Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, and record producer. She is noted for hereclectic musical style and unconventional lyrics, as well as her innovative dance performances. Her sound and choreography have influenced a range of artists, raising her to prominence and impactingpopular culture.
Bush began writing songs when she was 11. She was signed toEMI Records afterDavid Gilmour ofPink Floyd helped finance ademo tape. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped theUK singles chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a fully self-written song.[1][2] Her debut studio album,The Kick Inside (1978), reached number three on theUK Albums Chart. Bush was the first British solo female artist to top the UK Albums Chart and the first female artist to enter it at number one.[3] All nine of her studio albums have reached the UK top 10, including the number-one albumsNever for Ever (1980),Hounds of Love (1985), and the greatest-hits compilationThe Whole Story (1986). SinceThe Dreaming (1982), she has produced all of her studio albums. She took a hiatus between her seventh and eighth albums,The Red Shoes (1993) andAerial (2005). Her latest albums,Director's Cut and50 Words for Snow, were both released in 2011.
Bush was born on 30 July 1958 at a maternity hospital inBexleyheath, Kent,[10] to an English doctor,general practitioner Robert Bush (1920–2008), and Hannah Patricia (née Daly) (1918–1992), an Irish staff nurse, daughter of a farmer inCounty Waterford.[11][12] She grew up with her elder brothers, John and Paddy, in an over 350-year-old[11] former farmhouse atEast Wickham nearWelling, which neighbours Bexleyheath.[13][14] Bush came from an artistic background: her mother was an amateur traditionalIrish dancer, her father was an amateur pianist, Paddy worked as a musical instrument maker, and John was a poet and photographer. Both brothers were involved in the localfolk music scene.[15] She was raised as aRoman Catholic.[16]
Bush trained atGoldsmiths Collegekarate club, where her brother John was a karate instructor. There, she became known as "Ee-ee" because of her squeakykiai.[17]
Her family's musical influence inspired Bush to teach herself the piano at the age of 11. She also played the organ in a barn behind her parents' house and studied the violin.[18] She soon began composing songs, eventually adding her own lyrics.[19]
Bush attended St Joseph's Convent Grammar School, a Catholic girls' school in nearbyAbbey Wood. During this time, her family produced ademonstration tape with over 50 of her compositions, which was turned down by record labels.Pink Floyd guitaristDavid Gilmour received the demo from Ricky Hopper, a mutual friend of Gilmour and the Bush family. (The 1973 song "Passing Through Air" was recorded as a demo at Gilmour‘s studio a few weeks after her 15th birthday, and later was the earliest Kate Bush recording to be released officially.)[20] Impressed, Gilmour financed the 16-year-old Bush's recording of a more professional demo tape. The tape consisted of three tracks, produced by Gilmour's friendAndrew Powell and the sound engineerGeoff Emerick, who had worked withthe Beatles.[21][22][23] Powell later produced Bush's first two albums.[19] The tape was sent to theEMI executive Terry Slater,[24] who signed Bush.[25]
"Every female you see at a piano is eitherLynsey de Paul orCarole King. And most male music–not all of it but the good stuff–really lays it on you. It really puts you against the wall and that's what I like to do. I'd like my music to intrude. Not many females succeed with that."
The British record industry was reaching a point of stagnation.[24]Progressive rock was popular and visually oriented rock performers were growing in popularity, thus record labels looking for the next big thing were considering experimental acts.[24] Bush was put onretainer for two years by Bob Mercer, managing director of EMI's group-repertoire division. Mercer believed that Bush's material was good enough to release, but he also believed that should the album fail, it would be demoralising, and if it were successful, Bush was too young to handle this.[26] In a 1987 interview, Gilmour disputed this version of events, blaming EMI for initially using the "wrong" producers.[27]
EMI gave Bush a large advance, which she used to enroll ininterpretive dance classes taught byLindsay Kemp, a former teacher ofDavid Bowie,[28] and mime training withAdam Darius.[29] For the first two years of her contract, Bush spent more time on schoolwork than recording. She left school after doing her mockA-Levels and having gained tenGCEO-Level qualifications.[30]
Bush wrote and recorded demos of almost 200 songs, some of which circulated asbootlegs.[31] From March to August 1977, she fronted the KT Bush Band at public houses inLondon. The band includedDel Palmer (bass), Brian Bath (guitar), and Vic King (drums). She began recording her first album in August 1977.[19]
Perhaps its keen ear for adolescent angst is part of what makes "Wuthering Heights" so special. She appeared onTop of the Pops with it five times in 1978, cementing her public image as an ethereal spirit, embodying the essence of Cathy through a combination of wide eyes, floaty fabrics and wild choreography, still fondly mimicked and parodied today. "Wuthering Heights" turned Bush into a pop star, the rules of which she continues to bend to her own will: her individuality was set in stone from the very beginning.
