene. Having played a key role in the Rapture’s “House Of Jealous Lovers,” Murphy and erstwhile DFA partner Tim Goldsworthy fleshed out the whole “dancepunk” notion that’d run alongside the early ’00s rock resurgence, and also gave us one of the era’s most memorable and iconic songs. LCD, as a more specific project for Murphy, actually debuted in 2002 with “Losing My Edge,” which, of course, is one hell of an opening salvo, one towering song simultaneously showing off and eviscerating all manner of musician/music nerd/hipster tropes. (Given the context that Murphy was living and working in NYC, the whole thing has kind of an unspoken but specific interaction with notions and posturing of NYC cool in general.) And there were a few more amazing singles to follow, my personal favorite being “Yeah (Crass Version),” which is one of those all-encompassing listening experiences that seems to take total control of your being each time you hear it, no matter how many times you’ve heard it before. These singles were collected on a second disc for LCD Soundsystem, which is such a weird thing for a debut album: Here’s essentially a double album, with a bunch of songs that have been released before but could’ve been as totally new as the first disc to a lot of people who bought the record. And, damn, if that was the case for you, this is some overwhelming stuff: Who the hell is this guy who came out of nowhere with this strong debut album and this other disc that functions as its own kind of album, too?

The power of what Murphy had achieved already being re-packaged with his new, full-length debut actually weakened the music on LCD Soundsystem for some critics. At the time, some people argued he still wasn’t an “album” guy, that he was really good at single songs that maybe sort of didn’t necessarily come together into one cohesive whole. People still talked, a lot, about how Murphy wore his influences on his sleeve, but they seemed a bit more forgiving of it for them than they had been for some of his immediate NYC predecessors, because, I guess, this dude is just undeniably good at making sounds, and he’s just undeniably good at tastefully aping those influences. And while there’s a whole other thing to be said about that influences bit (more on that below), the part I’m somewhat more sympathetic to is the idea that Murphy hadn’t totally arrived as an album artist.

This is a hindsight thing, but, yeah, LCD Soundsystem doesn’t reach the heights of Sound Of Silver or This Is Happening; not only because there were still songs like “All My Friends” and “Someone Great” and “Dance Yrself Clean” and “I Can Change” to come, but also because those were proper, brilliantly cohesive albums. That’s not to say the first album doesn’t have its classics and its gems. There is, of course, “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” and “Tribulations” and “Movement.” Whenever I hear people talk about one of their favorite lesser-known LCD tracks, the psych-pop exercise “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” is a forerunner. Personally, it’s “Great Release” for me. There is an unsettling power to that song if you listen to it in times of mindless transit: a crowded subway commute, the sterility of passing through a nice airport, the monotony and trance of a drive you’ve taken too many times. There’s this drift to it. In its way, it’s a gorgeous coda to album, a final refrain that does seem a definitive stopping point. But in another way, it feels like it suggests something else to come. It’s not like the lyrics are full of hope and laughs, but musically it sort of ends LCD Soundsystem on a bit of an ellipsis, too.

And that’s the thing: There’s something about LCD’s debut that does feel like a sketch for what came later. In its day, it was plenty powerful. Then we saw what else Murphy was capable of. I was at the last two LCD shows, and in the spring of 2011, six years after the release of LCD Soundsystem, “Tribulations” and “Movement” and “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” were entirely different animals live, flexing new muscles and new textures alike, welcomed into the more fully realized identity of LCD Soundsystem that Murphy had continued to build in those interim years. For every amazingly accomplished and confident early outing like “Yeah” or “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” or “Losing My Edge,” there were tracks like “Thrills” and “Disco Infiltrator” and even “On Repeat” (another LCD deep cut favorite of mine) that seemed a bit half-there in comparison. These were strands that hadn’t yet been totally collected. On the next two records, Murphy would take all his disparate elements and blend them more thoroughly, more deftly, into a fuller sound. In the context of LCD’s career, there is a thinness and unrefined quality to LCD Soundsystem. There might be classic songs littering the LCD canon from 2002-2005, but soon Murphy would come back with two classic albums in a row, and his debut can’t stand up to that stuff at all as an album.

Don’t get me wrong: This is still music I love. This is a great album to have in existence. It’s just hard to remember what it was like when this was the only LCD music out there. It’s so easy to have it overshadowed by what came later, and especially the narrative of this project, steadily rising in quality and popularity until Murphy suddenly just decided that was it — at a point many would call, let’s say, premature. And, to me, another part of that narrative is: LCD Soundsystem is one of the most important artists of the 21st century so far. Conversations of authenticity and derivativeness, of chasing some new sound vs. bearing your influences too clearly: These things are of course always floating in the atmosphere, but how muddled and/or irrelevant do they feel in 2015 vs. 1995 or even 2005? If you look back at those initial LCD reviews, you can tell the writers are still reeling from a million Strokes copycats, copies of a copy of a copy, etc., etc. And that show-off/evisceration balance of Murphy cataloguing his record collection in “Losing My Edge” practically invites a critic to dissect where this or that LCD sound came from.

There’s something different going on with LCD Soundsystem, though. Curation and homage were woven into the very nature of Murphy’s music. LCD’s music raises questions of authenticity and derivativeness, it can lead to interesting conversations about those topics. But it also came along and, if you ask me, obliterated a lot of discussion about it all at a moment where that was a big part of the discourse in the indie rock world. You know, who’s going to stop James Murphy if, after giving us “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down,” he felt like giving us “Heroes” and calling it “All I Want.” The thing that makes Murphy one of the luminaries of his era is that his music captures the way we think and perceive and consume in the 21st century. I want some of this, some of that, a few of those things, and I’ll carry them all with me, and sometimes it’ll result in some new mix of those things that I hadn’t thought about before, and sometimes it’ll just wind up sounding a lot like a really famous David Bowie song. So it goes”.

I know there will be features and articles around LCD Soundsystem ahead of its twentieth anniversary on 24th January. I want to move to a 2020 feature from CRACK. If some feel their debut did not scale to the same heights as albums that followed, there is no denying the fact LCD Soundsystem hit upon something. A distinct sound and set of lyrics that resonates with people in 2005:

“By the time their self-titled debut arrived via Murphy’s own DFA Records in 2005, LCD Soundsystem were already a formidable live band and the most vital export of a scene that melded dance and rock music from a new, DIY angle. Acknowledging this reputation, the album simply collected some (then) new songs on one disc and a number of live favourites and 12-inch singles on another. It’s an urgent record that feels almost non-canon compared to their ambitious, emotionally rich work later on.

LCD Soundsystem’s best tracks are snotty, tense and feel as indebted to Murphy’s love of The Fall as his later immersion in disco culture. With the stock price of irony, sarcasm and white-male listmaking at an all-time low, LCD Soundsystem could arguably feel even more inaccessible in 2019 than in the mid-noughts, when the band were, at worst, an easy punchline for those keen to wipe the smug look from the face of the emerging wave of Pitchfork hipsters. Even then, few could resist the bassline on Daft Punk Is Playing At My House, nor the refreshingly diverse group of NYC oddballs they revealed themselves to be, as they ripped through clubs and festivals with the sweat and attitude of a genuine punk rock heritage

Murphy, a keen student of popular culture and a sensitive soul, would later wisely balance the band’s more acerbic streak with the likes of Someone Great, Home and All My Friends – vulnerable anthems that now dutifully serve as cathartic tearjerkers at millennial weddings. Back on LCD Soundsystem, it feels as if the band are struggling to decide whether to expel or embrace the acidic tendency. Murphy’s awkward clarification that the trendy ghouls he mocks throughout Losing My Edge are “actually really, really nice” is funny and self-aware in a manner that is exquisitely them.

For all Murphy’s laser-focus disses in the direction of “art-school Brooklynites in little jackets,” LCD Soundsystem finds him mercilessly documenting the underwhelming life he’s about to leave behind. On the underrated and pleasingly lethargic Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up, he attempts a charmless seduction (“When I was a little boy, I laid down in the grass/ I’m sure you’d feel the same, if I can fuck you here tonight”), whereas the cultural stock take on Movement is far from hopeful. “It seems the punk rock as an experiment, well it pulled up lame,” observes Murphy, a self-appointed “fat guy in a t-shirt doing all the saying”.

These nuggets of self-deprecation are sometimes lost in the live arena, where Movement remains a gnarly, pogo-inducing highlight of the band’s pristine set. Yeah (Crass Mix), a repetitive, escalating jam built around the band half-heartedly intoning the word “yeah” is still a knockout, a timeless classic in the sphere of what we might have once called ‘indie-dance’. It’s pure ecstasy, and revelatory of the amount of energy bubbling throughout a scene that was at least sincere in wanting to see club culture and the ever-present threat of “borrowed nostalgia” in a very different way. Revisiting LCD Soundsystem, you may find yourself glad that Murphy dropped the act. But you’re still reminded that, when administered in the right direction, a little cynicism can go a long way”.

I am going to end with a couple of reviews. The first one is from the BBC. It is quite a positive review, though there is that sense that it was like nothing else. People not quite sure what to make of it. Only in years since has LCD Soundsystem been given the credit it deserves:

“James Murphy, the man who is LCD, has earned himself a tidy reputation in recent years. As one half of production duo DFA he's produced some of the more trendy bands to come out of New York. The Rapture and Radio 4 have both felt the benefit of his disco punk sensibility.

He's probably best known over here for 2002's Losing My Edge, in which an ageing hipster (Murphy, obviously) rants about his cool muso credentials over an addictive and perversely simple bass line. It couldn't help but make you smile.

And what we have here is two CDs of James' own stuff and yes, let's get a little excited over it. He's a generous chap as the second CD sports the Soundsystem's singles so far, including Losing My Edge, Yeah and Give It Up: top tunes for fine art students to do hoovering to.

This leaves the first CD to live and breathe as an album proper. It's the length of an old vinyl record (45 mins), with nine tracks on it. There's even a slow track at the end, the very Eno-like Great Release.

And yes, the hip references are all there. Can, Gang of Four, Prince, The Fall, PiL etc - the cool stuff from the NME Hall of Fame. Murphy is witty and funny and knows what's good about the music he likes. He doesn't sound cynical, just knowing and aware - and he definitely knows how to play the cow bell.

His lyrics are often more spoken than sung, but his voice has an engaging weediness - sort of nerdy and aggressive at the same time. You can't really sing lines like "Daft Punk is playing at my house" anyway, though there is a pleasant lyricism to the druggy melancholy (in a late-period Beatles style) of Never As Tired As When I Wake Up. At one point I even found myself looking for the lyric sheet, but that might be taking things a little too seriously.

So, all in all a toe-tappingly good album and much more engaging than the music he's produced for other people. Pop may have eaten itself, but its s*** can still smell mighty good”.

I am going to end with a review from AllMusic. I am going to be interested to see what sort of articles will come soon as we head towards that twentieth anniversary. How James Murphy sees the album. LCD Soundsystem is a remarkable piece of work:

“If a music-nerd version of Animal House set in 2005 is ever made, "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" -- the boisterous opener of LCD Soundsystem -- would make an ideal theme song for the fraternity on which it is based. The self-conscious, awkward music obsessives pledging into this fraternity would have to pass a complex trivia test, own a compulsory list of records, and, as a hazing ritual, ask to dance with someone in public. If LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy were the least bit open to the concept, he could be the fraternity's advisor. Judging from a handful of singles and this album, he'd be more than qualified. His first A-side, 2002's "Losing My Edge," laid all his cards on the table, name-checking nearly everything that has been branded indispensable by a record store clerk during the past 20 years. This is someone who clearly owns tons of records and cannot escape them when making his own music. Acid house, post-punk, garage rock, psychedelic pop, and at least a dozen other things factor into his songs, and he's not afraid to be obvious. On occasion, he doesn't even allow fellow nerds to play guessing games. This is the case with "Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up" -- drowsy/dazed John Lennon vibes through and through -- as well as the drifting/uplifting "The Great Release" -- an alternate closer to either of Brian Eno's first two solo records. Otherwise, Murphy's songs cough up references from his subconscious or are put together as if he's thinking more like a DJ, finding ways to combine elements from disparate sources. "Movement" careens into high-energy guitar squall after a pounding beat and cranky synths; "On Repeat" happily replicates the scratches and jabs of guitar heard from A Certain Ratio, PiL, and Gang of Four, but its mechanical pulse and curveball synth effects couldn't be any more distanced from those three groups. Nothing here exceeds the brilliance of "Beat Connection" or "Yeah." Like just about everybody else these days, Murphy's more skilled at creating isolated tracks than making full-lengths, even though this particular full-length has few weak spots and unfolds smoothly as you listen to it from beginning to end. The bonus disc, containing all the stray single tracks, adds a great deal of value”.

On 24th January, it will be twenty years since LCD Soundsystem was released. No doubt an album that has inspired so many other artists, if you have never heard it or not heard it in a while then make sure you check it out. It is a wonderful debut album that deserves to be embraced by a new generation. Even if many critics feel LCD Soundsystem was bettered by future albums, there is no denying the 2005 release was…

A mighty fine start.

FEATURE: Kate Bush: The Tour of Life: Life at Abbey Road Studios

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: The Tour of Life

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in Abbey Road Studios whilst working on Never for Ever (1980)

Life at Abbey Road Studios

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WHEN it comes to studios…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in Abbey Road’s Studio Two in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Rapport

Kate Bush worked in during her career, I think each contributed in their own meaningful way. AIR was important for her debut album, 1978’s The Kick Inside. A professional studio that was a stable and pleasant environment for that album, Bush found herself at various different studios through her career. People will have their favourites. Perhaps the very best and happiest environment was provided by the home-built studio at East Wickham Farm. Bespoke and the hub for some of her very best work, it is a shame that this studio no longer is being used. In terms of its stature, Abbey Road Studios is at the top. Kate Bush would have wanted to record there from when she was a child. Listening to The Beatles and one day seeing herself being in the same spaces that they were a less than a decade previously. In terms of what Abbey Road provided in terms of technology and space, it was this essential source of inspiration and motivation (which I mentioned in the previous feature about the studios in 2022). One of the biggest issues would have been the cost of recording there. I know Bush would have spent even more time there were it more affordable. EMI aware that her being there for a while was costing them a lot. I think it was one reason why Bush built her own studio and did not have to worry about high bills and being more constrained in terms of time. Perhaps not able to experiment as much as she would have liked. However, in so many ways, Abbey Road ws a dream come true. Despite the fact Kate Bush used home studios from 1985’s Hounds of Love more and more, she still recorded out of Abbey Road. For Aerial and 50 Words for Snow (her most recent album), orchestral sessions were recorded there. Utilising its acoustics, space and atmosphere to enrich her songs. Abbey Road Studios used for most of her albums. Even if it was mostly I suspect for orchestration, it was essential and almost a second home to Kate Bush. She used the studios for The Red Shoes, Hounds of Love, The Dreaming, and Never for Ever.

