December
24th: The January 1999 issue of Record
Collector has hit the shops in the UK & Ireland and features
the 11 page feature by James R. Blandford; "Bushwhacked!",
a "celebratory retrospective of Kate Bush, certainly a law unto
herself". The piece is well researched, nicely illustrated (b&w
photos only), featuring a newly up-dated discography and record price
guide, and the author's comments on Kate's catalogue. The overall tone of
the article suggests that the author is more than a little frustrated at
Kate's recent lack of recorded output...
December
5th: More Newsbits: Record Collector
magazine have some interesting news for collectors in their December
edition; the ultra-rare Eat The Music 7" single (only seventeen
copies exist?) is placed at number 17 in the magazine's "100 rarest
records ever" listing in their December issue. A value of £1,500 is
attributed to this abandoned UK pressing. A b&w photo of the label and
sleeve are shown. There's an interesting paragraph on the scrapped 7"
included with the article. The upcoming January edition of Record
Collector will have a large retrospective article looking back at 20 years
of Kate.
The editors
of HomeGround magazine attended the recent Colin-Lloyd Tucker (featured on
The Red Shoes) concert at London's Mean Fiddler and spoke to Paddy
Bush, Kate's brother who was in attendance. Paddy mentioned an
upcoming programme about Madagascar on BBC Radio 4 (more on this when
programme details arrive). HomeGround #62 has now been
mailed to subscribers. It contains fan's recollections of the last 20
years of Kate's music, special moments, special songs etc..You can read
more at this web-site's HomeGround
pages.
November
21st: Newsbits: Kate's 1986 greatest hits collection,
The Whole Story, is the latest new release from EMI which embraces the MiniDisc
format, out now. Also, in the States the popular teen show Felicity
has featured a Kate track, This Woman's Work, during an episode on date
rape. The show is known for featuring tracks from female vocalists such as
Sarah McLachlan and Liz Phair. (thanks to Mariana McConnell and Beate
Meiswinkel for the newsbits).
November
2nd: Meredith Tarr has sent in her review of a show she attended
in Fairfield, Connecticut USA a few weeks ago by Kat Devlin, "Kat
Devlin Sings The Songs Of Kate Bush". You can read it here.
(thanks to Meredith).
November
1st: Another press mention: The Irish Post -The
Voice Of The Irish In Britain have published an article on Kate which is
the third of a seven-part series celebrating the contribution of
second-generation Irish songwriters to British pop and rock music.
Unfortunately the writer of this article either didn't know about or
forgot to mention Mná
na hÉireann.
Still it's one of the few articles written about Kate in the press that
I've seen this year. Read this article here.
(thanks to Jane Sagr for pointing out this article to me)
September
23rd: The UK music magazine MOJO, has a huge
feature in its October edition in which 175 singers have voted for the 100
greatest singers of all time. Kate is listed at No. 81, and receives a
very favourable write-up. Voters included Mike Scott, Elizabeth Fraser,
Paula Cole and Ben E. King. Aretha Franklin topped the poll. The writer of
Kate's section included You're The One from the Red Shoes album as an
example of a vocally "sublime moment" from Kate. Mike Scott,
(Waterboys frontman) who covered Kate's song Why Should I Love You in 1997
describes Kate as; "Exquisite, original, unique, passionate,
fearless"
Paddy
Bush documentary. Kate: "busy"!
August
23rd: The August 1998 Kate Bush Club leaflet has been mailed to
fans. The KBC had the following to say:
"Contrary
to the usual Chinese whispers type rumours whizzing around the internet
and press, there is no imminent release date for an album....Kate has been
busy, but not inspecting venues, buying up property or filming in the
London Underground as other sources have said!"
Kate's
brother Paddy Bush's Madagascar documentary by Celia
Lowenstein, "Like A God When He Plays" is now scheduled for
Sunday 30th August at 8pm on Channel 4 in the UK. Note: See this
page for full
programme details of "Like A God When He Plays".
Tribute
Album - Retail Ordering Information
August
17th: September 22, 1998 is the scheduled release date for
"I WANNA BE KATE: The Songs of Kate Bush." Carrot Top
Distribution (CTD) in Chicago has picked up the CD and retail
shops or music dealers can order it directly from them. CTD can be reached
by phone at 312-432-1194 or fax at 312-432-1351. Carrot Top Distribution
is located at 935 W Chestnut, Suite LL15, Chicago IL USA 60622. Attention
Marty or Patrick. Read more about the tribute CD here.