For her debut album,The Kick Inside (1978), Bush was persuaded to use established session musicians instead of the KT Bush Band. She retained some of these even after she had brought her bandmates back on board.[33] Her brother Paddy played the harmonica and mandolin.Stuart Elliott played some of the drums and became her main drummer on subsequent albums.[34]The Kick Inside was released when Bush was 19, with some songs written when she was as young as 13. EMI originally wanted the more rock-oriented track "James and the Cold Gun" to be her debut single, but Bush, who already had a reputation for asserting herself in decisions about her work, insisted that it should be "Wuthering Heights".[19] Two music videos with similar choreography were created by Bush to accompany the song. The studio version sees her perform in a dark room with mist while wearing a white dress, suggesting her character is a ghost (as is the case withCathy inthe novel that inspired the song).[35] The outside version sees Bush dancing in a grassy area onSalisbury Plain (inspired by the novel'smoors) while wearing a red dress.[36]
In the United Kingdom alone,The Kick Inside sold over a million copies.[37] "Wuthering Heights" topped the UK and Australian charts and became an international hit.[38] Bush became the first British woman to reach number one on the UK charts with a self-written song.[2] "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" made it onto the USBillboard Hot 100 where it reached number 85 in early 1979, and went on to win her anIvor Novello Award in 1979 for Outstanding British Lyric.[39] According toGuinness World Records, Bush was the first female artist in pop history to have written every track on a million-selling debut album.[37]
Bush in 1978
Bob Mercer blamed Bush's lesser success in the United States on American radio formats, saying there were no outlets for Bush's visual presentation.[26] EMI capitalised on Bush's appearance by promoting the album with a poster of her in a tight pink top which emphasised her breasts. In an interview withNME in 1982, Bush criticised the choice: "People weren't even generally aware that I wrote my own songs or played the piano. The media just promoted me as a female body. It's like I've had to prove that I'm an artist in a female body."[19] In late 1978, EMI persuaded Bush to quickly record a follow-up album,Lionheart, to take advantage of the success ofThe Kick Inside. The album was produced by Andrew Powell, assisted by Bush. Although it gained a high number of sales and spawned the hit single "Wow", it did not achieve the success ofThe Kick Inside, reaching number six in the UK album charts. She went on to express dissatisfaction withLionheart, feeling that it had needed more time.[40]
Bush set up her own publishing company, Kate Bush Music, and her own management company, Novercia, to maintain control of her work. Members of her family, along with Bush herself, composed the board of directors.[19] Following the release ofLionheart, she was required by EMI to undertake heavy promotional work and an exhausting tour.[41]The Tour of Life began in April 1979 and lasted six weeks. It was described byThe Guardian as "an extraordinary,hydra-headed beast, combining music, dance, poetry, mime,burlesque, magic and theatre".[1] The show was co-devised and performed on stage with magicianSimon Drake.[42] Bush was involved in every aspect of the production, choreography, set design, costume design and hiring.[19] The shows were noted for her dancing, complex lighting and her 17 costume changes per show. Because of her need to dance as she sang, sound engineers used a wire coat hanger and aradio microphone to fashion a headset microphone; it was the first use by a rock performer sincethe Spotnicks used a rudimentary version in the early 1960s.[43][44] Bush's first experience as a producer was on her liveOn StageEP, released in August 1979.
"Artists shouldn't be made famous. They have this huge aura of almost god-like quality about them, just because their craft makes a lot of money. And at the same time it is a forced importance... It is man-made so the press can feed off it."
Released in September 1980,Never for Ever was Bush's second foray into production, co-producing withJon Kelly. The first two albums had resulted in a definitive sound evident in every track, with orchestral arrangements supporting the live band sound. The range of styles onNever for Ever is much more diverse, veering from the straightforward rocker "Violin" to the wistful waltz of hit single "Army Dreamers".
Never for Ever was her first album to featuresynthesisers anddrum machines, in particular theFairlight CMI. She was introduced to the technology while providing backing vocals onPeter Gabriel's eponymousthird album in early 1980.[19] It was her first record to reach the top position in the UK album charts, also making her the first female British artist to achieve that status,[30] and the first female artist ever to enter the album chart at No. 1.[3] The top-selling single from the album was "Babooshka", which reached No. 5 in theUK singles chart.[46] In November 1980, she released the standaloneChristmas single "December Will Be Magic Again", which reached No. 29 in the UK charts.[47]
Bush in 1982
September 1982 saw the release ofThe Dreaming, the first album Bush produced by herself.[48] With her new-found freedom, she experimented with production techniques, creating an album that features a diverse blend of musical styles and is known for its near-exhaustive use of the Fairlight CMI.The Dreaming received a mixed reception in the UK, and critics were baffled by the dense soundscapes Bush had created to become "less accessible".[49] In a 1993 interview withQ magazine, Bush stated: "That was my 'She's gone mad' album."[19] The album entered the UK album chart at No. 3,[50] but is to date her lowest-selling album, garnering "only" a silver disc.[51] The album became her first to enter the USBillboard 200 chart, albeit only reaching No. 157.[52]
"Sat in Your Lap" was the first single from the album to be released. It preceded the album by over a year and peaked at No. 11 in the UK.[53] Thetitle track, featuringRolf Harris andPercy Edwards, stalled at No. 48,[54] while the third single, "There Goes a Tenner", stalled at No. 93,[55] despite promotion from EMI and Bush. The track "Suspended in Gaffa" was released as a single in Europe, but not in the UK.
