Two stunning new promotional images of Kate have appeared on the Amazon site this evening!
Edit: Kate has now confirmed that the fur featured in these photos was synthetic. No yetis were harmed in the making of these shots. See also here and here.
A note about fur and photographs
From Kate… Hi there, We have recently taken some photos and I just want to pre-empt any concerns there might be as I’m sure most of you will feel the same way as I do about wearing real fur.
All the fur in these photos is synthetic.
Best wishes,
Kate
Samra
Wow, beautiful!!!
Mark
I love them! They both have a mysterious vibe.
Stefan Bogers
WOOOOOOWWWW !!!!
These should have been the cover pictures for the new album….
Absolutely GORGEOUS !!!
noodle
Love them!! Especially the masked one – where can I get one? 🙂
Isabelle
I’m totally overwhelmed by Kate’s beauty. Nothing more to say…
…maybe except that this winter belongs to the Lady of Kent and I can’t wait for the first snow even if I’ll have to buy it in Tesco (cause here, where I live winters are very warm).
Stunning photos. The second would make an awesome, intriguing and mysterious cover!
Patrick Gleeson
Mmmmm yes ……
Millais
I think John and Gavin did a great job with these new promo shots!
I can almost hear ‘Lara’s theme’ on the background. Very much reminiscent of ‘Doctor Zhivago’, indeed. Extremely romantic and enigmatic at the same time.
Kate is as beautiful as ever. And now…let her music and voice do the rest…
another swede
Quite ok but when, just when will we get an idea of how Kate looks like.I do mean realy look like.
Natan
I wonder the same, i think she looks stunning in the pictures, but u can’t really say how she is looking now a days.
Collin Kelley
There’s something very The Dreaming-esque about that second one. Maybe it’s the eye makeup. Stunning photos.
Mymi
Gorgeous!!
Mike
What a beautiful lady
Gerard
Just incredible
Isabelle
And oh – I almost forgot:
Nice layout! 😀 That furry face goes well with Kate’s new pics… 🙂
giulio
🙂
I really like the photo where we can see her face. Very very nice.
I hope the fur is fake, I wouldn’t like Kate Bush to wear real furs. . .
graham deller
Not a pleasant thought that it may be real fur.
Dreamtimetk
Stunning as always, reminds me of Elisabeth Taylor….She is gorgeous!!!!!
ARoseGrowing Old
Oddly enough, I’m melting!
My response: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDQbeVzKMr0
James
Kate is gorgeous as usual, but am I the only one a tad nervous/saddened with these photos. Fur? In 2011? From a vegetarian?
99.99% sure it’s fake (it really better be!!!), but any use of animal skin for the sake of promotion these days is somewhat ignorant.
Sky
Fake fur these days is so good it looks real, so I guess this is fake – why use anything else? I have an amazing fake fur ‘leopard’ coat, looks amazing but definitely 100% man made. So I guess you don’t need to worry about Kate’s furry clothing. 🙂
Rod
Simply stunning.
Dave Kroll
That’s a real disappointment. No ‘artist’ who wears fur will get any more money from me. Directors Cut is the last Kate album I will buy.
James
Yeah, I’m struggling with this.
Even if fake, it’s just wrong on so many levels.
If real, it’s incredibly heartbreaking – and unforgiveable.
Nanette
So. . .you’re going to castigate someone for wearing a costume that isn’t even real, while buying albums from artists who have HUGE carbon footprints because they tour all the time? And let’s see. . . are you typing on an Apple computer? (Computer parts are often made by slave/seriously underpaid labour). We do the best we can, and let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
James
No, No Nanette!
Never bought an Apple product, have been vegan for over 20 years, and don’t drive a car. PJ Harvey would be pretty much the only artist I buy who tours these parts. So if your carbon footprint is smaller than mine then you can continue throwing your stones this way!
graham deller
Nice cyber slap James.I thought I was the only one who has dared to be anything but sycophantic in comments about the genius that is kate Bush.I too as a vegetarian am concerned about this imagery.
Nanette
No car, and no Apple products here, either. I do confess, though, that I left the bathroom light on last night by accident. Oh, woe!
Stefan Bogers
Very well said !
Greg
Amen!
Rod
Fake fur is “wrong”? What kind of reasoning is that? I have a good old Mod parka with a fake fur hood. You want to tell me that’s wrong?
And don’t you think it’s highly unlikely that someone who at a young age decided not to eat animals, would wear them?
I suppose the label should make it clear that no fish were harmed in the naming of it?