That final album, her third, was the first where Bush was co-producer. Perhaps a conscious decision by her to get to Abbey Road, Bush knew that she had the sort of technology at her fingertips at this legendary studio. The history and legacy that it had. I am not sure what truly ignited Bush’s love of Abbey Road Studios. She co-produced Never for Ever with Jon Kelly. He has experience there. He worked there for several years with Geoff Emerick. Bush was very excited to have control over her album. She knew that this was in her control now, but there were also risks. Every time something worked out it made her feel so much braver. There were other inspirations alongside Abbey Road Studios. When she started demoing material at Studio Two at Abbey Road in January 1980, Bush appeared on two Peter Gabriel tracks, Games Without Frontiers and No Self Control. What struck her most, and what she started to adopt in her music, was the way Gabriel used drum machine and electronic samplers to create sounds. Bush, mainly relying on piano, drums and also the Fairlight CMI, had her mind opened. Abbey Road also assisted Bush as a songwriter. She was used to having songs all formed and ready to record when working at AIR Studios in London and France for her first two albums. From January 1980 for five months, Bush was now writing and demoing in the studio. At a charge of £90 an hour, it was a luxury that would have made EMI nervous. Over £100,000 in studio bills was wracked up for Never for Ever! However, as it went to number one and is one of her best albums, Abbey Road contributed so much to her music. Opened her imagination and affected everything she did afterwards.

Bush wanted to make Never for Ever a more experimental and open album. She made sure there was more space for musicians and new ideas. Her brother Paddy invaluable when it came to providing so many unusual and interesting instrumental touches. It was not a case of Bush there at Abbey Road and being very focused without much time for relaxation. She appreciated where she was and how lucky she was to be recording at the legendary studio space. She also ensured her musicians were made comfortable. Bush filled the studio with plants and flowers. There was plenty of tea on hand and she also held chair-spinning competitions! There were late-night laughs involving chocolates and alcohol (some of it stolen). Imagining Kate Bush in Abbey Road Studios is one of my favourite things! Songs like December Will Be Magic Again recorded there. The video for Sat in Your Lap – from 1982’s The Dreaming – shot in Abbey Road’s Studio Two (where Bush also had her first taste of directing). I think that the size and gravitas of Abbey Road Studios meant Bush could finally connect her music to something more visual and cinematic. Bush had always wanted her music to be this audio-visual combination that was seamless and spectacular. This was achieved once she was at Abbey Road. Thinking bigger and being inside this iconic studio for months. Even if it was expensive and not ideal to be at for long periods of time, she kept coming back. Although too the studios were used more in a diminished capacity from Hounds of Love onwards, the fact that it was home to these incredible orchestration sessions shows Bush always kept Abbey Road in her heart. She contributed to Mary McCartney’s (daughter of Paul) 2022 documentary, If These Walls Could Sing. Bush recalled her excitement being there. She also mentioned how there was never any decorating or changes made to the walls and studios in case the acoustics were affected! I would love to know exactly what was recorded at Abbey Road for Bush’s albums. To the best of my knowledge, seven of her ten studio albums were either partly recorded there or there were orchestral sessions there. The Kick Inside, Lionheart and Director’s Cut to my mind the only three albums that had no connection to Abbey Road Studios – though there might be a chance something from Director’s Cut was recorded or engineered there.

SamLiddicott · If These Walls Could Sing: Kate Bush

I am going to wrap things up soon. Before that, this article talks about Abbey Road Studios and Kate Bush recording there. Many people do not understand just how much of her music was made there. It is a hugely important part of her career and legacy:

“Kate worked at Abbey Road Studios on the albums Never For Ever, The Dreaming, and Hounds Of Love in Studio 2, and the orchestral parts for the albums The Sensual World and The Red Shoes. On 17 June 1981, the music video for the song Sat In Your Lap was recorded in the cavernous Studio 1, a huge space about half an acre in size. On 12 November 1981, Kate attended a 50th anniversary party for the studio, and cut the birthday cake alongside singer Helen Shapiro. In March 1986, she recorded a performance of the song Under The Ivy for the 100th broadcast of The Tube.

Kate about Abbey Road Studios

Being on your own in Studio 2 is a fascinating experience. I felt like there were at least ten other people there with me… I think it’s a combination of all the people who have performed there over the years and their combined creativity. (Brian Southall, Abbey Road, 2002. ISBN 978-0711991118)”.

I almost forgot that Kate Bush delivered the one and only performance of Under the Ivy at Abbey Road Studios. Her finest B-side’s (the B-side to Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) only outing happened at a very special space for her. From 1980 to 2011, Kate Bush has spent some very important time at Abbey Road Studios. I wonder whether she will work there on a new album. Even if she records most of her material at her home studio, one cannot bet against Abbey Road Studios featuring. Bush was also recently spotted visiting Damon Albarn’s Studio 13 on Latimer Road, London. Whether she was scoping out the space to record in or she is going to feature on a future Gorillaz track, I am not too sure. I do think we will see more of Kate Bush at Abbey Road Studios. Somewhere that was a big leap and this dream come true in 1980, she is in a position where can afford to spend a lot of time there. In fact, she could record an entire album there without much issue! It would be wonderful if she performed live there too. When it comes to Kate Bush and the iconic Abbey Road Studios, it is…

A marriage made in Heaven.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Witch Post

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Parker Love Bowling for The Line of Best Fit

Witch Post

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A spectacular duo…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Mishko

that should be on your radar this year are Witch Post. Consisting of Dylan Fraser and Alaska Reid, I am quite new to them. I will come to a couple of interviews from them. This year is going to be one where we will see future greats come through. I think Witch Post have the potential to endure for years to come. Even though they have two singles to their name, what they have put out shows real promise. I am going to get to two recent interviews with them. First, DORK highlighted their debut single, Chill Out, last year:

“The track sees the duo – formed of Scottish musician Dylan Fraser and American musician Alaska Reid, and named after 17th century carvings intended to ward off witches – delivering a hard-hitting nod to the 90s and early 00s.

“Chill out is a crooked teeth, sweaty bar conversation of a song,” the band explain. “We wanted to draw elements from bands such as the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Hole to create this rough round the edges track.

“It’s blood pumping through the veins and outbursts of emotional confusion that flow throughout this song. Diving into the venomous tongue that comes with a relationship breaking down”.

I am interested to see where the duo head this year. With a couple of distinct and brilliant singles under their belt, things are looking very bright. Their fanbase is slowly building and there will be that demand to see them live across the country. Their latest single, Rust, has been compared to something The Replacements might produce (“‘Rust’ is about taking a chance on someone. Dylan and I met under strange circumstances. Both of us have solo careers and plenty of baggage. Neither of us intended on being in a band again. However, the timing was undeniable and we couldn’t help but write together. ‘Rust’ is inspired by the album ‘All Shook Down’ by The Replacements. It’s a combination of heart-aching melancholy cut with the glimmer of change”).

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Mishko

Before closing up, there are two interviews that I want to highlight. Last month, PAPER spoke with a connected and spectacular duo who want to create some magic. If you have not followed the duo yet then make sure you connect with them on social media. They have the sound and potential to go a very long way:

“Dylan Fraser and Alaska Reid were never meant to be in a band. For the two singer-songwriters, their solo endeavors have been the main focus for the past few years. But sometimes between artists, there’s a certain spark — a ‘twin telepathy,’ if you will — that becomes undeniable.

“We want to bring back band music, make it less boring and one-dimensional dude-centric,” Reid tells PAPER. “I miss that real energy and rock star lore that people talk about when they talk about Blur or Fleetwood Mac.” In comes Witch Post, the new project between Reid and Fraser, who hail from Montana and Scotland, respectively. The two met online and came up with the idea for the band a year ago, initially bonding over the shared name of their hometowns Livingston from different sides of the globe.

Both Reid and Fraser bring their own musical baggage to the band, and it’s working in their favor. Reid, a Montana kid with big dreams, cut her teeth on Americana-tinged indie rock (go stream Big Bunny and thank us later), while Fraser’s breakout EP, The Storm, cemented him as Scotland’s brooding alt-pop prince. Together, they’re like a sonic match made in witchy heaven, blending their strengths to create something both nostalgic and now.

For them, it’s all about building lore, the kind of teenage imaginative interest that we all experienced when discovering a new band back in the day. “I think it’d be fun to get people excited about the music in a way that it becomes word of mouth,” Reid says. “‘Oh apparently for that ‘Chill Out’ vocal take, Dylan had just projectile vomited all over the street’ or, ‘Alaska thought up the name Witch Post because she kissed an actual 17th century witch post and got followed around by a black cat.’”

With two songs under their belt, Reid and Fraser are focused on summoning more at the moment. Sometimes witchy undertones make for music magic and given their output so far, Witch Post are sure to become alt-rock wizards in their own right.

We sat down with the two to discuss their inception as a band, how they want to be perceived and what the future holds.

How did you two come together?

Dylan Fraser: It’s September 13th, 2021. I’m on a train from London back to Scotland, a journey I wasn’t unfamiliar with during this time in my life. I’d just finished a tour around the UK and was heading back to my childhood home. My life had rapidly changed in the space of a year. I’d gone from a small town in Scotland to being in London making music and partying. I was having the time of my life but also feeling the pressure of the music industry slowly creeping in. This train ride was the only free time I had with absolutely zero distractions and it was the time where I could discover new music and artists and listen to an album in full. I don’t remember quite how I stumbled upon Alaska Reid but it felt like she just appeared one day on my Spotify. I was intrigued by her album title “Big Bunny,” so I clicked on it. I listened to the album in full and I remember being completely taken by her voice. I had never heard anyone sound the way she did. I decided to reach out and tell her how much I loved the album. She responded to me, gave me thanks and told me she was coming to London in mid-October and that we should write some music together, and we’ve kept doing that ever since.

What references or inspirations do you two most agree on and how have they influenced your vision for Witch Post?

Alaska Reid: Big guitars, emotional vocals, stories. We love rock music, and we love scrappy, romantic-sounding songs. With this band we’ve been making an effort to reference different influences or different elements than we do with our solo projects. I’m always obsessed with The Replacements and being in Witch Post has been a good opportunity to not just think about, “What would Paul [Westerberg] do?” from a songwriting perspective, but also from a production perspective. Dylan loves Sonic Youth and I do too and I think it’s been really fun for us both to use each other's voices when writing, playing with contrast of male/female vocals. We’re both really into The Waterboys and Fleetwood Mac at the moment.

Tell me about “Chill Out” and how that song came to life.

Dylan: It happened really naturally. We were fucking around with guitars and Alaska started playing these chords and I just started singing the verses over the top. The words just sort of came out and have mostly stayed the same since that day. We wanted “Chill Out” to feel like a crooked teeth, sweaty bar conversation of a song. A rough around the edges track. Diving into the venomous tongue that comes with a relationship breaking down. In our heads it’s a couple having a fight in a bar. I almost wanted it to feel like a Fairytale of New York. I love the back and forth in that song. Conversational lyrics are exciting to me.

What space do you envision Witch Post filling in the music landscape, especially given both of your backgrounds as musicians/producers?

Alaska: I want to make music that I’d enjoy listening to. We want to bring back band music, make it less boring and one dimensional dude centric. Sometimes I feel that currently it’s as if all the cool songwriter personality and emotion have just been sucked out of the rock scene and we’re only left with a hipster bro in a “rock n’ roller” outfit. I miss that real energy and rock star lore that people talk about when they talk about Blur or Fleetwood Mac. I think it’d be fun to get people excited about the music in a way that it becomes word of mouth, “Oh apparently for that ‘Chill Out’ vocal take, Dylan had just projectile vomited all over the street” or, “Alaska thought up the name Witch Post because she kissed an actual 17th century witch post and got followed around by a black cat.” When I was a teenager, this was all I cared about, music lore and fantasy books. I guess we’re finally combining the two”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Mishko

I am going to end with an interview from The Line of Best Fit. They spoke to a dup that were channelling the “blood, sweat and tears of 90s alt-rock into a sound all of their own”; stating that “Kissing a 500-year-old piece of wood in a house in England a few years ago might have been the catalyst that changed Alaska Reid's life”. The more I read about Witch Post, the more they stand out. Definitely an act you will want to follow:

“The witch post.... was meant to deter witches, and people would carve them on the mantels...and this is so weird, but I kissed it," Reid tells me. At this time she was exploring the idea of collaborating with Scottish songwriter Dylan Fraser, and, aside from a black cat following her shortly after, this moment gave her the concept of the band name, and a new chapter for both of their lives.

Fraser and Reid are, for all intents and purposes, two sides of the same coin. Both solo artists and in their mid-twenties, Montana-native Reid initially began in an indie-outfit (Alyeska) before embarking on a solo career driven by narrative-laden indie-rock that delved into country-tinges and electronic elements. Her debut album Big Bunny came in late 2020, and its follow-up Disenchanter three years later. Fraser's start was via a more modern entry into the business – a meme-based website that earned him enough money to start focusing on his real passion for music. After uploading tracks to YouTube, his debut EP The Storm also came out in 2020, its electronic beat under-towing honest reflections of life. While their backgrounds and journeys may differ, there's an inherent similarity that means their partnering up for a project was, in the grandest sense, meant to be.

“I think we're secretly related somehow,” Fraser laughs. “Alaska's second name is Reid, it's very Scottish. She has Scottish descent, somewhere in a past life maybe we lived in a bothy in the highlands, and were eating boiled meat and veg.”

The pair met a few years ago after Fraser heard one of Reid’s songs during one of his five-hour journeys from Scotland to London. After messaging her on Instagram, the pair became fast friends. A planned to meet up in London was pre-empted after they accidentally bumped into each other the night before the rendezvous at a gig at Lafayette in London. “I just remember you had a very distinctive haircut, and I saw it from behind, and I was like, I think that's this person I'm talking to,” Reid laughs.

Reid and Fraser headed to the studio the next day, more for a casual session than real intention, and wound up delivering "Vampire", from Fraser’s 2022 EP, 2030 Revolution. They kept in touch, and after Fraser stopped working with Atlantic Records, he and Reid headed to her home state of Montana to record the sessions that would become Witch Post's first songs (as well as an unnamed second project yet to come).

Reid’s prior experiences had turned her off band work entirely. “I was doing the indie-rock chick thing for the longest time before it became cool," she sighs. "I'm lucky that there's a lot of girls that came in and made it fun and socially acceptable, people like boygenius, that brought about a renaissance of being an indie chick. But, it's been lonely for a long time, and it still is.”

It was a lot of back and forth before Witch Post would see the light of day. Even today the pair are still unsure of what exactly this period of their lives is leading to, but they do know that it came at the right time. "We really had a situationship that lasted many months," she continues. "Of us both at one point being like, Let's do the band and another one be like, No. Finally, I remember we had this moment where, I think Dylan, you offered the ultimatum. You were like, we just need to commit to only this if we're gonna do it," Reid explains.