Continuing in her storytelling tradition, Bush looked far outside her own personal experience for sources of inspiration. She drew on old crime films for "There Goes a Tenner", a documentary about theVietnam War for "Pull Out the Pin", and the plight ofIndigenous Australians for "The Dreaming". "Houdini" is aboutthe magician's death, and "Get Out of My House" was inspired byStephen King's novelThe Shining.[56]
Hounds of Love was released in 1985. Because of the high cost of hiring studio space for her previous album, she built a private studio near her home, where she could work at her own pace.[57]Hounds of Love topped the charts in the UK, knockingMadonna'sLike a Virgin from the number-one position.[58]
The album takes advantage of the vinyl and cassette formats with two very different sides. The first side,Hounds of Love, contains five "accessible" pop songs, including the four singles "Running Up That Hill", "Cloudbusting", "Hounds of Love", and"The Big Sky". "Running Up That Hill" reached No. 3 in the UK charts and re-introduced Bush to American listeners, climbing to No. 30 on theBillboard Hot 100 in November 1985. Bush has stated that she initially wanted to name the song "A Deal With God", but the record company was reluctant because some people might think it was "a sensitive title", but that "... for me, this is still called A Deal With God".[59] The second side of the album,The Ninth Wave, takes its name fromTennyson's poem, "Idylls of the King", about the legendaryKing Arthur's reign, and is seven interconnecting songs joined in one continuous piece of music.[60]
The album earned Bush nominations for Best Female Solo Artist, Best Album, Best Single, and Best Producer at the 1986Brit Awards. In the same year, Bush and Peter Gabriel had a UK Top 10 hit with the duet "Don't Give Up" (Dolly Parton, Gabriel's original choice to sing the female vocal, turned his offer down),[61] and EMI released her "greatest hits" album,The Whole Story. Bush provided a new lead vocal and refreshed backing track on "Wuthering Heights", and recorded a new single, "Experiment IV", for inclusion on the compilation.Dawn French andHugh Laurie were among those featured in the video for Experiment IV. At the1987 Brit Awards, Bush won the award for Best British Female Solo Artist.[5]
Released in 1989,The Sensual World was described by Bush herself as "her most honest, personal album".[62] One of the tracks, "Heads We're Dancing", inspired by her ownblack humour, is about a woman who dances all night with a charming stranger only to discover in the morning that he isAdolf Hitler. Thetitle track drew its inspiration fromJames Joyce's novelUlysses.[63]The Sensual World went on to become her biggest-selling album in the US, receiving an RIAA Gold certification four years after its release for 500,000 copies sold. In the United Kingdom album charts, it reached the number-two position.[64] Another single from the album, "This Woman's Work", was featured in theJohn Hughes filmShe's Having a Baby, and a slightly remixed and reworked version appeared on Bush's albumThe Sensual World.[65] The song reached number-eight in 2005 on the UK download chart after featuring in a British television advertisement for the charityNSPCC.[66]
"I don't think of myself as a musician. As a writer, I suppose. I only ever play the piano to accompany myself singing. I could never sit and read a piece of music. At best, I'm an accompanist. I suppose the worst thing is frustration at your own ability. Not being able to do what you want to do."
In 1990, the boxed setThis Woman's Work was released; it included all of her albums with their original cover art, as well as two discs featuring the majority of her singles' B-sides recorded from 1978 to 1990. In 1991, Bush released a cover ofElton John's "Rocket Man", which reached number 12 on the UK singles chart,[68] and reached number two in Australia. In 2007, it was voted the greatest cover ever by readers ofThe Observer newspaper.[69] Another John cover, "Candle in the Wind", was the B-side.[70] In the same year, she starred in the black comedy filmLes Dogs, produced byThe Comic Strip forBBC television.[71] Bush plays the bride Angela at a wedding set in a post-apocalyptic Britain.
Bush's seventh studio album,The Red Shoes, was released in November 1993. The album gave Bush her highest chart position in the US, reaching number 28, although the only song from the album to make the US singles chart was "Rubberband Girl", which peaked at number 88 in January 1994. In the UK, the album reached number-two, and the singles "Rubberband Girl", "The Red Shoes", "Moments of Pleasure", and "And So Is Love" (featuringEric Clapton on guitar) all reached the top 30.[53][72] Bush directed and starred in the short filmThe Line, the Cross and the Curve, which featured music from her albumThe Red Shoes, itself inspired bythe 1948 film of that name. It was released on VHS in the UK in 1994 and also received a small number of cinema screenings around the world.[73][74]
The initial plan had been to tour withThe Red Shoes release, but did not reach fruition. Thus, Bush deliberately produced her tracks live, with less studio production that had typified her last three albums and which would have been too difficult to re-create on stage.[75] The result polarised her fan base, who had enjoyed the intricacy of her earlier compositions,[76] with other fans claiming they had found new complexities in the lyrics and the emotions they expressed.[77]
During this period of time, Bush suffered a series of bereavements, including the loss of guitaristAlan Murphy, who had started working with her on The Tour of Life in 1979, and her mother Hannah, to whom she was exceptionally close.[30] The people she lost were honoured in the ballad "Moments of Pleasure", although Bush's mother was still alive when "Moments of Pleasure" was written and recorded. Bush describes playing the song to her mother, who thought the line where she is quoted by Bush as saying, "Every old sock meets an old shoe", was hilarious and "couldn't stop laughing."[78]