August
3rd: In the new Q Magazine (Sept. 1998) they
list the "50 records that sound like sex". At 49 is Kate's The
Sensual World. Also in the same magazine, Hounds Of Love is listed as one
of the dozen essential UK albums of the Eighties.
July
27th: BBC Radio 4 last week broadcast a short comic radio play
entitled "A Fast Forward Through The Life Of Greg, A Kate
Bush Fan", seemingly about a fan writing letters to Kate.
It's a fictional account, but that didn't stop one Press Association
reporter contacting the editors of Homeground magazine to locate
"Greg"!
"New"
Kate track emerges on Kamen album...
July
1st: Kate's version of Brazil
which was recorded for the 1985 Terry Gilliam film of the same name has
resurfaced in a different version on a new compilation album. Here's a
report from John Heislman:
'The
original version of this song, released on the Brazil soundtrack CD in
1993, features Kate on vocals, backed by Michael Kamen conducting the
National Philharmonic Orchestra of London. The orchestration is light and
string-dominated; Kate's phrasing and delivery are quite soft. There's a
striking trumpet passage in the middle that plays the lead melody line
along with Kate's vocal.The "new" Brazil that appears on Michael
Kamen's "Opus" CD is significantly different!
[Note: this CD seems to be released in Europe under the title "The
Michael Kamen Soundtrack Album" (London Records: LONDON 458
912-2)]
Once
again, it's Kate on vocals, but this time she's backed by Kamen conducting
the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. This version is a much heavier,
brass-dominated arrangement. Kate's phrasing is real similar to the first
version in the beginning, but she becomes much more deliberate towards the
end. She also throws in quite a bit of vibrato on one of the sustained
notes. The trumpet passage in the first version shows up as a string
accompaniment here.' (thanks John!).
Michael Kamen's liner notes:
"Brazil was my first opportunity to work on a film of meaning and
stature. The film is, in my opinion, an enduring work of genius by Terry
Gilliam. This song was the inspiration of the entire madness, and as I
explored every corner of this melody, usually heard at bar mitzvahs and
weddings, I awoke every morning with it haunting me. I grew to believe I
had written it! Kate Bush sang this version, which was never used in the
film, and it appears here as an 'end credit' song to my own movie..."
Kate's
new album......rumours and confusion!
June
26th: I've just learned that the BBC Radio 2 programme
"Inside Track" has spoken with Kate's representative regarding
the current slew of rumours surrounding a new album (see elsewhere on
these pages). Here's a quote from the host Paul Gambicini
[You can download what Paul had to say as a .wav
file (491k)]:
"Is Kate
Bush recording a new album? We have spoken to her P.A. and the good news
is there will be something.....sometime. The bad news is it won't be in
the immediate future. Work is still at the "ideas" stage of
recording. If you're a website browser and have come across stories about
certain musicians like Dave Gilmour being involved, we have it from the
most reliable source of all that these stories are completely unfounded
and mere speculation...In the meantime Brown Star Records in America are
releasing a tribute album by various indie artists called 'I WANNA BE
KATE: The Songs Of Kate Bush". They started taking mail orders this
week, it will be available at retail around late August/early September.
Now I know the answer to that question is probably more than a little
frustrating, so I'm going to leave you with one of her hit
singles...."
(Paul Gambicini:
"Inside Track" Thursday June 25th 1998)
Although this definitely
puts an end to any 1998 release hopes (and EMI haven't had anything to say
on the matter) at least it is an official update from Kate's
spokesperson. Kate traditionally reveals little of anything regarding her
work while she's busy recording, and the long gap since The Red Shoes in
1993 has seemingly created much rumour....and begs the question as to the
accuracy of some of the reports of the last couple of years from various
sources! For my part with this website, earlier this year I've had to
remove a couple of news items which I've learned to be completely
false...deliberate misinformation, which does no-one any favours. As
always the considered scepticism of the Homeground magazine editorial team
has proved correct.