Isabelle
I am also not happy about the vision of Kate promoting expensive FUR clothing (like Janet Jackson or others did) but to me it looks like a typical winter/polar clothing. I wear similar (ofc fake) furry hats and hoods (stranded to the coat) because they not only look good but also work well in that harsh winter/mountain environment.
However, I don’t think this issue will ever be explained unless someone from the new interviewers will be willing to ask about it. And btw, someone who eats fish is not a vegetarian to me.
Cheers.
xxx
Miranda
Hi Nanette (and other fur defenders), there are quite a few unfounded assumptions there regarding what music the writers listen to, and their mode of computing.
I utterly respect what you’re saying about us doing “the best we can”, which is why this is such a disappointment. Kate is renowned for doing the best SHE can. In many ways this is part of her allure: she stands for ideals, standards, a beautiful world. Whether or not the fur is real, it is still imagery that represents suffering, and can’t help but be read along side the fashion world’s whim of “returning to fur” .
On one level, sure you can read it as a tribute to an Inuit culture dependent on animal flesh and fur for survival, but at the same time what Kate does as an image maker, as an artist, does affect the psyche of those who consume her music or simply encounter her press photography. I really hope part of 2 of this photo-shoot reveals that she’s critically reflective of the power of her dress ups, particularly in fur (fake or otherwise).
graham deller
I agree,for so many reasons.
Nanette
Make that a fake fur defender. 😉 Perhaps I was a bit off base suggesting that people might be inconsistent, but I’d rather look long and hard at my own impact on the planet than get wound up over a fake jacket. I’d like to give KB leave to be human, and fallible.
HoMoFo
“…but at the same time what Kate does as an image maker, as an artist, does affect the psyche of those who consume her music or simply encounter her press photography”
Seriously? Are your personal and moral stance really affected by “celebrity” so much?
Anyway, Kate’s already said it’s fake, though why you should be worried, I don’t know. You will watch hundreds of hours of TV and film where fake, and possibly REAL fur is being used.. Please all stop being so precious.. before I point at your leather shoes.. (and it’s not a “by-product” before you start flinging that urban myth about..)
Miranda
“Seriously? Are your personal and moral stance really affected by “celebrity” so much?”
Yep. Sure they’re affected – like they’re affected by other social and cultural constructs like the conventions of “family” and “government” and “high and low art”. Just like yours would be. Sometimes the affect is clear cut: you choose to align yourself or reject the influence. At other times its something you can unwittingly go along with, like turning the brewing teapot because that’s the way you were brought up to do it. Celebrities are indeed celebrated, that’s influence right there. Kate influences me frequently, but you’re right in this instance: she won’t convince me to wear fake fur.
Adrian
And also, I don’t event hink she’s a vegetarian anymore. At least she mentioned in an interview around the The Red Shoes time that she had given up being a vegetarian. Makes you realise Kate is so right not wanting the limelight on her personality. It gets misrepresented and mystified constantly.
Fake furs are the alternative to real fur so don’t slag them, is I would say.
So way to go girl, is what I would say. Love the pics, especially the top one, and yes, very Lara like!
Robert
In one of the interviews earlier this year for Director’s Cut, Kate said that she is a vegetarian.
http://www.lexpress.fr/culture/musique/trois-raisons-de-re-decouvrir-kate-bush_988429.html
graham deller
Exactly,one of the creators of this site is credited on that gossipy book about kate Bush that apart from nasty rumours about her lifestyle also stated kate Bush is longer a vegetarian.
nice1neil
what book and rumours were these then? love the pics, gives a nice winter, crisp cold air feel, cant wait for the album
graham deller
nive1neil,I think the book was called Under the Ivy?
I am not sure,it was given to me as a present and it was like a gossip magazine.I gave it away,I wish I hadnt read it.I advice you avoid it too.
The Red Bruce
Fake fur… wrong on so many levels….
WTF????
Brandon
Of course it is real fur. Didn’t you guys see the promo photo of her hugging the cat for Director’s Cut? The cat fur matches that collar line on her jacket! Poor cat 🙁
graham deller
A very funny comment.
❄Isabelle❄
These photos don’t deserve the drama that is happening.
Those who know Kate know that she has a high level of self-awareness and wouldn’t advertise violence. And who cares what non-fans will think? Do people really take it that seriously? Believe everything they see on TV and read in the papers as if it was the Holy Truth? Well, then it’s their choice. And if someone thinks that Kate promotes coloured contact lenses because she had her eyes photoshopped in pic no. 2 it’s their choice of interpreting the message.