After the release ofThe Red Shoes, Bush dropped out of the public eye. She had originally intended to take one year off, but despite working on material, twelve years passed before her next album release. Her name occasionally cropped up in the media with rumours of a new album release. The press often viewed her as an eccentric recluse, sometimes drawing a comparison withMiss Havisham fromCharles Dickens'sGreat Expectations.[79] In 1998, Bush gave birth to Albert, known as "Bertie", fathered by guitarist Dan McIntosh, whom she met in 1992.[30][80] In 2001, Bush was awarded aQ Award as Classic Songwriter.[81] In 2002, she was awarded anIvor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and performed "Comfortably Numb" at David Gilmour's concert at theRoyal Festival Hall in London.[82]
Bush's eighth studio album,Aerial, was released on double CD and vinyl in November 2005.[30] The album single "King of the Mountain", had received its premiere onBBC Radio 2 on 1 September 2005.[83] The single entered the UK Downloads Chart at number six,[84] and would become Bush's third-highest-charting single ever in the UK, peaking at number four on the full chart.[38]Aerial entered the UK albums chart at number three,[85] and the US chart at number 48.[86]
Aerial, likeHounds of Love (1985), is divided into two sections, each with its own theme and mood. The first disc, subtitledA Sea of Honey, features a set of unrelated themed songs, including "King of the Mountain"; "Bertie", a Renaissance-style ode to her son; and "Joanni", based on the story ofJoan of Arc. In the song "π", Bush sings 117 digits ofthe number pi.[87] The second disc, subtitledA Sky of Honey, features one continuous piece of music describing the experience of 24 hours passing by.[88]Aerial earned Bush two nominations at the2006 Brit Awards, for Best British Female Solo Artist and Best British Album.[4]
2007–2013: Fish People,Director's Cut and50 Words for Snow
In 2007, Bush was asked to write a song forThe Golden Compass soundtrack which made reference to the lead character,Lyra Belacqua. The song, "Lyra", was played over the closing credits of the film. The single reached No 187 in theUK singles chart[89] and was nominated for theInternational Press Academy'sSatellite Award for original song in a motion picture.[90] According to Del Palmer, Bush was asked to compose the song at short notice; the project was completed in 10 days.[91]
In May 2011, Bush releasedDirector's Cut, comprising 11 reworked tracks fromThe Sensual World andThe Red Shoes, recorded using analogue rather than digital equipment. All the tracks have new lead vocals, drums, and instrumentation. Some were transposed to a lower key to accommodate her lowering voice. Three of the songs, including "This Woman's Work", have been completely rerecorded, often with lyrics changed in places. Bush described the album as a new project rather than a collection of remixes.[92] It was the first album on her new label,Fish People, a division of EMI Records. In addition toDirector's Cut in its single CD form, the album was released with a box-set that contains the albumsThe Sensual World and the analogue re-masteredThe Red Shoes. It debuted at No 2 on the United Kingdom chart.[93]
Bush's tenth studio album,50 Words for Snow, was released on 21 November 2011. It features the high-profile appearance ofElton John on the duet "Snowed in at Wheeler Street".[94] The album contains seven new songs "set against a backdrop of falling snow", with a total running time of 65 minutes.[95][96] The album's songs are built around Bush's quietly jazzy piano andSteve Gadd's drums, and use both sung and spoken word vocals in whatClassic Rock critic Stephen Dalton calls "a ... supple and experimental affair, with a contemporary chamber pop sound grounded in crisp piano, minimal percussion and light-touch electronics ... billowing jazz-rock soundscapes, interwoven with fragmentary narratives delivered in a range of voices from shrill toLaurie Anderson-style cooing".[97] BassistDanny Thompson appears on the album, while the sixth track on the album, "50 Words for Snow", features the voice ofStephen Fry reciting a list of words to describe snow.[98]
50 Words for Snow received general acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 88, based on 26 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[99] At the2012 Brit Awards she was nominated in the Best Female Artist category,[100] and the album won the 2012 Best Album at the South Bank Arts Awards,[101] and was also nominated for Best Album at the Ivor Novello Awards.[102]
Bush turned down an invitation to perform at the2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. Instead, a new vocal remix of her 1985 single "Running Up That Hill" was played.[103] In 2013, Bush became the only female artist to have top five albums in the UK charts in five successive decades.[104]
2014–2021:Before the Dawn and remastered catalogue
In March 2014, Bush announced her first live concerts in decades:Before the Dawn, a 22-night residency in London running from 26 August to 1 October 2014 at theHammersmith Apollo.[105] Tickets sold out in 15 minutes. The concerts received universal acclaim.[106] An album of recordings from the concerts,Before the Dawn, was released on 25 November 2016.[107] Bolstered by publicity aroundBefore the Dawn, Bush became the first female performer to have eight albums in the UK Top 40 Albums Chart simultaneously, putting her at number three for simultaneous UK Top 40 albums. The only artists ahead of Bush wereElvis Presley, who had 12 entries in the top 40 after his death in 1977 and the Beatles who had 11 in 2009.[108][109] She had 11 albums in the top 50.[110][111]
In a statement, Bush said,
It was an extraordinary experience putting the show together. It was a huge amount of work, a lot of fun and an enormous privilege to work with such an incredibly talented team. This is the audio document. I hope that this can stand alone as a piece of music in its own right and that it can be enjoyed by people who knew nothing about the shows as well as those who were there. I never expected the overwhelming response of the audiences, every night filling the show with life and excitement. They are there in every beat of the recorded music. Even when you can't hear them, you can feel them.[112][113]