I've always stated the
sources of my information and am here merely to share any news of interest
to the community of fans and music-lovers who value Kate's work. 1998
continues to be a year of celebration of Kate's incredible past body of
work...
Best wishes and good luck
to Kate! (thanks to John Lang for this news and for the audio clip).
Tribute
album: first copies will be sent out in the next few weeks
June 21st: Brown
Star Records in Chicago are now taking mail orders for "I
Wanna Be Kate: The Songs Of Kate Bush". The CD will not hit
retail outlets till August/September but initially it will be available by
mail order only. Ordering information is available on a page I've put
together which also now has part two of my interview with Thomas Dunning here.
May 17th: Each
year some people into Kate's music organise various get-togethers around
the globe in and around her birthday on July 30th. This year is a bit more
special than most, being a celebration of Kate's 20th year releasing
records and also as she turns 40 this year. Karen Newcombe lists the
latest event's details here.
GLASTONBURY 1998
HomeGround's 1998 Kate Birthday Bash will take place on Glastonbury Tor,
England on Sunday 2nd August. All Kate fans are invited to come along. No
formal events, just to meet and chat and celebrate Kate's birthday in the
20th year of her career. Meet on Glastonbury Tor at 2.00 pm, and afterward
in a local pub!
Also you can
see a nicely designed poster with the details for a UK gathering at Top
Withens on the 26th July 1998 at this site here.
(thanks to Matt for the info..)
May
2nd: The UK TV show, Stars In Their Eyes, in
which contestants perform as famous artists featured a Kate impersonator
in tonight's programme. Tracey Maskell, a 35 year old from Kent, fulfilled
a "lifetime ambition" when she performed Wuthering Heights
(high-pitched of course!) before the viewing millions and managed to
incorporate the original choreography as performed by Kate in the 1978
video. Tracey lost out in the competition to "Belinda Carlisle".
Matthew Kelly, the show's presenter mentioned that David Gilmour had
discovered Kate and described her as a "huge star" who had
collaborated with Peter Gabriel and Larry Adler.
"I
love the second side of this album. I was in Los Angeles when I heard this
record for the first time. I was hanging out in the rock chick scene.
Thigh-high boots, gigantic amounts of hairspray, and everything. I had
encountered nothing but rejection for months, nobody liked my piano stuff.
And I was in a band that did something completely different. Then I found
this record, and put it on, listened to side one, liked it OK, listened to
side two, listened to side two again, and again, and again and again
(sings): "You can't hear me, you can't hear what I'm saying, you
didn't hear me come in, you won't hear me leaving." This turned me
inside out. It changed my life. I decided to leave the man with whom I
shared an appartment; I left the man I was living with because of this
record."
March
2nd: A new album of Irish music released on the Celtic
Heartbeat/Universal label, Celtic Heartbeat Collection 2 (catalogue
number: UD 53122), features Kate's version of Seán Ó'Riada's Mná
na hÉireann. This track originally appeared on the 1996 various
artist's album Common Ground (Voices Of Modern Irish Music). The album
also contains the Christy Moore/Bono/Edge collaboration North & South
Of The River (the song reflecting their desire for peace in Northern
Ireland), Grammy Award-winning composer Bill Whelan's
"Riverdance.", and a live version of He Moved Through The Fair
by Sinead O'Connor. Also featured are choral ensemble Anuna, Dublin-based
septet Kila, Celtic composers Michael & Jeff Danna, male traditional
singer Sean Keane, traditional group Lunasa, noted Irish singer Frances
Black and young accordion player Luke Daniels. Ambient band, The Spirit Of
Eden, are Celtic Heartbeat’s most recent signing; they contribute two
tracks—"Compassion" and "Legend Of Cuan," from their
soon-to-be-released debut. The compilation will be available in major and
specialist record stores in the USA. European release dates will vary and
an Irish release is scheduled for the end of March. I've put together a
report on Kate's version of Mná na hÉireann 
January
24th : Channel 4 TV in the UK screen a programme announcing the
results of the Music Of The Millennium poll of 100
all-time greatest albums carried out by the channel and HMV. Hounds Of
Love is placed at no.78. (note: it seems that this survey also involved
the readership of The Guardian newspaper and that in fact over 140,000
people in all responded to this poll!)