This was the biggest hurdle for her to ascend: “We're writing these great songs together, and people are kind of being like, Oh, you guys have a vibe together. And in my head, I'm like, Oh, what's the next Alaska Reid solo record? Clearly I'm writing these songs to push this band forward, and I'm not really writing as many Alaska Reid solo songs. And then I'm sitting there being like, Oh, I don't want to do the band.”

As for the band's name? “I almost feel like we're the witches in a way," Reid explains. "In so much of my life – especially in rock music – everyone's been like, Fuck off. You're a girl. So in a way it already feels a bit witchy... It all feels punk in a way, but in our own way."

PHOTO CREDIT: Parker Love Bowling

“It's also scary," Fraser laughs, "I didn't know what the fuck a witch post was, and Alaska was like, let's call the band Witch Post! She explained it to me, and then I Googled 'witch post', and it literally has the St Andrew's Saltire carved into it…it's probably a fuck you to Scots. It's probably not a good thing, but we're reclaiming it!” Fraser beams.

Eventually, the first song they penned together made it out into the world. “Chill Out” leads with ramshackle guitar chords, before a howling Fraser comes in, later joined by the soothing sounds of Reid as the driving track careens with the freedom of the band unleashing their intentions. Fraser’s vocal sounds lived, a rawness that only life can tune in: “I’d projectile vomited on the street before I got into the studio. I was hanging out of my arse. It was awful!”

The pair recognised a space in the musical landscape for the kind of rock band that died out at the turn of the millennium: all dirty-fingernails, grit and restless energy. And while it may be a grand statement to attribute to Witch Post, their appreciation for 90s alt-rock is deep in the duo's DNA; Fraser has an affinity for Sonic Youth, Nine Inch Nails et al, while Reid loved Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements. They pay tribute to these influences on the cranked-to-eleven single "Rust", released today.

"In my heart, The Replacements the biggest band ever," Reid enthuses. "In a way, I feel like Dylan and I are writing songs in that alternate universe where The Replacements are playing massive arenas and stadiums. We're writing songs for all of the artists that we feel like that about.

"We're bringing back good, cool, rock music. Sometimes I feel like there's not a lot of that out there. There's definitely people doing stuff, but then there's a lot of boring shit, and we're not going to be boring." And if that wasn't enough, she follows this promise up with an even larger one: "We're ambitious, and we're going to make you listen”.

This year is going to be a big one for Witch Post. After releasing two brilliant singles last year, they have the momentum and press acclaim to build on that. For two people who never wanted to be in a band, their distinct spark and chemistry means they will be bonded together for years. It will be exciting to see…

WHAT comes next.

__________

Follow Witch Post

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/witchpostband

Twitter:

https://x.com/witchpostband

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4TBDzXf9NfvFpqLOAodNYQ

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@WitchPost/videos

FEATURE: Under Ice: Kate Bush’s 1982-1985: Jumping Off the Treadmill

FEATURE:

 

 

Under Ice

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1983/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Griffin

Kate Bush’s 1982-1985: Jumping Off the Treadmill

_________

THERE is this niggling question…

PHOTO CREDIT: Denis Oregan

that has always been on my mind since I became a Kate Bush fan. I would have known about her wider career when I was in school. In the 1990s. I was able to look at her albums and career and see what she had achieved to that point. I am not sure what impressed me most about Kate Bush when I was a child. I think it was the way she could make every album sound different. I had not really discovered another artist like that. It was amazing that she could release an album like The Kick Inside (1978), The Dreaming (1982) and The Sensual World (1989). Each album distinctly that of Kate Bush but sounding completely different! It still amazes me how Bush could create whole new worlds for each of her albums. Aside from that, I think Kate Bush’s work rate and incredible dedication is what gets me. She did not tour after 1979, though she threw herself into the studio. Making albums and producing. With little time for outside projects like acting or live performance, what we got from Kate Bush was this incredible and relentless passion. She was promoting non-stop. It may not be an issue other people have but, as Live Aid is forty on 13th July, there will be a lot of discussion around it. Features written and reflections from artists who terraformed there. Two months after Live Aid was broadcast, Kate Bush released her masterpiece, Hounds of Love (it was released on 16th September, 1985). 1985 was very much her year. Whereas the press were writing her off a matter of weeks before that album came out, she released a masterpiece that nobody could deny! You could not escape its brilliance. Considering that, why was Kate Bush not included in the Live Aid line-up?! Let’s take things back a few years…

1982 was when Kate Bush released The Dreaming. That was in September. It is one of her very best albums, though it is one that was less commercial than previous ones. Less so than Hounds of Love too. It did mean very little radio play and some reviews were quite mixed. The album as a whole is tremendous, through many wrote Kate Bush off and ignored The Dreaming. Back in June 1982,. Bush took a brief break to Jamaica to unwind. Finding the silence deafening, it freaked her out. So used was she to the noise of London and being in a cramped studio, going out to a paradise was too much for her to take! When The Dreaming came out, she engaged in gruelling promotion. She made personal appearances in cities like Glasgow and Newcastle. After some T.V. appearances, Kate Bush stepped off of the treadmill. That is Graeme Thomson’s wording (from his book, Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush). Not that Bush went out of view; through from November 1982 through to September 1985, there as far less of her on the radar. No album and only the odd appearance. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) arrived on 5th August, 1985. That was really the first sign that Kate Bush had not gone anyway. However, so many artists were invited to perform at Live Aid. Those who did not have the same stature and brilliance as Kate Bush. Maybe Band Aid would have been less appealing to Kate Bush. The charity single, Do They Know It’s Christmas? Bush did appear on a charity single for Ferry Aid. It was a cover of The Beatles’ Let It Be and, honestly, it is a black mark on all of the artists’ résumés.

If Band Aid was intended to raise money for those living through famine in Ethiopia, Ferry Aid was a 1987 supergroup who covered Let It Be following the Zeebrugge Disaster. On 6th March, 1987 the ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsized, killing 193 passengers. Though a tragedy, it did not warranty a charity single! It might have been overdue recognition about the Live Aid oversight. I am sure Bush would have been happy to appear on Band Aid’s single. Even if she was not perhaps as critically acclaimed and commercial successful as she would be later in 1985. Do They Know It’s Christmas? was released on 7th December, 1984. Although there were some huge names on the song like Bono and Boy George, people rarely mention a standout female voice on the song. Kate Bush would have been perfect! Maybe Midge Ure and Bob Geldof did not think of her when they were writing the song, but they would have known who she was. It is a shame that she was not given an invite has said that, if she was asked, she would have said ‘yes’. A cause that she would definitely have given her time and voice to for sure! Given all the work she did to raise money for charities, Bush would have jumped at the chance to be on Do They Know It’s Christmas? The questions around Live Aid is even more intriguing. Consider the fact Hounds of Love was a couple of months away. A perfect opportunity to premier new songs like Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Cloudbusting, Hounds of Love…or she could have performed songs from her previous albums. Perhaps The Dreaming would not have necessarily translated to the Wembley crowd, though there are songs from The Kick Inside, Lionheart and Never for Ever that could have fit. However, it is the prospect of Bush performing three or four new songs from Hounds of Love that would have been perfect! Imagine people thinking she was retired or not coming back, only to step onto the stage in 1985 in front of a global audience. The biggest audience of her career!

Did the reception for 1982’s The Dreaming and Bush ‘stepping off the treadmill’ contribute to a clear oversight from Bob Geldof?! If Hounds of Love has been released earlier, there is no doubt Bush would have been invited to Live Aid. However, you feel she should have been invited regardless. Granted, between 1982 and 1984, there were few flickers of publicity on the radar. Bush was busy recording Hounds of Love in 1983 And 1984. The narrative from the press did seem to contribute to events like Band Aid not including Kate Bush. It is something that bugs me. I would have loved to have seen Kate Bush being part of something historic. As I say, she is someone who has and still does raise awareness of charities and raises money for them. One of the biggest fundraising concerts in history ignored her. One can forgive some ignorance considering The Dreaming was not a big critical smash. However, Bush was already an established and known artist who should have been on the Live Aid radar. And Band Aid. Things would change from 1985. Bush was promoting again and there was this new appreciation for her. The best reviews of her career. A number one album. Hounds of Love silenced those who thought she had disappeared or was a recluse who had quit music. I can imagine Kate Bush watching Live Aid in July 1985 and being moved by it. Also thinking she should have been there. Some have pointed out that more recognised or successful artists in 1984/1985 like Sade and Alison Moyet were not invited to Live Aid. It was a very male-heavy line-up. In a case of poor timing, Bush released new music so soon after Live Aid. She did participate in the Sport Aid mini marathon at Blackheath, South London on 25th May, 1986. That 1987 Ferry Aid involvement. However, that omission. Omissions: Band Aid and Live Aid with no Kate Bush. Such a shame she was not asked. If she was part of the line-up, I have no doubt that she would have delivered…

ONE of the very best sets.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Ceechynaa

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Brent McKeever for DAZED

Ceechynaa

_________

EVEN though she has not…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Rodgers for British Vogue

put out too much music so far, there are signs to suggest Ceechynaa is going to be a big feature of the U.K. Rap scene. At the moment, I think that a lot of attention is on U.S. Hip-Hop. A huge amount of time was given over to the beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. When it came to focusing on women in Hip-Hop, there was very little of that. The U.K. scene not given much spotlight at all. A tremendous rapper and fresh voice how can enliven our Hip-Hop scene, I wanted to spend some time with an incredible talent. I do hope that there are more interviews with Ceechynaa this year. I will focus on quite a detailed one from 2023. First, here is some background detail about the amazing Ceechynaa:

“Ceechynaa, also known as Peggy, is a UK-based rapper and influencer who has quickly established herself as a rising star in the music and entertainment industry. Gaining recognition from British Vogue as one of the most exciting female rappers, she has redefined success through her unique blend of rap and R&B. Her journey reflects resilience, transitioning from adult entertainment to becoming an independent music artist, proving her ability to adapt and thrive in different creative spaces.

Peggy’s music resonates with authenticity and bold storytelling, addressing themes of empowerment, style, and ambition. Known as the First Lady of Juicy Couture, she merges music with a distinct fashion-forward image, creating a brand that appeals to a global audience. Her singles, released independently, reflect her passion for music and her commitment to artistic freedom, allowing her to maintain control over her creative vision. 

Beyond music, Ceechynaa embraces social media as a powerful tool to connect with fans and showcase her personality. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have become her stages, where she delivers engaging content ranging from viral videos to behind-the-scenes glimpses of her life. Her relatable captions, combined with striking visuals, make her a dynamic figure in both the music and influencer spaces

Ceechynaa’s influence goes beyond entertainment, as she advocates for consistency, confidence, and empowerment. By collaborating with prominent brands like British Vogue and 1XBLUE, she aligns her image with luxury and authenticity. Her goal remains clear: to inspire women to break barriers, embrace their individuality, and carve out their own success stories, just as she has done.

Ceechynaa’s TikTok presence stands out as her strongest platform, with 606.6K followers and an impressive 124.59% engagement rate. By leveraging her music and personality, she creates captivating short-form videos that frequently go viral. Her content often includes behind-the-scenes moments, music previews, and candid interactions, connecting directly with her audience. Videos like her December uploads have amassed millions of views, showcasing her ability to trend organically.

Consistency is key to her success on TikTok, where she uploads 1.9 videos per week, aligning her content with TikTok’s fast-paced algorithm. Posting twice a week at 3 PM ensures that her audience remains engaged at peak scrolling hours. Her content thrives on relatability and high energy, whether it's through lip-syncs, choreography, or emotionally charged snippets of her music. These approaches amplify her visibility and keep her audience invested in her journey.

Ceechynaa also embraces trends and challenges, positioning herself within the viral culture while still maintaining her unique edge. By combining trending audio with her signature style, she bridges the gap between mainstream appeal and personal artistry. Her videos invite conversations, sparking thousands of comments, likes, and shares that solidify her influence among fans and newcomers”.

I am going to move to a Vogue interview from the start of last year. However, with a new single out, there has been fresh attention for Ceechynaa. Peggy is a remarkable cut from one of the brightest and most promising names in U.K. Hip-Hop. A terrific artist that everyone needs to keep an eye out for. Before moving on, GRM Daily wrote a few words about Peggy:

“Ceechynaa is back with a bang, dropping a fiery new song and accompanying video after a period of silence.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting her return and she delivers with a track that’s both controversial and unapologetically raw. Known for her fearless lyricism and bold persona, she doesn’t hold back, addressing hot topics with her trademark sharpness and unfiltered style. This release reaffirms her reputation as an artist unafraid to push boundaries and speak her mind, making it well worth the wait for her fans”.

I am interested to see how British Rap and Hip-Hop unfolds and evolves this year. Among the queens of the scene is Ceechynaa. I do hope that we get more print interviews with her. Before finish up, Vogue spoke with a young and ambitious rappers in U.K. Hip-Hop:

“The 20-year-old rapper is here to give her first published interview since breaking onto the For You Page with a Dickensian “Oi, mate!” back in August. Still an independent artist, Ceechynaa has accrued more than 10 million streams for “Legal Baby” and “Last Laugh”, both of which have been designed with the specific intention of intimidating the sort of men who perceive feminism to be harmful. And so she creates dark and ominous moods, backdropped with sirens and pitch-shifted cackles, her lyrics always teetering on the seductive and sadistic: “Just lead him on / Tease / And scam him”. “There are so many male rappers that just degrade women and so I think we need an artist to come in and talk about them in the same way they do about women,” Ceechynaa says. “I’m all about female empowerment and so I write about things that make women feel in control. Financial domination and stuff. I want women to know that they don’t have to fit into what society tells them to.”

This isn’t a particularly new spirit for a female rapper to inhabit, but the fact that it’s coming from someone like Ceechynaa feels just as salient as it was when Lil’ Kim encouraged women to harness their sexualities in the ’90s. This is someone who first went viral at the age of 15 for removing her wig in protest of beauty standards during a school assembly and someone who made tens of thousands of pounds picking up calls on adult entertainment channels at just 18. She sees both things as a forced reversal in power dynamics – “I just know my pay pigs are probably like, ‘Chynaa what happened!? We can’t see your milkies anymore!’” – which has, of course, been unpopular among traditional fans of UK rap. Particularly those who are not used to being referred to as “bottom of the barrel scraps”.

Below, we catch up with Ceechynaa on her sudden rise to fame, the celebrities that have been sliding into her DMs and her long-term plans to become a fixture on the front rows of London Fashion Week.

Hi Ceechynaa! How would you like to introduce yourself?

“So, my real name is Chelsea Ode, but my artist name is Ceechynaa, and when I was in adult entertainment, I went by the name China’s Milkies, which has kind of become my nickname online. My parents were both born in Nigeria and moved to the UK before they had me. I’m originally from south London, but I live in the home counties at the moment. And the whole music thing started when I was around 14 years old. I was with some friends who were doing a studio session and I jumped in the booth while they went outside just for a laugh. The producer told me that I should pursue music, so I’ve just been writing lyrics ever since then! I was still working in adult entertainment when I first started college. I did quit, though, to concentrate on my studies. But when the success of ‘Last Laugh’ started to become overwhelming, I realised that it would be impossible to pursue both music and education.”