On 6 December 2018, Bush published her first book,How to Be Invisible, a compilation of lyrics.[114][115] In November 2018, Bush released two box sets of remasters of her studio albums. Vocals fromRolf Harris, who was convicted of multiple sexual assault charges in 2014, were replaced by versions by Bush's son Bertie.[116] A compilation of rare tracks, cover versions and remixes from the boxsets,The Other Sides, was released on 8 March 2019. It includes the previously unreleased track "Humming," recorded in 1975.[117] In September 2019, Bush released "Ne t'enfuis pas" / "Un baiser d'enfant" on vinyl, in France, as a limited-edition promotional single.[118][119]
In September 2020, Bush became a Fellow ofThe Ivors Academy, the UK's independent professional association for songwriters, composers and music authors.[8] Following Bush's award, another Fellow,Annie Lennox, commented, "She is visionary and iconic and has made her own magical stamp upon the zeitgeist of the British cultural landscape."[8]
Bush's 1985 single "Running Up That Hill" gained newfound popularity in May 2022 afterit was incorporated into the plot ofthe fourth season of theNetflix seriesStranger Things. It became the most streamed song onSpotify in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and globally.[120][121][122]Winona Ryder, who plays the characterJoyce Byers onStranger Things, said she had pushed for the song to be on the show: "I've been obsessed with her since I was a little girl. I've also for the last seven years been dropping hints on set wearing my Kate Bush T-shirts."[123] According toThe Guardian, "Running Up That Hill" has become particularly popular with members ofGeneration Z, who were not born when the song was first released, and it has appeared in numerous videos on the social media platformTikTok.[124] Bush released a statement praisingStranger Things and saying the resurgence was "really exciting".[124]
On 10 June 2022, "Running Up That Hill" reached number two on the UK singles chart, surpassing its peak of number three in 1985.[125] It was the most popular track of the week in the UK, ahead of "As It Was" byHarry Styles, but a pre-existing chart rule penalised older songs that are streamed.[126] The Chart Supervisory Committee responded by giving the record an exemption from the "accelerated chart ratio" rule due to its ongoing sales resurgence.[127][128]
On 17 June, the song reached number one in the UK, making it Bush's second UK number one.[129][130] It broke three UK chart records in the process. With 44 years since her last number one, "Wuthering Heights" in 1978, Bush surpassedTom Jones's 42-year gap between number ones and replacedCher as the oldest female solo chart-topping artist at 63 years and 11 months. Bush also achieved the record for a single with the longest period taken to reach number one, beating the previous record, held by "Last Christmas" byWham!, by a year.[131]
On 11 June 2022, "Running Up That Hill" re-entered the USBillboard Hot 100 at number eight, surpassing its 1985 peak at No 30 and becoming Bush's first US top-ten hit.[132] The following week, it climbed to No 4 in the US,[133] before reaching No 3 on 25 July.[134] The parent album,Hounds of Love, also reached a new peak in the US, charting at No 12.[135] The song topped the AustralianARIA Charts to become her second No 1 single in the country.[136] In France, "Running Up That Hill" beat its original chart peak of 24, placing at No 3.[137]Hounds of Love also rose in popularity on various album charts, with it reaching No 1 onBillboard's Top Alternative Albums chart, making it Bush's first US chart-topping album.[138] On 10 June,The Whole Story rose from No 76 to No 19 on the UK Albums Chart,[139] peaking a week later at No 17.[140] A limited edition CD single was released byRhino.[141] in September 2022, published in this format for the first time, the 2022 filmA Man Called Otto featured the song "This Woman's Work" from Bush's album,The Sensual World.[142] In May 2023, it was also featured in theNetflix filmThe Mother, spiking a sales resurgence for the song.[143]
On 1 January 2023, Bush was included at No 60 in the list of200 Best Singers of All Time byRolling Stone.[144] On 22 February 2023, Bush announced that her label, Fish People, had moved to the new distribution partner, The state51 Conspiracy.[145] The new company took over distribution of her post-1980 releases (starting fromThe Dreaming) worldwide, and the entire catalogue in the US only. This move has also generated renewed"indie" reissues of her albums.[146]
Bush was nominated for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, 2021 and 2022, and was inducted in 2023, but did not attend the ceremony.[9][147] She was inducted byBig Boi ofOutKast, a long-time fan of her music.[148] In his induction speech, Big Boi said, "What I love about Kate's music is that I never know what sound I'm gonna hear next. She ignores anything that seems like a formula and instead just does whatever she wants to do, like me. She challenges me as a listener and expands my ears and my mind. No matter how many times I look to albums likeThe Dreaming or50 Words for Snow, they sound fresh and surprise me every time. They fill my head with ideas and expand my ambitions for what music can achieve."[148]
In February 2024, it was announced that Bush was an ambassador for that year'sRecord Store Day on 20 April 2024. Her cancelled 1993-single "Eat the Music" will be released as a 10" vinyl single.[149] In a statement, Bush said,
Isn't it great to see how the resurgence in vinyl has taken the music industry by surprise? It had decided to leave vinyl far behind, but it would seem that not everyone agrees! I love that [...] In the same way that some people like to read a book on Kindle but also want to have a book as a physical object, a lot of people like vinyl and streaming. Both have different appeals. An album on vinyl is a beautiful thing, given a strong identity by its large-scale artwork. There's a much more personal connection with the artist and their work. The added bonus of vinyl is that it encourages people to listen to albums. An art form that I've always thought can be treasured in a unique way. This year, I hope you have a fantastic time at this very important event, and that you get to celebrate music that's been specially released for you."[150][151]