I am a vegan since 2004 and a bit longer – a vegetarian. I don’t use Apple stuff and have a very old Nokia mobile. But I’m not worried about Kate. I don’t mind if she eats fish either. She’s still a better role model than most of today’s artists, even if she happened to wear something WARM which looks very furry in a winter climate. No one was expecting a leotard, I hope.
And that cat comment was indeed hilarious.
And you can check if ‘Trespass’ produces fur clothing or not.
Brandon
Haha come on. It was part of the album theme, it is a costume, and a very good one. Kate wouldn’t show up to an award show with a dead fox dangling from her neck or a long fur coat. This is a winter album, she is wearing warm clothes for her Yeti expedition people! She’s not off to hunt some baby seals.
Nanette
Heh heh. Brandon, you make me laugh!
Keith
The second one showing just the eyes and mouth looks, to me, as if the hood and scarf over-lay another photo. Hmm…
Mark
Yes, I also believe that the second photo has been photoshopped. Kate’s face looks computer generated. But of course I do not know for sure. It still looks good to me.
Grey
Love them, but why does she persist with the peekaboo, don’t-look-at-my-jawline thing?
Nanette
Self-conscious about having a double chin, maybe? After all, there’s Kate the artist, and Kate the everyday person. Everyone has a little vanity. KB’s not vain enough to fill herself with collagen, but she’s probably like most other middle-aged women when it comes to liking some bits of her body and not liking others.
John
Very nice – Kate looking as divine as ever.
Gabriella
WOW OWOWOWOWOWO ,. i love them jsut what i thought it woulod be ,….
Kate looks so lovely in her fux fur,…bit liek Liz taylor in the first one ,… and the seconed one very moody ,.. very beauitfuil,….
i love seeing her face ,….
thank you !!!:)
peace love Gabi:)****
Karin (Belgium)
B E A U T I F U L pictures of even more beautiful Kate ( and for goths’sake, stop analyzing and enjoy )
GER
wel said KARIN,,,,please enjoy these pictures of our beloved KATE en stop nicknacking to each other,,,ENJOY,,,enjoy,,,enjoy, greetz GER
emil mcmahon
wow, what a bizarre set of comments…. I’m pretty certain Kate is wearing fake fur.. and for those of you who are desperate to see a ‘full’ image, is it to just to confirm your worst fears about the press saying she has ballooned??? The images are sensational, Kate looks absolutley stunning, I couldn’t care less whetheer one has been photoshopped or not… and I really don’t think we should worry oursleves about anything else, particulalry not something as personal as Kate’s ‘size’. I just thank the Lord that I have had a brand new track to listen to this last few days… and that I have a complete album due in just over 4 weeks.
Rich
Come on you guys! You really think the fur is real?
Even the snow is fake!
Kate’s looking lovely as always.
nico
is that a TK symbol near her eye, in that “scarf”?? 😉
Slithy Tove
The second one somehow resonating with her “Egypt” image from 1979.
giulio
Have you read The New Musical Express’s Priya Elan ‘Wild Man’ review
at http://www.nme.com/r…kate-bush/12361 !!??
A fine and serious review, it was high time 😉
Karen Newcombe
Amazing photos. I hope they also release the Tibetan photo, all I’ve seen of that one are fuzzy scans from the newspaper. Also I love the new header image of the “yeti” peeking at us out of the katebushnews.com page — very funny! Only Kate could take something as generally trivialized in the media as the Yeti and return it to a state of mysterious beauty.
RobB
Kate revealed her attitude towards the wearing of fur back in a 1980 KBC interview. However, 31 years on Kate’s attitude may or may not have changed:
Q: You are a vegetarian and yet you wear fur coats,why?
Kate: I don’t wear fur coats. I havn’t got one. I don’t own one and I don’t believe in wearing them – I may have occasionally been in photos with one but it wouldn’t have been mine, it would have been one that I’d borrowed because it was very cold; for instance in Switzerland when I did the Abba special. But I don’t believe in people wearing fur coats. I think its very extravagant and again I think people don’t tend to associate the clothes with the animals that some of the coats are made of. You can get incredibly good imitation ones now – I’ve seen ones that I thought were real fur and they’re not, they’re really fantastic and they cost less too.
Michelle Horner
Wonderful Pics its Christmas Kate!