Why did you get into adult entertainment?

“I’ve always wanted to make music and I’ve always known that I wanted to arrive onto the scene with a bang. But the money I had been earning from doing traditional nine-to-fives – working as a waitress but mostly cleaning toilets, scrubbing mould off the floor and washing over 500 dishes a day – was never going to be enough to fund that. I was also very shy at the time and so I wanted to get used to being in front of the camera, communicating with loads of people at once. And you know what? I made a lot of money for someone who had just turned 18. The calls were charged at £5 a minute and so I could make £4,000 just like that. I would have to do a month’s worth of ‘normal’ work to achieve that kind of income. Every single entertainment platform I was on has now shut down, though. I know my pay pigs are probably like, ‘Chyna what happened!? We can’t see your milkies anymore!’”

Did your family know how you were making this money?

“They actually didn’t. It’s funny because it was always in the back of my mind like, ‘Hmmm, what would happen if everyone saw me dangling this phone on live TV?’ It was my worst nightmare, but I never thought I was gonna get caught! And then, this one time, I was on Sky TV when my brother’s friend saw me and told someone. That’s how they found out and it was embarrassing! I used to tease my family, ‘Oh when I turn 18, I’m gonna do this and that!’, and they’d be like, ‘Go on then! We dare you!’ But they were pretty speechless when they actually discovered what I had been doing. Like really, really shocked. They didn’t really know what to say. You know, if I could go back in time, I don’t know if I would have joined adult entertainment. I started getting approached to join companies through social media when I was just 17. But the prospect of making £30,000 a month just felt too good to miss.”

How does it feel to navigate this notoriety all of a sudden?

“When people tell me that I’m famous, I just feel like, ‘Really?’ And then they remind me that I’ve been on the front cover of magazines. There have been so many celebrities that have taken a liking to my music: Chloe Bailey, Amber Rose, Lily Allen. Lily was the first celebrity to show love to my music, always resharing stuff and promoting the songs, giving me advice. It’s weird because now I’m invited to all these events, famous people will come up to me and say, ‘Oh I was watching your Live the other day!’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my God! That means you’ve seen me in my bonnet, cussing people out!’ My supporters go so hard for me – oh that sounded so wrong! – but there are literally Discord servers where people stream my music as a collective. And it’s such a diverse audience – a lot of them are Swifties and BTS fans!?”

If that’s the worst thing to have happened since breaking out, what’s been the most exciting thing?

“Other than British Vogue contacting me? It must have been seeing ‘Last Laugh’ go up by hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube every single day – because I hadn’t paid a single penny for the promo, it was all organic. And then being on the front cover of Dazed was a highlight, too. That was absolutely huge. “I have so much stuff to rap about that I’ve just been recording song after song after song. The next single I release is going to be massive.”

The UK hasn’t really had a breakthrough female rapper. Why do you think that is?

“I genuinely feel like a lot of female rappers in the UK want to sound like all the other female American rappers. You don’t really get women in the music industry – especially in rap – that keep to their British sound. And so I think it’s refreshing that someone like me has come onto the scene and kept the authentic British phrasing. Who else refers to the police as ‘coppers’? I think it’s quite funny. And now I see people in America referring to people as ‘tossers’! It’s one thing to go viral, but it’s another to keep the momentum going. Social media is so advanced these days that anyone can go viral. Even if you’re not dropping music, it’s important to show up on socials and I don’t think people know how to do that. People don’t know their audience and what kind of music their audience wants to listen to.”

So how are you going to spin these viral moments into a sustainable career?

“I don’t want to put myself in a box and I want to try out different things, which is why I’m moving towards the fashion side of things, too. I’ve worked with a few designers, like Dion Lee, 1XBlue, Poster Girl and Mowalola, whose show I was going to walk but I couldn’t get my hair done in time! I’ve always been interested in Y2K stuff, because I grew up looking up to Paris Hilton and all her Juicy Couture moments. But it’s always been about the bikini for me. Ever since I wore my first bikini, it’s literally all I’ve worn – anything that makes my milkies look good! Recently I’ve started taking a liking to vintage, though. My stylist has introduced me to Christian Dior, Prada, Chantal Thomas, Roberto Cavalli and I’ve fallen in love. I’m quite well spoken, so I think the classy vibe suits me? Oh and I’m actually thinking of releasing my own brand soon…

Who, or what, have been the biggest influences on your music?

“If we’re talking about female rap, I have to give it to Nicki Minaj. I couldn’t name another musician that’s had as much impact on me. But, really, anger is the biggest influence. When I make music I have to make myself mad, because I can’t write if I’m not fuming about something. The first thing I do is open up my pink notebook and I remember all the times I’ve been pissed off. There are so many male rappers that just degrade women, and so I think we need an artist to come in and talk about these male rappers in the same way they do about women! I’m all about female empowerment and so I write about things that make women feel in control. Taking men’s money, financial domination and stuff. Oh, and I really, really love witch house music and I’m actually about to release a track in that style. Did you know I wanted to be a singer before? People are gonna see more of that this year, as well.”

If men are positioned as “bottom of the barrel scraps”, what do you want women to take away from your music?

“I want women to know that they don’t have to fit into what society tells them they need to fit into. You shouldn’t aim to be like everyone else. I get loads of people talking about my body online, because they expect female rappers to have the same plastic-surgeried, BBL look. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what you want to do, but I’ve decided to embrace my natural body. Like, I’m walking around Oxford Circus with my belly hanging out! I want people to know that you don’t have to have the ‘perfect’ body in order to be taken seriously.”

You’ve got quite a nonchalant, if not low-effort presence on stage, which people love. Has that been a deliberate choice?

“I mean, I’ve mostly not had time to rehearse! Everything has happened so quickly. My first proper performance was at Reading when Tion Wayne bought me out. As soon as I got there, I was due on stage. I was like, ‘I can’t do this? I can’t go on stage!’ and they just passed me the mic. I pretty much smashed it. There were about 50,000 people there, so every performance I’ve given since then feels so light lift.”

There must be lots of record labels trying to sign you. Is that a goal of yours?

“I’ve sat down by myself, an independent artist, and thought, ‘There must be something special about you, because not a single penny has been invested into promo and you’ve done over 10 million streams online’. What would be the point in signing? There are signed artists that have huge marketing budgets with less momentum on social media as I do. Anything I’d want from a label is already happening organically. Not only that, but, because I'm still so new to all of this, people try to give me a cheap deal. When I feel like I have more leverage, then we can start discussing some big money! But yeah, I’ve been bombarded by nearly every single label you could possibly think of. When ‘Last Laugh’ came out, my emails, DMs, comments and TikTok Lives, even my friends were flooded with requests. But it’s a journey and people wanna feel like they’re growing with you. If my videos were filmed in some big-ass location, it would feel inauthentic. It needs to feel relatable”.

@chynasmilkies

IM ON THE BILLBOARDS🥳🇬🇧

♬ Peggy - Ceechynaa

I am going to finish with this feature that celebrated Ceechynaa. When it comes to women in Hip-Hop, people often pit them against one another. They are rarely boosted and respected in the same way male artists are. Here is an artist who wants to change that. There is not a lot of discussion about women in U.K. Rap and Hip-Hop. That should change very soon:

“Highlighting a broader challenge: how difficult it has been for UK female rappers to break into the mainstream. As we know, male rappers have long dominated the music charts, and for me, the last reason for this is the idea that they are more talented. It’s a reflection of the deep-rooted misogyny within the UK music scene—where male voices are amplified, and female voices are often sidelined or scrutinised more harshly. We must look at the mistakes of the past and ensure we don’t carry them into our future.

Having seen countless trends and artists come and go through Mixtape Madness, I’ve always been drawn to the anomalies—the moments when something unexpected breaks through. Ceechynaa’s rise with “Peggy” is exactly that. This moment is made even more significant when we consider the difference between the UK and the US in how female rap is received. In the US, artists like Lil Kim, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Nicki Minaj have paved the way for women to embrace bold, explicit lyrics without facing backlash. However, in the UK, female rappers often face more scrutiny when they adopt a similar approach, with audiences less accepting of explicit content from women.

Being from Tottenham, I take immense pride in our Black musical legacy. I’m showing my age here, but if I think back to the ’80s with groups like The Demon Boys, through to the Grime and Garage eras with names like Boy Better Know, Wretch 32, and Chip, and then moving into the Drill era with the rise of artists like Headie One, it’s clear that the area has a rich, vibrant history of Black music. But the harsh reality is that the only platform truly acknowledging this history is Tim Westwood TV, we all know how that story played out, but that platform played a significant role in amplifying the voices of Tottenham and the wider Black musical culture.

Now, as we move forward, it’s essential that we not only empower female artists but also support the platforms that amplify their stories. There’s real power in ensuring that women, especially in the genres where they’ve been historically overlooked, are given the same respect, opportunities, and platforms to tell their/our stories.

We’ve seen how male-dominated narratives have played out in the past, and it’s time to build something that recognises and celebrates the full spectrum of talent, history, and culture—one that includes and uplifts women just as much as men.

Ceechynaa might not be your cup of tea but BXKS, Chy Cartier (deservedly MOBO Best Newcomer Nominated) and Vienna1 illustrate the diverse range sounds, flows, cadence, narratives and more that the new generation of female artists are bringing to the table. Let’s not TeeZandos and Cristale’s PluggedIn is arguably one of the best UK freestyles to drop in the last 2 years.

For me, watching Ceechynaa’s rise is a reminder that we’re living through a moment of change in the music industry. It’s not just about seeing more women on the charts; it’s about seeing women take control of their own narratives and redefine what it means to be a woman in music.

As Ceechynaa continues to make her mark, it’s clear that she’s leading this charge, and I’m excited to see where she—and the many other women following in her footsteps—will go next”.

I think this year will be a promising and exciting one for Ceechynaa. An artist that is primed for success, do make sure that you follow her. Even if she has released only three singles since 2022, I think the average will change this year as more focus comes her way. A possible album in future years. People will want her to perform live, so there are interesting and exciting possibilities ahead. I will watch closely to see what comes next…

FOR the sensational Ceechynaa.

___________

Follow Ceechynaa

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/ceechynaa

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@chynasmilkies

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0K71lFgGGmekeFSUrWaRhg

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@CEECHYNAA

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Blondie’s Chris Stein at Seventy-Five

FEATURE:

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: Axel Dupeux for The Wall Street Journal

Blondie’s Chris Stein at Seventy-Five

_________

PERHAPS an artist…

IN THIS PHOTO: Deborah Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie on their rooftop in New York City on 28th November, 1980/PHOTO CREDIT Allan Tannenbaum

that some people do not know about, the legendary Chris Stein turns seventy-five on 5th January. As guitarist for Blondie. He is an integral part of a hugely influential band. Someone who was also influential in shaping and defining the group’s sound, I will end with a Blondie playlist that showcases Chris Stein’s incredible talent. Before getting there, I want to turn to AllMusic and their biographical study of the wonderful Chris Stein:

“Debbie Harry received the lion's share of attention during Blondie's reign during the late '70s and early '80s, but guitarist Chris Stein is often credited with helping to shape the group's sound, as he penned (or co-penned) most of the group's best-known songs. Born in Brooklyn, NY on January 5, 1950, Stein's first career goals were non-musical, as he wanted to be an Egyptologist as a youngster. But when his parents bought him his first guitar at the age of 11, his focus eventually shifted to music. Stein's ensuing teenaged years were not without turbulence, however, as he was kicked out of school due to the length of his hair and suffered a nervous breakdown, and his father passed away due to a heart attack. By the early '70s, New York was swept up in a glam rock scene spearheaded by the New York Dolls, and Stein took note -- looking to join a similarly styled band. He didn't have to wait long, as he happened to stumble upon a local group called the Stilettos, which included Debbie Harry as one of their singers. Stein soon joined the group as their guitarist, and soon developed a romantic relationship with Harry.

When the group broke up in the mid-'70s, Stein and Harry looked to form a new band together, which led to the formation of Blondie soon after. Blondie became affiliated with the burgeoning CBGB's scene (which also included the Ramones, the Talking Heads, etc.), and released an independently issued self-titled debut in 1976. After signing with Chrysalis, Blondie honed their new wave pop hooks with each subsequent release, as evidenced by 1977's Plastic Letters (which Stein also played bass on) and 1978's Parallel Lines, the latter of which scored Blondie their big breakthrough hit, with the disco smash "Heart of Glass." Further hit albums (1979's Eat to the Beat and 1980's Autoamerican) and singles ("Call Me," "The Tide Is High," "Rapture") followed, but with 1982's The Hunter, the group's popularity began to rapidly decline.

It was right around this time also that Stein developed a rare skin disease, Pemphigus, which caused the guitarist to break out in blisters all over his body. While Stein was being treated for an elongated period in an N.Y.C. hospital (he would eventually recover fully), Blondie quietly disbanded. Prior to battling the illness, Stein founded his own record company, Animal Records -- releasing Iggy Pop's Zombie Birdhouse (which Stein also produced and played on), as well as the Gun Club's sophomore outing, Miami. But as a result of his illness, Stein had to shut down the label soon after. He and Harry eventually split up as a couple as well, but remained good friends, as Stein contributed to such solo Harry albums as 1981's Kookoo, 1986's Rockbird, 1988's Once More into the Bleach, and 1989's Def, Dumb, & Blonde.

By the late '90s, Stein and Harry launched a Blondie reunion tour with two other of its original members (keyboardist Jimmy Destri and drummer Clem Burke), releasing a new studio album and live set in 1999 -- No Exit and Live in New York. Stein has also guested on other artist's recordings over the years, including Dee Dee Ramone's lone release under his rap alter ego, Dee Dee King (1988's best-forgotten Standing in the Spotlight), and has composed music for such movies/TV shows as Tales from the Darkside, Wild Style, Intimate Stranger, Polyester, and Union City. A longtime photographer, some of Stein's images have been used as album artwork by Dramarama and Lydia Lunch”.

To celebrate the upcoming seventy-fifth birthday of one of the all-time great guitarists and someone who is key to Blondie’s success and brilliance, below is a selection of Blondie hits and deep cuts with Chris Stein firmly in the mix. I think that a new Blondie album is being worked on. Hopefully we will hear an update this year. There has never been a Blondie biopic. I hope that appears one day. Or a film where Blondie feature. Who would play a young Chris Stein? Maybe Finn Wolfhard? Who would play Debbie Harry? Even though Harry said Michelle Pfeiffer is someone she would like to play her, maybe it would be better if Florence Pugh, Sydney Sweeny or Saoirse Ronan played her (Kirsten Dunst was suggested for a planned Blondie biopic (that never happened) and, whilst that casting was criticised by many, Debbie Harry defended it. A T.V. movie, Debbie Harry: Atomic Blondie, was released in 2018). That is me going off on a tangent. Anyway. As the sensational Chris Stein is seventy-five on 5th January, this ids a salute to…

A music great.