On 25 October 2024, Bush released a short animated film, entitledLittle Shrew, in support ofWar Child. The film is set to a radio edit of "Snowflake", from50 Words for Snow. In an interview with the BBC, to promoteLittle Shrew, Bush revealed that she was "very keen to start working on a new album when I've got [the film] finished. I've got lots of ideas and I'm really looking forward to getting back into that creative space, it's been a long time."[152]
On 26 June 2025, it was announced that Bush's short animated film,Little Shrew, would be played throughout the UK beforeWorld War II German resistance film,From Hilde, With Love.[156]
On 22 September 2025, it was announced that the compilationBest of the Other Sides, an edited and re-tweaked version of 2018'sThe Other Sides would be released digitally on 26 September 2025, and on CD and vinyl on 31 October 2025;[157] the digital release debuted at number 16 on the UK Albums Downloads Chart.[158]
Bush's musical aesthetic iseclectic, and is known to employ varied influences and meld disparate styles, often within a single song or over the course of an album.[43]Simon Reynolds ofThe Guardian called Bush "the queen ofart-pop",[159] and she has also been described asart rock,[43][160]baroque pop,[161]avant-pop,[162][163]progressive pop,[164][165] andpost-progressive.[166] Ben Myers ofProg called Bush "prog's first pop star and pop's first prog star" whose "career history and collaborations are inextricably tied in with prog and her ever-evolving output has much more in common with the genre than the pop world in which she first found herself operating."[167] She has been grouped with other "'arty' 1970s and '80s Britishpop rock artists" such asRoxy Music andPeter Gabriel.[168] Even in her earliest works, with piano the primary instrument, she wove together diverse influences, drawing on classical music,glam rock,[159] and a wide range of ethnic andfolk sources. This has continued throughout her career. By the time ofNever for Ever, Bush had begun to make prominent use of theFairlight CMI synthesiser, which allowed her tosample and manipulate sounds, expanding her sonic palette.[19]
Bush has asoprano vocal range.[169] Her vocals contain elements of British,Anglo-Irish and most prominently (southern) English accents and, in its use of musical instruments from various periods and cultures, her music has differed from American pop norms.[170] Reviewers have used the term "surreal" to describe her music.[171] Her songs explore melodramatic emotional and musical surrealism that defies easy categorisation.[172] It has been observed that even her more joyous pieces are often tinged with traces of melancholy and vice versa.[173]
Elements of Bush's lyrics employ historical or literary references. This is embodied in her first single "Wuthering Heights", which is based onEmily Brontë'snovel of the same name. She has described herself as a storyteller who embodies the character singing the song and has dismissed efforts by others to conceive of her work as autobiographical.[170][174][175] Bush's lyrics have been known to touch on obscure or esoteric subject matter, andNew Musical Express noted that Bush was not afraid to tackle sensitive and taboo subjects in her work.[176] "The Kick Inside" is based on a traditional English folk song (The Ballad of Lucy Wan) about an incestuous pregnancy and a resulting suicide.[177] "Kashka from Baghdad" is a song about a gay couple; She has referencedG. I. Gurdjieff in the song "Them Heavy People", while "Cloudbusting" was inspired by Peter Reich's autobiography,A Book of Dreams, about his relationship with his father,Wilhelm Reich. "Breathing" explores the results of nuclear fallout from the perspective of a fœtus.[178]
Other non-musical sources of inspiration for Bush include horror films, which have influenced thegothic nature of her songs, such as "Hounds of Love", which samples the 1957 horror movieNight of the Demon.[179] "The Infant Kiss" is a song about a haunted, unstable woman's infatuation with a young boy in her care (inspired byJack Clayton's filmThe Innocents (1961), which had been based onHenry James's novellaThe Turn of the Screw).[180][181] The title of the song "Hammer Horror" is fromHammer Film Productions' horror movies, and the song's story was inspired by the filmMan of a Thousand Faces (1957).[182] Her songs have occasionally combined comedy and horror to form dark humour, such as murder by poisoning in "Coffee Homeground", an alcoholic mother in "Ran Tan Waltz" and the upbeat "The Wedding List", a song inspired byFrançois Truffaut's 1967 film ofCornell Woolrich'sThe Bride Wore Black about the murder of a groom and the bride's subsequent revenge against the killer.[183] Bush has also cited comedy as a significant influence. She has citedWoody Allen,[184]Monty Python,[185]Fawlty Towers,[185] andThe Young Ones[186] as particular favourites.
Bush is regarded as the first artist to have had aheadset with awireless microphone built for use in music.[187] For herTour of Life in 1979, she had a compactmicrophone combined with a self-made construction of wireclothes hangers, so that she did not have to use a hand microphone. Having her hands free allowed Bush to dance her rehearsed choreography ofexpressionist dance on the concert stage and sing with a microphone at the same time. Her idea was later adopted by other artists such asJanet Jackson,[188]Madonna andPeter Gabriel.[189]
According toAlexis Petridis ofThe Guardian, Bush's "shadow looms so large that whenever a female singer-songwriter emerges who is even remotely out of the ordinary, it's only a matter of time before someone, fairly or otherwise, mentions Bush".[190]
Since she made the bold decision after only six weeks on the road in 1979 that she wouldn't play live again, yet continued to be a powerhouse of inventive avant pop for the next 15 years – and a sporadic, off-the-grid presence ever since – Bush has set the blueprint for the autonomous artist creating masterworks entirely at their own pace and on their own terms. Kate Bush is the definitive example of a musician allowing work to flow through her life, not cram life into the spaces between her work.