H.R. Hudson
MAGNIFICENT PHOTOS!!! I’m pretty sure that Kate is wearing fake fur. I don’t know if Kate is still a vegetarian. Back to the photos-Bits of Dr. Zhivago/Lara/Elizabeth Taylor on the snowy background. The second photo-“Wild Man”??? Kate continues to be mysterious and one of the photos would’ve made a great cover for “50 Words . . .”
edov
ehrrr, who’s Lara?
RobB
The female (child) lead character in the film The Golden Compass, the film Kate composed the song Lara for.
Here’s a photo of Lara,dressed for the cold climate:
http://www.movieweb.com/news/dakota-blue-richards-stars-as-lyra-in-the-golden-compass
RobB
Actually, that should have been Lyra. I made the same mistake. lol
Millais
Lara is the name of the character played by Julie Christie in David Lean’s film ‘Doctor Zhivago’.
Neil
Kate should have been pictured on a sun drenched beach, wearing a polka dot Bikini with a Pina Colada in one hand & a bottle of Soltan in the other. No doubt someone would take issue….
The pictures are lovely.
nice1neil
love the pics, kate looking lovely as ever and gives a great vibe for the album. Don’t understand all these stupid thread about fur/fake fur, any real kate fan knows that it wouldn’t be real fur, she is simply wearing winter clothing to give the impression of winter/snow/cold. The pics are lovely, any talk of fur is just silly talk …nuff said!
Fragecat
That 2nd photo of Kate behind a balaclava looks to photoshopped to be taken seriously. Could be anyone behind there. First pic is beautiful though.
Rod
I don’t think it’s “too photoshopped to be taken seriously” at all. I think it has been made to look slightly ethreal for a reason. Also, given the gaze; that look directly to camera would reveal the flash and the photographer, maybe, or perhaps there is something else reflected in those eyes.
Mark
Wow. Great pictures. She really could be hunting Yeti with that steely gaze. By the way, I’m covered in real fur… I wonder if she’s after me? 🙂
Miranda
Re: authenticity of fandom and fur
Kate still can be (and is) an astonishing artist. Her humanity, including her fallibility, is crucial to her earning my affections. And yes, it’s important to consider your own actions, but I don’t understand why it’s a crime of fandom to express reservations about a decision she’s made. After all, she’s a mighty chronicler of the complexities of life. I imagine she would support her fans questioning their feelings, asking questions, wondering about the ways of the world.
graham deller
Miranda you are completely right.Kate Bush responded to this thread of comments about fur.I find any comment left here not sugary supportive of Kate Bush met with passive aggression.I listen to her music everyday when I paint and I have sold hundreds of paintings and credit Kate Bush all the time,I often give cds of hers to people who buy my work because I offer no artist statement.That said I find a lot of the imagery Kate Bush produces hilarious and interviews with her unbearable to hear and really wish I had never heard them.To me its all about the music,Kate Bush could put out a cd in a brown paper bag and I would still buy lots of them.She is musically peerless.A prodigy and a living treasure,this doesnt mean she can make a good film or interview well.
Miranda
Interesting, Graham. I differ in that I quite like her interviews and multi-media explorations, even if I don’t find them all successful. The very fact that she will take risks and be generous with her insight is inspiration for me. Its the kind of life I try to lead, and having such a talented hero who is prepared to experiment without guaranteed success is a valuable thing.
I also find it fascinating when people says “it’s all about the music”, because where does the music begin and end? And is Kate a musician, or an multi-form artist? I think you’ve been clear: the music for you is defined as what you can hear on the record/CD.(And that’s cool with me!)
But then there’s the next question, we can all ask ourselves – what is our investment in expressing our responses on a fan site?! Perhaps it’s all about the music and then some: how she arrests our being!
Thanks for the conversation.
Sarah Wellburn
I can’t believe anyone thinks that Kate would wear real fur.
Barbara
The second, photoshopped photo reminds me of the front cover of Lucy O’Brien’s Dusty Springfield biography, with the heavily madeup eyes staring out!
Rinfy The Gypsy
I hope Kate offers these as lithographs on her site. I’ll totally waste money on them. I want them.
Luke
From Kate…
Hi there,
We have recently taken some photos and I just want to pre-empt any concerns there might be as I’m sure most of you will feel the same way as I do about wearing real fur. All the fur in these photos is synthetic.
Best wishes,
Kate
http://www.katebush.com/news/note-about-fur-and-photographs
giulio
Thankyou Kate for your kind note about the fake furs.
PS ‘Wild Man’ is fantastic. 😉
Brian
She looks great. Can’t believe all the cynical and hysterical comments. She is wearing fake fur! All have a lie down and a cup of tea, please!