FEATURE: Someone Lost at Sea Hoping Someone in a Plane Will Find Them: Kate Bush the Artist

FEATURE:

 

 

Someone Lost at Sea Hoping Someone in a Plane Will Find Them

ART CREDIT: Matt Hemming Studio

Kate Bush the Artist

_________

I am going to return to…

IN THIS PHOTO: David Bowie in 1975

Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love for various features this year. I will also come back to an idea I had a for a filmed version of the album’s second side, The Ninth Wave. Connected to The Ninth Wave is artwork. Specifically, I wanted to start this feature off by mentioning an event from 1994 where David Bowie was at the centre. It also connects to artwork by Kate Bush. Let’s untangle things a bit. Thanks to Tom Doyle and his excellent book, Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush, for the inspiration. Kate Bush fans know that one of her music idols was David Bowie. On 8th January, the late icon would have turned seventy-eight. Two days later, it will be nine years since he died. He is in the minds of a lot of music fans. What an absence his death left. How important he was. For now, rather than mourn, I am using him as a jumping-off point. In 1994, there was a charity auction to raise money for War Child. David Bowie admired some artwork from Kate Bush. Bush had always wanted to meet David Bowie. She was in the audience, at the age of fourteen, for the final Ziggy Stardust gig on 3rd July, 1973. Someone who inspired her music and stage work, it is a tragedy that the two never worked together. I might explore this for another feature. Elements of David Bowie’s music in Bush’s work. How various albums, such as Lodger and Young Americans, can be detected in some of Kate Bush’s songs. Bush mentioned in an interview that Young Americans (1975) was her favourite Bowie album. Released the same year she recorded her first songs professionally, the timing makes sense. You can imagine a young Kate Bush listening to David Bowie (this article references a MOJO interview where Bush mentioned being struck by an iconic Bowie song (Starman): “Speaking to Mojo in 2007, Bush remembered being in the “bath, submerged by bubbles” the first time she heard Bowie’s music. “There’s a starman waiting in the sky,'” she quoted. “I thought it was such an interesting song and that he had a really unusual voice. Soon, I was to hear that track everywhere, and Bowie’s music became a part of my life”).

I will focus more on Kate Bush soon. David Bowie’s influence is important to keep mentioning. Last year, PROG published an article with quotes from Kate Bush through the years where she explored her love of David Bowie and why he was so special to her:

“Adding how the legendary vocalist soon became a favourite, rivalling her other heroes at the time, Bush added: "His picture found itself on my bedroom wall next to the sacred space reserved solely for my greatest love - Elton John".

"A fantastic songwriter with a voice to match, Bowie had everything. He was just the right amount of weird, obviously intelligent and, of course, very sexy."

Luckily for the Wuthering Heights singer, she managed to attend Bowie's final show as Ziggy Stardust, which took place on July 3, 1973, at London's Hammersmith Odeon.

Bush recalled: "Ziggy played guitar. And I was there to see his last show as Ziggy Stardust with The Spiders From Mars. The atmosphere was just so charged that at the end, when he cried, we all cried with him."

Speaking of the moment she got to meet him properly for the first time in real life, she wrote: "Working at Abbey Road studios some years later, I popped in to see a friend on another session....I was stopped in my tracks."

"Standing elegantly poised behind the console was David Bowie. He was lit from above and smoking a cigarette. He said, 'Hello Kate. "I froze on the spot and said, 'Er...Hello,' and then left the room, caught my breath outside the door and didn't dare to go back in again."

"We've met many times since then and I don’t have to leave the room any more....or do I?".

Following his death in 2016, Bush wrote a tribute in The Guardian, which read: "David Bowie had everything. He was intelligent, imaginative, brave, charismatic, cool, sexy and truly inspirational both visually and musically. He created such staggeringly brilliant work, yes, but so much of it and it was so good. There are great people who make great work but who else has left a mark like his? No one like him.

"I’m struck by how the whole country has been flung into mourning and shock. Shock, because someone who had already transcended into immortality could actually die. He was ours. Wonderfully eccentric in a way that only an Englishman could be”.

This provides context and background. I think about that occasion in the 1980s when Bush first met Bowie. She could only utter a few words and had to leave the room. Bowie, in the studio smoking and looking cool; Bush entering the room at Abbey Road Studios seeing one of her idols. Fast forward to 1994 when Bowie was on T.V. discussing some artwork by Kate Bush. Treated to a private viewing at the Flowers East gallery in Hackney, London. This was an exhibition of unique art from celebrities raising money for War Child. Included were works from Paul McCartney (a driftwood carving), Charlie Watts (a sketch of a hotel telephone) and Bowie himself (seventeen computer-generated prints). Bush’s, to my mind, only public artwork harked back to The Ninth Wave from Hounds of Love. The seven-by-six-inch twin pieces were entitled Someone Lost at Sea Hoping Someone in a Plane Will Find Them and Someone in a Plane Hoping to Find Someone Lost at Sea. In the centre of these works of art was black velvet, which depicted the night sky. A red light was projected from a battery-powered diode. It sort of connects to the Boxes of Lost at Sea Hounds of Love reissue from 2023 (which has been nominated for a GRAMMY). Kate Bush had signed both at the back using a gold pen. Even if it was an embarrassing piece of television, just after eight the following morning, David Bowie and Brian Eno were filmed at the gallery for GMTV, where they were interviewed by Anthea Turner. The pieces of art were quite small, so Turner had a hard time reading the titles of each. David Bowie raised his eyebrows and had to read them. It was awkward viewing, through what remains is his appreciation of Kate Bush’s prowess and natural talent as an artist.

I am surprised there was not a collaboration between the two after that 1994 T.V. spot. A tragedy that Bowie and Bush did not step into the studio to record something together. One of music’s greatest what-if scenarios! Bowie told Anthea Turner how he would like the pieces even without Kate Bush’s name attached, as he felt they were lovely and romantic. He said he would bid for them. As Tom Doyle writes, the previous evening, a David Bowie fan, Neville Judd, waited outside the Flowers East gallery as Bush entered and enquired about the artwork she donated. She said they were about the sea…and about her. Once Bowie and Bush left the gallery, Judd was allowed in the gallery. He spotted filmmaker Nicholas Roeg – who cast Bowie in the 1976 film, The Man Who Fell to Earth – and there was a brief exchange. Roeg told Judd that one of them needed to buy Bush’s art. Judd did and spent £1,150 at the auction held at the Royal College of Art. Bowie was asked why he did not bid on the artwork. He said they were the loveliest things but something came up. I would love to know what prevented Bowie from owning a piece of Kate Bush history! Bush met Bowie several times. When he died in 2016, she mentioned Blackstar and how wonderful that album was. It was not a coincidence that, when she reissued her studio albums remastered in 2018, she included a very special song on a rarities collection, The Other Sides. Her 1975 recording of Humming – the same session where she recorded The Kick Inside’s The Saxophone Song and The Man with the Child in His Eyes -, which was a song about David Bowie, was finally released.

This 1994 love-fest for Kate Bush by David Bowie connects to her recent Christmas message. Where she talks about being at a Monet exhibition in London. It made me think about art and why Kate Bush did not continue. She has designed album covers and sketched the characters and storyboards for her Little Shrew (Snowflake) video. She has also no doubt enjoyed art exhibitions and been to many galleries through the years. I wonder why Kate Bush the musician did not also become Kate Bush the artist. Kate Bush has been hailed as the Queen of Art Pop more than once. Never the Queen of Pop Art. Or any other genre. I guess, as it is unlikely Bush will ever appear on one of her album covers again, that artwork will be a focal point for her next work. I do wonder if she will design it. I would like to think that Kate Bush’s love of artists such as Claude Monet might inspire her to pick up some oils, watercolours or chalk. Someone who loves gardening and knows how inspiring that can be, I’d like to think that she picks up a canvas and palette now and then. On Aerial’s second side, A Sky of Honey, there is a song on the suite called A Painter’s Link. Unfortunately, the 2005 original featured vocals from Rolf Harris. His voice was replaced by her son Albert’s when Aerial was reissued in 2018. It is clear that the influence of art and its importance was in her mind when she created this beautiful suite for Aerial. I would love to see more artwork from Kate Bush. Know who her favourite painters are. She is someone who I think could have had a future in various mediums. A great and varied actor. A novelist and a director (outside of music videos). Possibly a composer for film or T.V. scores (that possibility is still there). Kate Bush the artist has a good ring to it! Maybe something she does privately, I would be fascinated to know more about the artists who influence Kate Bush. Someone who I see as artist. Her music more as paintings than traditional songs. Over thirty years ago, David Bowie took a shine to two wonderful and charming pieces by Kate Bush. Has she been inspired since to produce more artwork for charity? Maybe something to look forward to from a woman who can…

DO almost anything!

FEATURE: Silent No Longer: The Case of Gisele Pelicot and Why Men Need to Be Part of An Important Conversation

FEATURE:

 

 

Silent No Longer

IN THIS PHOTO: Gisele Pelicot/PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Hambis//Getty Images

The Case of Gisele Pelicot and Why Men Need to Be Part of An Important Conversation

_________

THINKING back to last year…

IN THIS PHOTO: Gisele Pelicot arrives at the courthouse with her lawyer Antoine Camus, right, to hear the verdict/PHOTO CREDIT: Clement Mahoudeau/AFP/Getty Images

and one of the standout events/news stories was the case of Gisele Pelicot, who was raped by her husband and fifty other men. All of those accused were found guilty and sentenced to years in jail. Even if the sentences were ridiculously low and lenient, it was a victory that arrived after a real ordeal. The superhuman bravery of Gisele Pelicot defies anything we may ever see again. In terms of how hard it must have been for her having to relive such trauma. She stood strong, waived her anonymity and put the conversation into the public. Not only is she now a feminist icon; Pelicot has left this legacy. The need to ensure that we never live to see a day where her story and experiences are repeated. For anyone who says that this is an extreme case and things are getting better when it comes to the way women are treated and the misogynistic climate, it really isn’t! Gisele Pelicot’s bravery and remarkable strength needs to stay in the heads and hearts of everyone. To ensure that a light is shone on violence women face in society. This incredibly inspiring and strong heroine is not going away. I will come to an argument as to why men need to do more. Whilst there needs to be more conversation and action. However, before that, I want to bring in a couple of BBC articles around the outcome and aftermath of the trial. I will start out with this one:

“Dominique Pelicot stood accused alongside 50 other men, 46 of whom were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.

Several of them have already spent years in jail as they were arrested when police conducted their initial investigation in 2021, and will therefore be free relatively soon.

Most of the men on trial had denied that what they did was rape.

They argued they did not realise Ms Pelicot was unconscious and therefore did not "know" they were raping her. It is an argument that sparked a nationwide discussion about France's legal definition of rape.

The defendants' jail terms range from between three and 15 years”.

Everyone hopes that, going forward, something positive comes out of what Gisele Pelicot had to endure. That society changes. At the very least, that we never have to read of another case as disturbing. I want to move onto this BBC article discussing the outcome of the recent trial:

“After 16 weeks, the Pelicot trial is over.

This morning's session was shorter than many had anticipated, with the court president, Roger Arata, whizzing through the guilty verdicts he and four other judges handed down to the 51 defendants, and then separately spelling out the sentencing for each of them.

Before midday, this trial - which has captured people in France and beyond - was over.

Gisèle Pelicot was just an anonymous retired French grandmother when she first walked into the door of the Avignon tribunal. Few journalists were waiting for her then.

Today, when she descended the steps of the courthouse for the last time, she was a feminist icon.

Well over a hundred journalists followed her every move as she put her hand to her heart and smiled wordlessly, thanking the crowds of supporters who chanted out her name.

When her car drove off, supporters wiped off their tears. Their gratitude for this diminutive but extraordinary woman was palpable.

She will be remembered for a long time”.

It was shocking and horrifying following the details of the trial. It seemed to get more depraved and disturbing by the week. Against it all, Gisele Pelicot showed fearlessness and fortitude. So strong and resilient in the face of the atrocities she faced. As Cosmopolitan wrote last month, now that the dust of a truly heinous case has settled, Gisele Pelicot bravery and legacy cannot be ignored:

“Rape culture is infused into the very veins of society, a blood-borne disease that must be called out at every single opportunity until we are red in the face. It has a home in our schools, in our universities, in our police force, fire departments, health service. It is normalised to such a degree that a man standing trial for rape and trafficking women (charges that he denies) is one of the most followed on X (Twitter) and that another, convicted of one sexual assault and accused of numerous others is once again to be leader of the free world. Whether butcher, baker or candlestick maker, sexual predators have repeatedly been shown to be enabled, tolerated and excused. We only have to look at the recent allegations of police and doctors colluding with Mohammad Al-Fayed to aide his abuse of over 60 alleged victims to see that.

It is for this reason that this remarkable grandmother chose to flip the script and waive her right to anonymity in this case. Uttering the now famous words: “When you’re raped there is shame and it’s not for us to have shame, it’s for them.” Instead of allowing the trial to take place behind closed doors, in an astonishing act of bravery, Mme Pelicot decided to prioritise, as she said in her closing statement, her belief that “society at this point need to look at how we trivialise rape” over saving the remaining scraps of her dignity. She described how she is unlikely to “ever feel peace until the end of my life”, and how she will have to live knowing what happened to her. After months of harrowing evidence, Gisèle said “I admit that today I can feel the tiredness”, and we all feel tired with — and for her.

Pelicot’s decision to press the judge to allow videos of her abuse to be shown in open court means we are once again having an international conversation about rape and attitudes to women more widely. On the coattails of this trial, France’s legal definition of rape, which does not include consent, is being questioned.

What we must reflect on in the wake of this case is not its uniquely monstrous details, but how society has created a culture in which forums exist for abusers to gather, organise and act out their sordid fantasies. How 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted since the age of 16, and how 98% of perpetrators are male. A culture in which disbelieving women often feels the norm, and where becoming victim to revenge or deepfake porn are legitimate everyday fears for women.

In a message to women everywhere, Pelicot’s son David said: “please, please don’t be afraid to speak out. The omertà is over. We have to speak out.” And while the onus should never be on the victim to speak out, we can hope that, rather than being singled out as a freak incident, awareness is raised that this is one hideous thread in a global tapestry of endemic violence against women.