—Mark Beaumont writing forNME on Bush being an "enigma worthy of the name", July 2018[217]
In 2015,Adele stated that the release of her third studio album25 was inspired by Bush's 2014 comeback to the stage.[218]Nerina Pallot was inspired to become a songwriter after seeing Bush play "This Woman's Work" onWogan.[219] Bush was described byThe Guardian as an "early role model" forDido.[220] The Australian singer-songwriterSia described Bush as one of the "weird" artists she "grew up with", along withAdam Ant,Boy George andCyndi Lauper.[221]k.d. lang named Bush as one of the artists she was listening to when she was starting to write songs.[222]Jack Antonoff has described Bush as an artist he listens to when he writes songs.[223]Andy Bell described Bush as "a major influence on a lot ofErasure's album tracks".[224] WhenLittle Boots was asked about female producers or songwriters that have inspired her, she highlighted Bush for "how involved she got with the studio side as well as the performance".[225]Kate Nash described Bush as "really amazing and really inspirational".[226]Bat for Lashes also called her "a real inspiration".[227]Tegan and Sara called Bush a "huge influence" on them when they were growing up in the 1980s,[228] andSky Ferreira named her when asked about her "primary influences" from that decade.[229]Rosalía named Bush as one of the female artists who made success possible for artists like her.[230]Beverley Craven acknowledged that when she was beginning to write songs, she was "trying to sound like Kate Bush".[231]Tim Bowness ofNo-Man named Bush as one of his early influences.[232]
Elton John cited Bush's duet withPeter Gabriel, "Don't Give Up", for helping him to become sober, particularly Bush's lyric, "Rest your head. You worry too much. It's going to be all right. When times get rough you can fall back on us. Don't give up." He stated, "she [Bush] played a big part in my rebirth."[233] After doing a duet with Bush in 2011, John praised her talents as a musician, stating "I'm so proud to be on a Kate Bush record; she's always marched to the beat of her own drum. She was groundbreaking – a bit like a female equivalent ofFreddie Mercury. She does come out socially sometimes and she came to my civil partnership occasion with her husband. There were so many stars in the room, but all the musicians there were only interested in saying, 'You've got to introduce me to Kate Bush.' I remember Boy George saying, 'Oh my God, is that Kate Bush?' I said, 'Yeah!'."[234]
Bush was one of the singers whomPrince thanked in the liner notes of 1991'sDiamonds and Pearls.[235]Kirk Hammett ofMetallica listed Bush as one of the influences onMaster of Puppets.[236] According to an unauthorised biography,Courtney Love ofHole listened to Bush among other artists as a teenager.[237]Tricky ofMassive Attack wrote an article aboutThe Kick Inside, saying: "Her music has always sounded like dreamland to me.... I don't believe in God, but if I did, her music would be my bible".[238]John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten of theSex Pistols, declared her work to be "beauty beyond belief".[239] Rotten once wrote a song for her, titled "Bird in Hand" (about exploitation of parrots) that Bush rejected.[240] In 1999,VH1 named Bush the 46th-greatest woman in rock and roll.[241]
Marianne Faithfull mentioned Bush's four-octave range should be regarded as a "national treasure". "My favourite instrument in the whole world is the human female voice, and Kate Bush is one of the reasons why. It is, by far, aStradivarius," Faithfull says. "Which is why she rarely deals with the press or isn't in a rush to record. She's one of the few who can be above all that."[242]Enya praised Bush in a similar manner: "When you think of Kate Bush, you think of the music, not the headlines."[243]Rufus Wainwright named Bush one of his top ten gay icons.[244] Outside music, Bush has been an inspiration to several fashion designers, includingHussein Chalayan.[245] In 1998 anasteroid was named after Bush.[246][247]
In 2019, French record producerPone, who is paralysed fromamyotrophic lateral sclerosis, releasedKate & Me, an entire album created from samples of Kate Bush's work.[248] According toThe Guardian, it's the "first album in history to be entirely produced through an eye-tracking device".[248] Pone declares that Bush is the greatest artist of the past 40 years.[249] Pone reiterated the experience in June 2021 by publishingListen And Donate. An EP composed of four tracks including two originals by Pone, still based on samples of Kate Bush's work, and two remixes produced bySCH andPara One.JR signs the visual part of the project. The goal is to raise funds for the Trakadom association, created by Pone and two doctors in collaboration with the intensive care unit of the hospital ofNîmes.[250]
In 2020,Grazia magazine conducted an interview with UK Prime MinisterBoris Johnson. When asked about the five most influential women in his life, Johnson placed Kate Bush at the fifth spot after deliberating between nominatingQueen Elizabeth II,Margaret Thatcher, and Bush.[251]
In addition to her music, her dancing has been critically acclaimed and proven influential, as well as enduring in the popular consciousness. Critics have noted her "pioneering synthesis of music and movement"[252] and called her work "modern dance at its most powerful".[253]Prix Benois de la Danse winnerSidi Larbi Cherkaoui credits her dancing as a formative influence.[254] For the recurringThe Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever event, thousands of people gather worldwide to recreate her dance routine from the "Wuthering Heights" music video—the outside version where Bush is seen dancing "out in the wily, windy moors", adorned with flowers and a flowy red dress.[255][256][257]
Bush's only tour, the Tour of Life, ran for six weeks in April and May 1979, covering Britain and mainland Europe.[1] TheBBC suggested that she may have quit touring due to afear of flying, or because of the death of a lighting engineer, Bill Duffield, who was killed in an accident after a warmup concert.[258] Mercer, who signed Bush to EMI, said touring was "just too hard ... I think [Bush] liked it but the equation didn't work ... I could see at the end of the show that she was completely wiped out."[1] Bush described the tour as "enormously enjoyable" but "absolutely exhausting".[258]
Bush returned to headline performance with a 22-night residency,Before the Dawn, which ran from 26 August to 1 October 2014 at theLondonHammersmith Apollo.[263] The set list[264] encompassed most ofHounds of Love featuring the entire Ninth Wave suite, most ofAerial featuring the entire An Endless Sky of Honey suite including new song "Tawny Moon", two songs fromThe Red Shoes, and one song from50 Words for Snow.[265]