Gabriella
knowing it was fake fur ,.. most fashion inusys are fake fur,….. i hate real fur ,.. knowing that Kate is agsenst it that ,.. in the pictures they are fake ….
however some KT Fancys need or dont know that i fashion indusys make fake fur,…
thank you Kate for takeing your time letting everyone know this for sure….
peace love Gabi:)******
Corxin
Shame the thread dissolved into negative comments and so quickly. Even for those so adamant that fake fur is a no no perhaps you need to ask yourself how people indigenous to cold climates can cope in such extreme weather conditions, fake fur or real. I can’t imagine people scratching a living for themselves during the harsh winters in places like Nepal, Tibet etc have either the disposable income or the resources to just go buy fake fur as an alternative.
James
How is it a shame that people are expressing a point a view that may differ from others? Even Kate? While it is wonderful that she has set the record straight, I’m kind of glad it has raised some debate here.
The first photo published, from my point of view, is the exact reason why this kind of fake fur is very wrong, as it harks back to a recent world that the real fur industry is constantly trying to bring back – ie fur = glamour/prestige/money/power. If you need to take a second look, Kate is many miles and dollars aways from the ‘harsh winters of Nepal’!!!
Sure it’s fantasy, but it’s a slippery slope. There would designer’s out there working in the real fur industry just melting with glee at that first photo, for all the wrong reasons.
And for those thinking all this talk ‘nonsense’, ‘silly’, ‘cynical’, ‘hysterical’ it’s not. It’s called passion, the one constant theme in all of Kate’s work. Long may it burn in all our hearts.
graham deller
Brilliant response james.
Rod
Really? So we should abandon hybrid and electric cars because they “hark back” to a recent world of petrol guzzlers. I have never heard such a spurious argument in my life. Synthetic fur saves the lives of animals that would otherwise be killed for the sake of vanity. It is that clear and that simple.
Miranda
I think you might find the argument spurious, Rod, because you’ve misconstrued it. The argument is based on the power of imagery, and what it communicates.
Using your example of hybrid/electric cars, there is not a marketing agency in the world that would promote images of these cars without explicit reference to the “new” values they represent, that they’re environmentally conscious technology. They’d use slogans and text to tell us this. If they relied simply on an image of a car, the public would most likely confuse it with the “older” dominant values of fossil fuel consumption. For hybrid cars to sell it’s important to be absolutely explicit that this product is NOT like the older world of petrol guzzlers.
See where I’m heading?
If you’re part of the majority who will see but not scrutinise Kate’s photographs and conclude it’s fake fur, these images could easily be read as promoting “older”* values, those opposite to Kate’s. “That gorgeous 80s pop star looks hot in fur. I’m getting me some now!”
I think Kate’s mistake is underestimating the power of her image-making and overestimating how sensitive to animal suffering the consuming public is.
There’s little that’s clear and simple in this world!
(* Sadly these values haven’t receded completely into the past, in fact there’s a resurgence: look at today’s Daily Mail, if you need a list of celebrity fashionista who are currently promoting the real thing).
Keith
The second photo reminds me of Irma Vep: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3yn2u0W3u1qzzxybo1_500.png
I think Kate’s resemblance to Musidora has been subject of a thread around here some place.
ARoseGrowing Old
‘Is it fake fur?’
that question is as silly as
‘Is it you playing the piano?’
If you realised the beauty (inner and outer) of the wearer, you wouldn’t need to ask such inanities!
Donna
For those of you who don’t know, Kate issued a statement firmly stating all photos feature FAKE fur. How could anyone had thought otherwise?
H.R. Hudson
OK guys, Kate has confirmed that she’s wearing synthetic fur in the photos! Now, can we look forward to the release of “50 Words for Snow” on November 21st??
martin Purser
Very Bond girl! lol! but very very beautiful photos. x
Aaron Davy
Great that Kate has issued a statement to clarify wheather it is fake or real fur, but frankly, Kate could be carrying a still bleeding bison head under each arm and I’d probably still be in awe…. Call me too easy-going, but neither do I mind about ‘too much photoshop, or not’. I don’t need to see stack realist photos of Kate in the broad day sun, showing every crack and line, anymore than I need to meet her down at the local pub to discuss the more prosiac and dreary details of her life, which I am sure she deals with just like the rest of us ‘ordinary’ folk. Just give me the art and the fantasy and I am happy for Kate to keep the rest for her close family and friends. Am definately looking forward to 21st November!