Indeed, while this case has made headlines for its shocking nature, even here we have seen many of the same old victim-blaming tropes women everywhere face, being repeated. In particular, when Dominique’s defence lawyer questioned during cross-examination why Gisèle hadn’t cried more and challenged her on her choice to retain her marital name. A woman, betrayed by a duplicitous husband without her knowledge for the pleasure of a group of total strangers, expected to carefully curate or consider her own emotional response. The suggestion was further proof of the clichéd idea of the ‘perfect’ victim, reminding us how women are expected to behave in the face of abuse as opposed to the complex reality of trauma. Reminding us that women are expected to assume a man’s name — his identity — in marriage and then, after half a century of it being hers, too, to cast it aside if that man sullies it. To the absurdity of this question, Gisèle had the perfect response: “My name is known across the world now,” she said. “Today we will remember Gisèle Pelicot.” Whatever the enduring impact of this shocking case, that, at least, will always remain true.

If you or anyone you know has been impacted by the details of this article, visit: Rape Crisis England & Wales, Rape Crisis Scotland, or 
The Rowan (for Northern Ireland). RASASC provides emotional and practical support for survivors, families and friends. For additional support with mental health, visit Mind”.

One of the most frustrating takeaways from the discussion and discourse around the rape trial was men jumping in to defend themselves. To say that not all men are like this. It happens with every case of a women being raped, abused, assaulted or subjected to misogyny. Rather than there being compassion for Gisele Pelicot and anger at how she was treated, there is this instinct to make it all about them!

Very few high-profile figures spoke out against the rapists. I follow a few men on social media who were showing support for Gisele Pelicot and calling for change. However, there was a notable silence from those in the public eye. When it came to men, there was a lot of people saying they were not like the rapists. That this is only a very small number of people compared to the good men out there. However, the vast majority of people calling for change, highlighting the levels of violence and misogyny against women were women. This year needs to be one where things change. That Gisele Pelicot’s experiences need to wake men up. I run a music blog, and I did not read or hear from any men in music who shared their outrage and disgust. 2024 was a year when we heard of multiple cases of sexual assault and violence against women in music. Sadly, this year we will see even more. Things have not changed or improved. Men need to do a lot more. Rather than merely salute and admire Gisele Pelicot, we need to examine why such a sickening case would exist in the modern world. Such barbarism and evil. Looking at the music industry, there was a general silence and ignorance from men in 2024. Women who bravely came forward to tell their stories and bring their abusers to justice. Every year, we are seeing so much violence and abuse against women. We live in a hugely misogynistic world. This year needs to be the start of change. Men need to do more and have conversations. Speak out against those accused of abuse and violence rather than being silent or defending men in general. Gisele Pelicot is a heroine whose experiences and bravery should not be for nothing. So many women have spoken out and opened up discussion. Very few men did. This has to change. Writing as a music journalist, I did think about the multiple cases of abuse against women last year. We cannot keep seeing this happen. Men need to do a lot more. There needs to be massive changes, not just in the wider world, but also…

IN the music industry.

FEATURE: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Madonna’s Material Girl at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Madonna’s Material Girl at Forty

_________

THIS is one of the…

divisive songs in Madonna’s catalogue. However, I think that it is very important in terms of her legacy. It is the first song of hers that I remember hearing. Seeing its amazing video. Material Girl was included on her second studio album, Like a Virgin (1984). After the title track, Material Girl was the second single released. I am going to explore its impact. Reaching three in the U.K. and three in the U.S., it was a huge hit. Even if Madonna has been dismissive of the song, it is one of her defining tracks. I shall end by linking to a few features where Material Girl is ranked highly among Madonna’s best songs. Before that, here is a feature that talked about the beginning of filming the Material Girl video on 10th January, 1985. The single was released on 23rd January, 1985:

“On January 10 1985, Madonna began filming the Material Girl music video in Los Angeles, California.  The video was directed by Mary Lambert. Madonna met Sean Penn on the set.

In a 1987 interview with New York Daily News, Madonna talked about the concept for the video:

“My favorite scene in all of Marilyn Monroe’s movies is when she does that dance sequence for ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’. And when it came time to do the video for the song Material Girl, I said, I can just redo that whole scene and it will be perfect. Marilyn was made into something not human in a way, and I can relate to that. Her sexuality was something everyone was obsessed with and that I can relate to. And there were certain things about her vulnerability that I’m curious about and attracted to.”

Reflecting on the song, Madonna told author J. Randy Taraborrelli:

“I can’t completely disdain the song and the video, because they certainly were important to my career. But talk about the media hanging on a phrase and misinterpreting the damn thing as well. I didn’t write that song, you know, and the video was about how the girl rejected diamonds and money. But God forbid irony should be understood. So when I’m ninety, I’ll still be the Material Girl. I guess it’s not so bad. Lana Turner was the Sweater Girl until the day she died”.

I am surprised more has not been written about Material Girl. Because it is almost forty years since Madonna began shooting the video for the track, I want to mark that fortieth anniversary of an iconic song. I want to start by bringing in an article from Dig! who celebrated Madonna’s richly satirical song. One that defined the 1980s but was not as it seemed:

“Nile Rodgers, the Chic genius who had recently worked with David Bowie on his commercial pinnacle, Let’s Dance, and was cannily drafted in by Madonna to work his magic on her second album, had wanted Material Girl to launch the record. Of course, his protégé – already securing a reputation for knowing her own mind – considered Like A Virgin’s title song a more certain bet. Unsurprisingly, Madonna won that battle and, once released, Like A Virgin topped the US charts for six weeks.

With Material Girl lined up for release as album’s the second single, on 30 November 1984, no expense was spared on a lavish promo video. Its iconic restaging of the Marilyn Monroe performance of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend, from the 1953 classic Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, cast Madonna as a charismatic star unmoved by her suitor’s flashy advances. Demanding authenticity, she is ultimately seduced by a simple bouquet and a ride in an old car.

This juxtaposition of contradictory motivations, an empowering life mantra and the slickest of presentations is in many ways a metaphor for Madonna’s lasting appeal. Here, there’s a blindingly compelling hook – in this case, a bass-anchored, catchy synth-pop hit created by songwriters Peter Brown and Robert Rans – a high-energy video, directed by Mary Lambert (who had already helmed the clips for Borderline and Like A Virgin), and a whole heap of more subtle messaging going on a layer below – for those that cared to dig a bit deeper…

Inevitably, Material Girl was an enormous hit, reaching No.2 in the US and No.3 in the UK, and Madonna would perform it on many of her tours, including her inaugural The Virgin Tour, in the US, later that year. She would revisit the song on global dates for her Who’s That Girl shows, in 1987; the iconic Blond Ambition concerts of 1990; and 2004’s Re-Invention World Tour. On the Like A Virgin and Who’s That Girl dates, she even threw out fake paper Madonna money at the end of the song (good luck trying to get hold of one today without mortgaging your home). It’s classic Madonna – if only commentators had been able to keep up. Regardless, her vocal delivery should have been enough to get the joke across – Madonna sings Material Girl with real exaggeration. This song was never meant to be taken seriously.

It’s hard to imagine Madonna’s career without this critical song, whose cultural impact arguably far outreached its notable commercial success. As one of the best Madonna songs of all time, there’s no doubt Material Girl fuelled the Madonna-mania of 1985, revealing, possibly for the first time, the “Queen Of Pop” as an artist with a chameleon-like ability to build ever-more intriguing personas. The performance-art side really starts here”.

There is always that debate as to whether Material Girl empowers or belittles women. Whether it is about materialism and its fakeness or it is a satire and tongue-in-cheek song. I think it is fiction and Madonna is portraying a fictional version of herself. Someone who was never materialistic, perhaps she is inhabiting a character. It is interesting to have the conversation and go into depth. I found this website and an interesting take on one of Madonna’s defining tracks:

“Something that always caught my attention was the fact that the video made for Material Girl totally contradicted the original lyrics of the song. As we all know in the video, although Madonna is shown obsessed with material things and money, we later realize that all this was only in appearance since in real life she was a woman who valued simple things and romance ( although I can't imagine someone in real life who prefers an insignificant bouquet of roses to an elegant and expensive jewel as seen in the video)

This "happy ending" is not mentioned in the original lyrics of the song, which rather talks about a woman who prefers to relate to men with money, always speaking of them in the plural, implying that she is not looking for a formal relationship (marrying a millionaire ) but relationships as brief and fleeting as possible (hinted further by the final phrase “Experience has made me rich…” where I think “Experience” refers to multiple relationships with several different men.

That is why I see that it goes against the empowerment of women since it contradicts the ideal that women should not depend on men and fend for themselves without the need to use their bodies or their beauty to seduce rich men and get material things or economic stability, thus becoming sexual objects.

On the other hand, I also feel that the song empowers them in a certain way by showing that in the end it is they, the material girls, who have the power to decide whether or not to be with someone despite having a lot of money and these men will have to submit to the final decision of the woman who, thanks to her beauty, has power in her hands. Two opposite thoughts to each other but that are found in an apparently simple song but whose lyrics contain a lot of complexity. Perhaps it was for this reason that Madonna decided to make a video that changed the original and controversial meaning of the song for something more digestible and romantic, although this would not prevent the public from identifying her as a material and ambitious girl, an image that apparently will follow her until the end of her days”.

When placing Madonna’s songs and singles, Material Girl features quite high in some. It is a track that is very important and has a lot of weight to it. When The Guardian ranked her singles in 2018, Material Girl placed in twenty-fifth (“Credit and interest are reappropriated playfully as metaphors in Madonna’s career-changing hit. Till-ringing pop hooks were never so much fun to play with again”). In 2016, Rolling Stone named Madonna’s fifty-best songs. Material Girl came in thirteenth (“Madonna didn’t write the song and in time didn’t feel it represented her (“I am not a materialistic person…[things] are not mandatory for my happiness,” she told Rolling Stone in 2009). But she liked its gawky swagger, which, combined with producer Nile Rodgers’ clipped, New Wave robo-funk sheen, equaled another major chart hit. “I didn’t think ‘Like a Virgin’ was going to be the song that did it for us,” recalled Rodgers. “I thought it was going to be ‘Material Girl.’ ‘Material Girl’ to me was cool, and to this day what do people call Madonna? They call her the Material Girl. They don’t call her the Virgin”). Billboard ranked Madonna’s forty-biggest Billboard hits earlier this year. Material Girl came fifteenth. At the end of 2023, BBC Radio 2 listeners decided which Madonna song was her ultimate moment. Even if Like a Prayer was the winner, Material Girl came in tenth. In 2023, The Standard placed Material Girl fourth in their list of best fifteen Madonna songs (“The song that spawned a thousand lazy headlines. Not long after Madonna released this song in 1985, ‘Material Girl’ had become her go-to moniker in many parts of the press. It’s ironic, really, seeing as Madonna claimed to be anything but. She later said in an interview that she decided to present this version of herself, unbothered by true romance but obsessed with anything diamond-encrusted, as a provocation — it’s a tactic that has rarely been left out of the Madonna playbook, so you’d be inclined to believe her. Whether the song is a deceptively simple satire or simply a reflection of the world she saw around her is up for debate, but one thing is for sure: it’s a ridiculously catchy tune. That chorus lands with one of the best known hooks of the Eighties, and Nile Rodgers’ production is pneumatically bouncy. JE”). In 2022, Entertainment Weekly decided on the best sixty Madonna best singles. Material Girl came fifteenth. It is clear that, despite some reservations from Madonna and those who feel it is not representative of her, it is loved and respected. One of her most popular songs. On 10th January, 1985, filming began for the video. I wanted to mark that anniversary. The single’s fortieth anniversary occurs on 23rd January. My introduction to the Queen of Pop, I will always have so much respect and affection…

FOR the brilliant Material Girl.

FEATURE: On the Road: Kate Bush and The Tour of Life

FEATURE:

 

 

On the Road

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush photographed performing at Carre, Amsterdam on 29th April, 1979 for The Tour of Life PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Verhorst/Redferns

Kate Bush and The Tour of Life

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I wanted to write this feature…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during The Tour of Life in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Max Browne

so that I can briefly return to The Tour of Life from 1979 and also a particular reason. I wanted to talk a bit about the wireless stage microphone that was developed for the tour. I am not sure whether anything was fashioned beforehand that was used in theatre however, when it came to Pop concerts and live music for artists, Kate Bush was responsible for popularising them. Something often credited with Madonna, Kate Bush’s wireless microphone was used in 1979. So that she could dance and perform her high-energy set without being lumbered with holding a microphone. I shall come to that soon. Prior to that, it is worth speaking about The Tour of Life. I will dive deeper into The Tour of Life closer to its anniversary. The warm-up date was on 2nd April, 1979 in Poole. Whilst it was called The Kate Bush Tour, it was later renamed The Tour of Life. I will keep that name for this feature. Prior to taking a glimpse into the tour and life on the road, here is some background information that gives us some context:

“Consisting of 24 performances from Bush’s first two studio albums The Kick Inside and Lionheart, it was acclaimed for its incorporation of mime, magic, and readings during costume changes. The simple staging also involved rear-screen projection and the accompaniment of two male dancers. The tour was a critical and commercial success, with most dates selling out and additional shows being added due to high demand. Members of the Kate Bush Club were provided with a guaranteed ticket.

Rehearsals

The tour was to become not only a concert, but also incorporating dance, poetry, mime, burlesque, magic and theatre. The dance element was co-ordinated by Bush in conjunction with Anthony Van Laast – who later choreographed the Mamma Mia! movie and several West End smashes – and two young dancers, Stewart Avon Arnold and Gary Hurst. They held morning rehearsals for the tour at The Place in Euston, after which Bush spent afternoons in Greenwich drilling her band. Off stage, she was calling the shots on everything from the set design to the programme art.

Band

The band playing with Kate Bush on stage consisted of Preston Heyman (drums), Paddy Bush (mandolin. various strange instruments and vocal harmonies), Del Palmer (bass), Brian Bath (electric guitar, acoustic mandolin and vocal harmonies), Kevin McAlea (piano, keyboards, saxophone, 12 string guitar), Ben Barson (synthesizer and acoustic guitar), Al Murphy (electric guitar and whistles) and backing vocalists Liz Pearson and Glenys Groves”.

As we are in a new year, I wanted to spend some time with one of my favourite parts of Kate Bush’s career. Her one and only tour. I am going to move on to the wireless microphone that helped to revolutionise live music. If you were in the crowd for one of the dates, you were in for a treat. A large gauze curtain cast a large shadow of Kate Bush as she entered the stage via a ramp. The whale song of Moving was played as Bush entered the stage as waves were played on the screens. Thanks to Rob Jovanovic and his book, Kate Bush: The Biography. There is a terrific section on The Tour of Life. It was understandable that Bush would open her set with a run of songs from The Kick Inside. Her debut album, its opening track, Moving, opened things. Played fairly straight by Bush, I often wonder how hard it was to compile the setlist. If Act I was mainly all about The Kick Inside and Act II more about Lionheart, the first act featured two new songs. Ones that would appear on 1980’s Never for Ever. Violin and Egypt were introduced to excited crowds in 1979. The third act saw an equal balance of The Kick Inside/Lionheart (three songs each) whilst the encore took one from each album: Oh England My Lionheart (Lionheart) and Wuthering Heights (The Kick Inside). It is also amazing how the costume changes flowed and each song had its own life. A different aesthetic. Like when Room for the Life, when Simon Drake was on stage with a Carmen Miranda outfit with fruity headgear. Some of the highlights from Act I included L'Amour Looks Something Like You where Bush danced in front of a mirror. Simon Drake once more appeared. Violin found two dancers in human-sized violin costumes stood either aside of Kate Bush. Simon Drake played the part of a frenzied fiddler who played faster and faster until his instrument produced smoke. It was a blend of the magical, unusual and theatrical. Bush, dashing off stage between some numbers to change, had mounted an impressive first act with a combination of familiar songs and two new cuts. The lyrics for Violin not quite settled on until it appeared on Never for Ever.