Bush provided vocals on two of Peter Gabriel's albums, including the hits "Games Without Frontiers" and "Don't Give Up", as well as "No Self-Control".[266] Gabriel appeared on Bush's 1979 television special, where they sang a duet ofRoy Harper's "Another Day".[267] She has sung on two Roy Harper tracks, "You", on his 1979 album, "The Unknown Soldier"; and "Once", the title track of his 1990 album. She has also sung on the title song of the 1986Big Country albumThe Seer; theMidge Ure song "Sister and Brother" from his 1988 albumAnswers to Nothing;Go West's 1987 single "The King Is Dead"; and two songs withPrince – "Why Should I Love You?", from her 1993 albumThe Red Shoes, and "My Computer" from Prince's 1996 albumEmancipation.[268] In 1987, she sang a verse on theBeatles cover charity single "Let It Be" byFerry Aid.[269]
In 1990, Bush produced a song for another artist,Alan Stivell's "Kimiad" for his albumAgain; this is the only time she has done this to date. Stivell had appeared onThe Sensual World. In 1991, Bush was invited to perform a cover ofElton John's 1972 song "Rocket Man" for the tribute albumTwo Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. In 2007 Bush's cover wonThe Observer readers' award for Greatest Cover of all time.[270] In 2011, Elton John collaborated with Bush once again in "Snowed in at Wheeler Street" for her most recent album50 Words for Snow. In 1994, Bush coveredGeorge Gershwin's "The Man I Love" for the tribute albumThe Glory of Gershwin.[271] In 1996, Bush contributed a version of "Mná na hÉireann" (Irish for "Women of Ireland") for the Anglo-Irish folk-rock compilation projectCommon Ground: The Voices of Modern Irish Music. Bush had to sing the song in Irish, which shelearned to do phonetically.[272]
Artists who have contributed to Bush's own albums include Elton John,Eric Clapton,Jeff Beck,David Gilmour,Roy Harper,Nigel Kennedy,Gary Brooker,Danny Thompson, andPrince.[273] Bush provided backing vocals for a song that was recorded during the 1990s titledWouldn't Change a Thing by Lionel Azulay, the drummer with the original band that was later to become the KT Bush Band. The song, which was engineered and produced by Del Palmer, was released on Azulay's albumOut of the Ashes.[274] Bush declined a request byErasure to produce one of their albums because, according toVince Clarke, "she didn't feel that that was her area".[275]
Kate has also worked with the ethnic bulgarian groupTrio Bulgarka. They provided the backing vocals on the songs: "Deeper Understanding",[276] "Never Be Mine",[277] and "Rocket's Tail"[278] from Bush's album "The Sensual World" in 1989. They also make an appearance in her 1993 album "The Red Shoes" in the songs "You're The One",[276] The Song of Solomon",[276] and "Why Should I Love You".[276] Bush revealed that she was introduced to the group 3 years prior to the making of "The Sensual World" by her brother, Paddy, who is interested in cultural music.[279] She also addressed the language barrier by saying that despite the more difficult process, the connection feels more genuine because it's an emotional bond rather than intellectual one.[279][280]
Bush and guitarist Danny McIntosh have a son, Albert McIntosh, known as Bertie, born in 1998,[281][282] although whether they are married is unknown.[283] From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Bush was in a relationship with bassist and sound engineerDel Palmer.[284]
Bush is a former resident ofEltham in southeast London.[285] In the 1990s she moved to a canalside residence inSulhamstead, Berkshire, and bought a second home inDevon in 2004.[80] Bush is a vegetarian.[286][287] Bush was raised aRoman Catholic. In 1999, she said:
I would never say I was a strict follower of Roman Catholic belief, but a lot of images are in there; they have to be; they're so strong. Such powerful, beautiful, passionate images! There's a lot of suffering in Roman Catholicism. I think I'm looking for not necessarily religion, but ways of helping myself to become more understanding, more complete, a happier person ... But I really don't think I've found a niche.[16]
The length of time between albums has led to rumours concerning Bush's health or appearance.[186][288] In 2011, she toldBBC Radio 4 that the amount of time between albums was stressful: "It's very frustrating the albums take as long as they do ... I wish there weren't such big gaps between them". In the same interview, she denied that she was a perfectionist, saying: "I think it's important that things are flawed ... That's what makes a piece of art interesting sometimes – the bit that's wrong or the mistake you've made that's led onto an idea you wouldn't have had otherwise." She reiterated her prioritisation of her family life.[174]
Bush's son, Bertie, featured in her 2014 residency Before the Dawn. Her nephew Raven Bush was a violinist in the English indie bandSyd Arthur.[289]
Some of Bush's songs contain references to political and social themes, including "Breathing", which addresses the fear ofnuclear warfare and "Army Dreamers", which examines the grief felt by mothers who lose children serving in the military during war.[290] In a 1985 interview withThe NewMusic, Bush stated "I've never felt I've written from a political point of view, it's always been an emotional point of view that just happens to perhaps be a political situation."[291]
During the1979 United Kingdom general election campaign, Bush, who at the time was on a live concert tour of the UK, posed for a photograph alongside theLabour Prime MinisterJames Callaghan.[292] When asked about her political beliefs in a 1985 interview withHot Press, Bush replied that she preferred not to discuss how she voted and added "I don't feel I am a political thinker at all. I don't really understand politics."[291]
In 2016, the Canadian news magazineMaclean's published an interview in which Bush was asked about people being afraid of women holding political power. Bush pointed out that the UK, unlike the US, did have a female leader,Theresa May, who a few months earlier had become Prime Minister. The interview quoted Bush as saying: "I actually really like her and think she's wonderful. I think it's the best thing that's happened to us in a long time ... It is great to have a woman in charge of the country. She's very sensible and I think that's a good thing at this point in time."[295] In 2019, Bush published a statement on her website saying that she was not aConservative Party supporter, that she felt May was an improvement over the previous Prime Minister, and that she had intended only to defend women in power.[296]
In December 2022, in her annual Christmas message, Bush expressed solidarity withnurses undertaking strike action, stating thatNHS nurses should be "appreciated and cherished".[298]
^Rolling Stone magazine, 8 February 1990, pp 21–2: "The Sensual Woman" by Sheila Rogers.
^abcKruse, Holly (November 2000)."Kate Bush: Enigmatic chanteuse as pop pioneer".Soundscapes.info, Online Journal on Media Culture.3.ISSN1567-7745.Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved31 July 2008, originally published inTracking: Popular Music Studies.1 (1). Spring 1988
^abBrown, Mick (21 September 1979)."Show fuses music, theater".Wilmington Morning Star.Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved5 October 2020.
^"Top Singles (Week 24, 2022)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved6 June 2022.
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