Like 2014’s Before the Dawn where the acts had a different feel and mood, that was the case back in 1979. Half of Lionheart (fives songs) was played in Act II. The first act had a combination of tones and moods. It was more eclectic. Act II focused more on love and sex. Tracks like In the Warm Room being a standout from that act. The tour started with Bush playing at the piano solo but, as the dates wracked up, she had Kevin McAlea play piano so she could move around the stage and give the performance more physicality. One of the most impressive aspects of Kate Bush’s live performances are her vocals. So controlled and strong through each date, even when she came down with a cold whilst performing in Europe, she was still very strong and professional. If Before the Dawn brought the band closer to the front of the stage, they were very much in the background for The Tour of Life. Tightly focused and very well-rehearsed, there was very little improvisation or flexibility in that sense. The songs had been worked by Bush in rehearsals. They held morning rehearsals for the tour at The Place in Euston, after which Kate Bush spent afternoons in Greenwich drilling her band. Before moving through the setlist, MOJO spoke with Simon Drake earlier this year about his involvement in The Tour of Life. It caught my eye:

“REHEARSING KATE BUSH’S Tour Of Life was nearly the end of then budding illusionist Simon Drake. He was emerging from under a walkway at the back of the stage, when a section of plywood slid loose and cracked him on the head.  “I was knocked right out,” he recalls today. “And I came to with Kate sort of holding me in her lap. I was sick for a couple of days.”

Drake was lucky. If one of the section’s metal braces had hit him. he might not have lived to tell the tale. It was, sadly, one of several instances where the ambition of Bush’s staging for her single tour as a star outstripped the experience of the team lashing it together, a situation that ended in tragedy after the warm-up show at Poole Arts Centre, with the fatal fall of young lighting engineer Bill Duffield.

It was an outcome unthinkable in the innocent pre-dawn of Drake’s involvement with the tour, which had begun the moment he first heard Wuthering Heights on the radio in January ’78. Bowled over, Drake – a former plugger at Decca and EMI – sent a note to Bush through Capital Radio producer Eddie Puma.

“I knew Eddie was seeing her that night. I just wrote that the record was amazing and if she ever toured, I wanted to be a part of it.”

Later, Drake invited Bush to a magic show he was performing at J Arthur’s, a club at the “wrong end” of the King’s Road, Chelsea, a party for Roxy Music. “I was on a little half-circle stage. And I distinctly remember her sitting there watching me, sat on her own.”

Subsequently, Drake was invited to tea-fuelled meetings at Bush’s flat in Lewisham. He watched the singer scribbling designs for the ankh-shaped set that later clobbered him (“she’s very aware of esoteric matters”) as the pair swapped ideas for bringing Bush’s already theatrical songs to the stage.

“She was a pioneer,” says Drake. “There wasn’t anyone doing anything quite that ambitious then. Maybe Peter Gabriel with Genesis. Certainly not with that amount of dance. Now it’s normal.”

Drake’s key scenes with Bush included two ‘dancing cane’ demonstrations on L’Amour Looks Something Like You and Strange Phenomena, and a spidery turn as a crazed fiddler during Violin.

“The violin was Kate’s own from when she was a kid. I cut out a bit of the back and put homemade pyro in it. The idea being I’d play the violin so fast, it would start smoking.” For the paranoid murder fantasies of Coffee Homeground, Drake had two liquids – one pink, another yellow – that turned black when mixed: “You know, like a poison. Then I’d come up behind her and try to strangle her. They were all these rather ‘panto’ attempts at assassination.”

Drake and Bush dubbed the assassin ‘Hugo’. The vibe was Berlin ’30s cabaret, Paris Moulin Rouge. “He’s partly based on ‘Valentin The Boneless One’ who you see in a couple of paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec with this very big, pointy chin, pointy nose and cheekbones.”

The tour itself – 24 shows between April 2 and May 14, 1979 – was a roller coaster: traumatic for Bush on account of Duffield’s death and the exposure to her own mounting fame. “I mean, fans would almost throw themselves in front of the coach,” says Drake. “It was scary.”

Factor in the demands of the show – its athletic challenges, the costume changes – and it’s miraculous that only one health scare (Bush lost her voice temporarily in Sweden) threatened to end the tour prematurely. “She was amazing every night for two and a half hours,” says Drake. “I mean, extraordinary. She created this whole massive world”.

Whilst most of the vocals were performed live, Hammer Horror was a different case. Performing a more complicated dance routine, a pre-recorded track was played. Bush was not even miming to the song. Instead, the focus was on her movement around the stage. Perhaps a chance for her to rest her vocal for a song. Kashka from Baghdad preceded Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake. Stewart Avon Arnold and Gary Hurst appeared on stage with electric torches. As Bush came to the stage with all three dressed in leather jackets, the set took a turn in terms of its aesthetics. Bush performing behind a wire-mesh fence. I shall come to the encore soon. The final act was that mix of songs from her first two albums. Wow stuck fairly close to the video in terms of its choreography. Bush was at the piano for the beautiful Feel It. Once more, there were costumer changes and sonic shifts. Kite was a highlight from the third act. An extended instrumental introduction allowed Bush time to come down the ramp onto the stage. Bush appearing with her dancers. James and the Cold Gun was a perfect finale. Bush wielding a gun and firing off imaginary bullets. With the lighting red and green, Bush looked authoritative and splendid in a black body suit and gold trimming. With gold collaring, the star sort of looked like a space cowgirl (as Rob Jovanovic writes) or this assassin. It was a perfect finale number that saw Bush mow down some dancers and then go to the top of the ramp. If today that sort of celebration of violence would be frowned upon and not encouraged in live music, things were different in 1979. However, this is also Kate Bush. She was not promoting gun violence. Instead, this was Bush putting together something theatrical and hugely exciting. Few Pop concerts before The Tour of Life spliced dance, mime, theatre and poetry. It was an extravaganza!

There were really only two songs that could feature in the encore. Even though there was no spontaneity to the encore, it was a perfect combination of Oh England My Lionheart and Wuthering Heights. The former found Bush in pilot’s gear remembering fallen heroes form the past. It was another costume change that, at this stage of the set, must have been exhausting! Her best-known song to that date finished things. Many people came to see Kate Bush bring Wuthering Heights to life on the stage. Even if the performance was not one of the absolute highlights, it did not matter to fans. She was a triumph! As the tour moved up and down the country, crowds queued around the block to get in to venues. The crew were in a tour bus with a state-of-the-art video recorder and cassette deck. Kate Bush barely got chance to rest. Photographed between shows alongside Prime Minister James Callaghan, the first leg of the tour culminated in five nights at the London Palladium. From 16th-20th April, 1979 inclusive. The reviews for the shows were incredibly positive. After rapture from crowds and approval from critics, Bush should have victoriously stormed her first European show. However, a sore throat (that could have been because of strain or a cold) threatened the 24th April gig in Stockholm. Bush got the sore throat whilst flying out. With some vocal rest and some trimmed shows for the night few nights or so, Bush was back on top. Her parents flew out to catch her Paris show on 6th May, 1979. The Tour of Life ended on 14th May. Whilst there were some setlist changes for some of the dates, for the most part, the order was static. This, together with voiceovers and the blend of theatre, mime, poetry and music put some people off. Bush did not speak between songs but she explained it would have been out of place. She was trying to create a mood on stage.

Perhaps a lack of spontaneity means The Tour of Life is not something that some would herald as one of the best live shows ever. However, it was a spectacle that clearly wowed crowds and gathered a raft of awed critical reviews! I am one of those people that loves The Tour of Life and feels it is groundbreaking. Rather than it being a standard Pop show, what was mounted in 1979 was a show that was more of a performance. Cinematic; theatrical. So different to anything else. One of the most notable elements of the tour was how Bush was able to perform live and dance and move freely. The physicality she was able to express during songs made The Tour of Life one for the ages. Few people talk about the wireless head microphone that Bush adapted and adopted in 1979. One that changed live music forever. Gordon ‘Gunji’ Patterson was the sound engineer on The Tour of Life and fashioned a wireless mic out of a wire clothes hanger. You can read recollections and tour diaries from 1979’s The Tour of Life. There is very little audio where the headset is discussed. In 1979, it might have been like a solution to a bit of an irritating issue. However, in years since, it has transformed live music. Artists do not have to remain static or around a microphone stand. A wireless microphone means performers can incorporate dance and a lot more physical elements into their sets. Among all the highlights from The Tour of Life, I think the invention of the microphone used by Kate Bush was the one with the biggest legacy. Even if the wireless microphone pre-dates Gordon Patterson’s adaptation, Bush is regarded as the first artist to use it on stage. A breakthrough that meant Bush could realise her visions for a multi-discipline tour, influencing far behind The Tour of Life, the wireless head microphone….

CHANGED live music forever.

FEATURE: When the Smog Begins to Clear… Reacting to Kate Bush Christmas 2024 Message

FEATURE:

 

 

When the Smog Begins to Clear…

Reacting to Kate Bush Christmas 2024 Message

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I am not sure about other people…

LITTLE SHREW DESIGN/CONCEPT: Kate Bush/LITTLE SHREW ANIMATION: Nicolette Van Gendt

but I have never been interested in the Queen’s Christmas speech. Or the King now. It seems to fill some with traditional and hope but, for the most part, what you are watching is a very privileged human being who really has not worked hard or sacrificed much giving this sermon. Something quite dry. Sure, uplifting and wise at times, but it does come off as quite tasteless considering they are usually delivering their speech from a lavish and plush setting. We have to endure that this year. I always make sure I watch something else when that is on! For us Fish People our queen, Kate Bush, posts her Christmas message this time of the year. In fact, yesterday afternoon she provided us with a Christmas Eve treat. Her most in-depth, moving, brilliant and best Christmas message. It was a combination of reflecting on the year just gone but also looking ahead. A couple of tantalising possibilities to chew. Hope that there will be new activity in 2025. In a post entitled A Monet Christmas Eve to All!, there was a lot to unpack and luxuriate in. Now more than ever, Kate Bush really writing in depth and detail. Her 2023 Christmas message was wonderful, yet there were notes of caution and fear. How the world was changing and getting worse. This year has some of that though it is, for the most part, a more encouraging one. Maybe Bush, who has cleared a path, archived her work and created a beautiful video for War Child – Little Shrew (Snowflake) was a video written and directed by her that helped raise funds for a brilliant charity -, is looking ahead and has done a lot of what she set out to do. Now she has the space to look around her. Let’s look at the first part of the message:

“It’s been really exciting to see the wonderfully positive feedback to the Little Shrew animation. Thank you so much to all of you who made a donation to War Child. They have been absolutely delighted with the response.

Little Shrew will be getting a bowl of especially delicious earthworms this Christmas morning.

It’s been another year of exceptionally dark news. It just keeps getting worse, doesn’t it?

The wars keep raging. We helplessly stand and watch as those poor people are caught up in the horrors of it all and of course there are the children…

PHOTO CREDIT: Heiner/Pexels

It’s hard not to focus on the worry we all feel about these conflicts and the massive changes that are happening around us, but I’d like to try to find something positive to say for this Christmas message:

Happy Christmas Eve! My favourite day of the year. When I was a child, it used to have a special feeling. It even had a sort of Christmas Eve smell… a mixture of smoking coal fires and damp leaves, all bundled up in a drizzly English frozen fog. If I really work on it, I can still summon it up on the day. I’m working on it now…”.

Starting out with that stark yet true realisation: the world is getting worse. Bush lovingly recognising her Little Shrew creation and how well it has done. Raising necessary money for War Child. Something to be very proud of! If 2023’s message had some darkness and fear but also pleasure in the mundane and everyday we take for granted, Bush has started her 2024 message with the pragmatic and inescapable. Then moving on to the positives. It is this warm-hearted person recognising the deficit and harsh realities of war. Her thoughts and mind always with those afflicted. This year has seen Kate Bush very much doing all she can to raise awareness. To get money to War Child. Spending so much time and effort getting that Little Shrew (Snowflake) video complete and out to the world. The start of that next paragraph. Bush delighting in Christmas Eve. I guess it is perhaps more exciting than Christmas Day as there is that anticipation. Especially as a child, that giddiness of knowing what tomorrow holds. But never quite knowing exactly what! Do we lose that as adults?! Bush, now sixty-six, still taking comfort and delight in Christmas Eve. Being with her family and being appreciative for all that she has. If this Christmas Eve was quite warm, I cast my mind back and try to imagine Bush in the 1960s as a girl revelling in the smell of Christmas and the cold weather. Perhaps not romantic to all but definitely to her! The English frozen fog. So evocative! I can imagine the emotions coursing through Kate Bush as she typed the words. That quite stately and dignified opening puts me in mind of the Queen perhaps. Though much more relatable somehow. Then mixing in some reflections on the season.

One might find it odd to analyse or overthink a Christmas message. But, if it was a few words and that was it, maybe I would let it go. However, this is Kate Bush and I do pretty much react to everything she posts and does at the moment! Also, there is a lot of detail in it. Her wording and the images she summons. Painting a scenery and picture. A work of art with little details here and there. One cannot simply let a Kate Bush Christmas message sit or be limited to social media sharing and some brief comment! This is her taking stock of her year but also thinking about others around the world. Also, if you can donate to War Child this year then you can do so here. I like that Kate Bush can be personal. Always thinking of others and conscious that she wants to use her platform to speak about those who are in need around the world, you always get some great personal stories and quirks. Whether it was last year, where she wrote how she stands on awe of running water. That you can turn on a tap and hot water is dispended. That thing we all take for granted is something many others do not have. Appreciating the little things in life. Here, we have something else that is a small detail that may seem ordinary but actually is thought-provoking and distinctly Kate Bush:

“I went to see the Monet exhibition. Twenty one paintings in two rooms – all featuring the Thames in the smog. They were incredibly atmospheric. The fact that they were all of the same environment made you feel like you were there yourself, wrapped up in a mysterious smog of muddy sulphurous yellows, sun-starved pinks, car-sick greens.

You could only make out vague, blurred shapes through the etherial, swirling veils…a majestic bridge here, a wispy boat there… these paintings were completely mesmerising. They transported you to London at the turn of the last century.

Monet thought that the smog was beautiful and that London would’ve looked utterly uninteresting without it. For him it was the smog that created the magic of the place.

I imagined him ready at first light, stood at his easel spluttering and coughing as he peered through the polluted air, with no choice but to gasp at its beauty”.

IN THIS IMAGE: Claude Monet’s Houses of Parliament, sunset, 1900-1903

For those who call Kate Bush a recluse – every article from the press seems to lead with that and I even saw one refer to as a “hermit” recently! -, it does good to realise that she goes out and about. She has never been nor ever will be reclusive or hermit-like! She goes out like normal people but not in the same attention-seeking and often gaudy way many high-profile people do. It is her relatability and normalness that makes her so lovable. 2025 is a year when people need to stop labelling Kate Bush and do their research before lazily parroting the same insulting and stupid words. In their supercilious snootiness, they seem to look down on her whilst lifting her at the same time. Anyway, I digress! That description of her being at an exhibition. The exhibition is in London and runs until January. You should go along if you can and stand in the same spot Bush did (here is a great feature about it). I wonder why she went to the exhibition and why it made such an impact. Not living in London anymore, maybe she is thinking about a time when our capital was quite deprived. Perhaps trying to imagine a time when we were experiencing something quite brutal or depressing. Trying to emphasis with those in today’s world that face that. Maybe the romanticism. In a strange way. I have always wondered whether Bush would turn her hand to art of paint something herself. I feel that art, in addition to film, T.V. and literature, inspires her mind and music, though she does not mention it much. She has produced art herself for a War Child auction in the 1990s but it is not something that has been a big aspect of her life.

 IN THIS IMAGE: Claude Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, 1903

Her words sort of transport you to the exhibit. I am interested to go now. I also think that Bush might be, subconsciously, getting ideas and visions for music. Inspiration from artwork. Maybe a song that is smog-filled but has this beauty. Many reacted to this part of the Christmas message and related it to symbolism. Bush looking at smog to clear her own path. A new phase and stage. I also someone suggest Bush is touring next year but that is pure fantasy and hyperbolic lust. Whilst she has not ruled out live work, there definitely has not been any word that she is gearing up to hit the stage once more. I will end by suggesting why next year is one where she will release a new album. It was lovely to spend a moment standing alongside Kate Bush as she was enveloped by and lost in these Monet paintings: “Less known is the fact that some of Monet’s most remarkable Impressionist paintings were made not in France but in London. They depict extraordinary views of the Thames as it had never been seen before, full of evocative atmosphere, mysterious light and radiant colour. Begun during three stays in the capital between 1899 and 1901, the series — depicting Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and the Houses of Parliament — was unveiled in Paris in 1904. Monet fervently wanted to show them in London the following year, but plans fell through. To this day, they have never been the subject of a UK exhibition”.

IN THIS IMAGE: Claude Monet’s Charing Cross Bridge, 1902

“It made me smile to read that although he sketched them while he was in London, he took them home and finished them off in France. Ha ha! So all is not as it seems – that sun-starved pink was actually lavish Giverny pink.

Is that us? Standing in awe at the dawn of AI, the symbol of modernity, as smog was for Monet at that time in the newly industrial London? Do we only see the twinkling light of the new invention, which so often catches the eye of our imagination… and what are those vague, dark sardonic shapes we can see in the background, behind the theatrical gauze?”

Bush talking of Monet starting his work in London and finishing it off in France. I got images of her maybe starting work in one place and finishing it in another. Relating it to her creative process. That perception we get from the paintings is not all that it seems. It is not a purely London-created painting. These paintings started their life in London but they were enhanced and modified in France. Adding an artificial layer to the paintings. Bush thinking about A.I. That use of the word ‘awe’. I think Bush is fearful of what A.I. can do. As an artist protective of her own work and how someone might steal it. Use her song and, through A.I., turn it into something different. Someone using A.I. to replicate her voice maybe. It is a concern all artists have. This dawn of something that can be quite powerful but also reckless and frightening. However, maybe there is a note of caution. If Monet looked at the smog and saw that it was from industry and knew that it was a beginning of an industrious age and something positive, it was also toxic and blackened the sky. The light and purity of a city draped in something odorous and depressing.

I love how Bush made the connection between Monet and his observations on the multiple meanings of smog. What it presented. Why he was compelled to paint these near-identical scenes. Bush finding humour in the way Monet creating this sense of deception with his palette. Some artificialness or inauthenticity. Using colours from France to convey London. How there is this glean and sheen with A.I. that suggests it is a positive thing. That is it advancement and polish. However, like the smog observed in London between the end of the nineteenth century and the very start of the twentieth, something more malevolent and damaging. Rather than attack A.I., Bush can see how it would appeal and entice. However, she knows that it is something that can take from people. That it is perhaps an unknown and something we cannot control. Maybe quite a frightening and foreboding future. However, this being Kate Bush, her use of language and imagery makes it somehow poetic! I do wonder, when a new album arrives, whether Bush will revive her take on technology and its impact on the world. How she did with Deeper Understanding for 1989’s The Sensual World (and for 2011’s Director’s Cut), will A.I.’s lure and potential damage be something addressed soon?! Let’s hope so, as that would be really intriguing to hear!

Before she signed off, Kate Bush perhaps dropped a hint that all this talk of Monet was about her. Maybe how she has seen the fog and smog in the world and is hoping for some answers and clarity. The smog and ash of war perhaps. Hoping for something brighter. Perhaps she is waiting for the smog to clear so that she can move forward. Consider these words:

“It’s hard to make them out, but could they be our human pods, like those from the Matrix, being readied for us by eager, playful digits? Or maybe they are freshly painted bridges – robust, and lovingly built to carry us all into a much longed-for new age of healthy thinking?

All will be revealed when the smog begins to clear”.

Remember the previous sentence: “and what are those vague, dark sardonic shapes we can see in the background, behind the theatrical gauze”. Referring to A.I. and this front cover and shadow of something nice, bright and theatrical. However, peel it away and there could be something murkier and more malevolent. She summons images of a new reality and world. One where we are more puppets or props. A.I. could be this force for bad where we are in its control or we have no control over it and what it could mean for artists’ intellectual rights and music in general. However, Bush also feels we could see a technology working for good. If we harness it correctly and realise its potential then it could change the way we think. Expand our minds, horizons and view of the world. Make a massive change. That idea of ‘healthy’ thinking seems to be the opposite of a lot of the toxicity on social media. We have control of A.I. and the future and need to make the right choice. That sense that all will be revealed once the smog has cleared. In the same way industrial Britain was shrouded in fog and smoke but, once cleared, there was this change that was not always apparently good – when you are breathing in the thick air it seems only poisonous and bad -, we could see something constructive and beneficial when we know more about A.I. This feeling that it is new and seemingly hostile and suffocating.

PHOTO CREDIT: ThisIsEngineering/Pexels

Our perceptions will sharpen when this technological fog clears. It is a very clever and startling way Bush bonds Monet and the modern-day! Rather than weaving traditional Christmas scenes and talking about something quite cliché, she has used her message to largely discuss A.I. and modern technology. The parallels between this and a Monet exhibit. I feel, the more I read her words, the more there is something deeper at work. Almost discussing herself and clearing a path. That might be us being selfish and hoping for a new album. The more Bush highlights A.I. and fears that it could be something negative, I feel that drives her to write and record music her way. Release it on vinyl and record it without the crutch of A.I. “All will be revealed when the smog begins to clear”. That smog of hatred and violence in the world. Bush maybe referencing things to come from her. When she feels that things are in a better place or she is happier about the world, she will then grace us with something new. She does sign off with the perfect and wonderful “Merry Christmas everyone. I hope it’s a really joyful one for you all”. It is a perfect way to sign off 2024. A year that has seen Bush deal with some tragedy – the loss of Del Palmer in January – and, like all of us, have to see images of violence afflicts communities and children. How she has felt compelled to help and highlight the atrocities. She is also not sure of A.I. and its future. Whether it is a positive or negative thing. A Little Shrew, warfare, Monet exhibit, smog, A.I., potential bright futures and what could come when the smog clears. Bush gave us a lot to ponder. A thought-provoking, heartfelt, poetic, details, deep, intriguing and cliff-hanger-like…this is her best Christmas message yet. She has the same excitement for Christmas Eve now as she did as a child. The morning after, she will spend time with her family and also look ahead to the year to come. Just what presents from the wonderful Kate Bush…

WILL we see in 2025?

FEATURE: Kate Bush: The Tour of Life: Never Forever: Rotating the Band

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: The Tour of Life

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Lichfield

Never Forever: Rotating the Band

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PEOPLE might not know…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

how songs come together in the studio. Many assume that artists have a set group of musicians that play on every song and every take. That is the case with some. However, there is a lot of trial and error too. Maybe not to the say standard as a band like Steely Dan. They would cast musicians and go through quite a few players. Switching it up between albums. Even other big artists change musicians between albums and often rotate musicians during the same album. If a take is not working then another player will be called in. Maybe not common on Kate Bush’s albums before she became a producer, one of the most notably aspects of her production is how she would do multiple takes and rotate her band. If a player was not working out during a particular take then she would bring in someone else. Maybe get the musician to sit this one out. Perhaps Kate Bush’s band, who she was friends with and close, felt they would be immune. However, Bush knew what her songs needed. She had a particular sound in her head and it was nothing personal. If someone was not quite right then she would need to make a necessary substitution. When stepping into AIR at the half of 1979 to record for Never for Ever, things got off to a good start. The initial sessions saw Bush employ much of her Tour of Life band for cuts like Violin, Egypt, Blow Away (For Bill) and The Wedding List. The band had just come off of tour and there was this close kinship and energy. Brian Bath recalled how the songs were slightly different for the album. Even if they had performed songs like Egypt on tour, numbers took on a different shape for Never for Ever. Bath also noted how Steely Dan’s influence came into the tracks. Not just in terms of the sounds. I think Bush’s working method might have been inspired by The Dan. Perhaps influenced by their recent album, Aja (1977), Bush was not afraid to test and rotate her band members.

Recording at Abbey Road was productive and would go through the evenings and into the early hours. Even if it was a busy and creative time, Bush did admit she was still struggling when it came to properly articulating her thoughts. Translating what she had in her mind and making that understandable and easy for the musicians. Thanks to Tom Doyle and his book, Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush, for a lot of the facts and information in this feature. Kate Bush knew her songs had personalities. She wanted to make sure they were given the best performances. Choosing sounds, she said in a newsletter that it “is so like trying to be a psychic”. Seeing into the future to how things would pan out. In the first five months of 1980 in Studio 2 at Abbey Road, songs were taking shape. Bush, as co-producer (with Jon Kelly), was trying out different musicians for her songs. Going through a procession of musicians, sometimes their work was kept, though it was often erased. It may seem brutal but, and nodding to Steely Dan again, it was a case of experimentation and refinement. Songs more complex and layered than her first two albums, Bush was very close to the musicians but she knew that the music had to be just right. Rather than letting sentimentality or emotions cloud her judgement, Bush was trying to find that perfect sound. It did mean players thought they would be kept on a take to find their part was not used. It was never a cruel process. Instead, Bush was trying to get Never for Ever to take shape. After a quick and productive start to recording, there was a sense that things were slowing. Bush, as a new producer and twenty-one/two-year-old (she turned twenty-two on 30th July, 1980), this was still quite new. A producer who had skills but was still picking up a lot. With new technology such as the Fairlight CMI offering a world of possibilities but complexities, it was a challenge wrestling with technology and also trying to connect with her musicians in terms of what she was looking for.

Friend Stuart Elliott knew what Kate Bush wanted. He had been replaced a few times and often replaced other musicians on takes. Bush’s boyfriend Del Palmer was pulled from the odd take or two. Quite shocked by that, Palmer would often let his emotions out. Including quite a bit of swearing! It was never Kate Bush this stern and emotionless producer mechanically working through artists. She could see the worth and value in every take and musicians and it was not an easy decision. It was part of the process. Bush was relaxed and patient. She created these layered songs, so it was only natural she would use various players and cut other so that everything fitted together and sounded natural. A whole host of bass players for Breathing and Babooshka. Perhaps trying to find a sound that didn’t exist, it must have been quite a sight seeing a lot of different musicians passing through Abbey Road and Bush having to cut their part. Like an audition process! There would be a long list of people said Brian Bath. If it didn’t work then people would sit it out. Bush seeing her songs cinematically. Casting the part and rotating the band. When it came to Breathing and Babooshka, The Tour of Life’s drummer Preston Heyman was subbed by Stuart Elliott (who played on The Kick Inside and Lionheart). Bush explained that you have to ”break your back before you even start to speak the emotion”. Stuart Elliott would occasionally offer a suggestion to Kate Bush and she would gently smile but then get on with things. It was not a blinkered or rude approach. She had her method and knew that she had to find the truth. Bush would bring in a bunch of musicians and, if that didn’t work, she would introduce another group of musicians. If she was protective and wanted to use her small band for 1978’s Lionheart, Bush was more flexible and ambitious on her third studio album. Various bass players had tried out for Breathing, but it was John Giblin and his fretless part that opened up the song. It was a revelation. Bush has been listening to Pink Floyd’s The Wall a lot and had seen her creativity stall. Breathing broke her out of that. A single that raised a few eyebrows at EMI. Thinking her “in-out, in-out” vocal part was sexual and pornographic, rather than a foetus in the womb trying to breathe against the harshness of impending nuclear destruction (“Breathing my mother in/Breathing my beloved in”).

Bush was always looking for her music to have this visual quality. The music conveying images and scenes unfolding. She successfully achieved this synchronicity for Never for Ever. I recently wrote a feature where I talked about the vocal and sonic layers that go into Kate Bush’s songs. I forgot to mention a few highlights from Never for Ever. The sound of buzzing bees that go from speaker to speaker on Delius (Song of Summer); a drill sergeant shouting commands during Army Dreamers; footsteps moving from left to right speakers on All We Ever Look for, then there being this sound of a door opening; the faux radio report that can be heard on Breathing. Again, thanks to Tom Doyle for his words! Not only was Bush bringing in more characters, sound effects, colours and layers to her music. She was also someone who was not confined to a rigid band or the same players. This would continue through her next two albums, The Dreaming and Hounds of Love. However, perhaps there was more instinct and new disciplines learned by the time she produced those albums. Never for Ever was about self-discovery as much as anything. Kate Bush still learning the studio and the technology. Finding ways to convey her visions to musicians. It did mean that players were cut and others drafted in. As I have said, the band rotated for particular songs. A long list of bass players of drummers tried for various numbers. It seems tracks like Breathing were especially tough to gel when it came to finding the right musicians to get the sound just so. Bush always making these changes and cuts professionally and kindly. Musicians could not take things to heart or feel like they were singled out. It was what needed to be done. This young and ambitious producer crafting and searching all the time. What emerged from the process was a number one album and one of her finest releases. Even if her method of rotating musicians might have been quite costly and a struggle at times, when you think what she released in September of 1980, Kate Bush was clearly…

ON the right course!