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Newsbits round up…

Note: Please also keep an eye on our Facebook page and Twitter feed for the most instant news updates as Kate’s live shows kick off – Wednesday in particular should be hectic!

A quick roundup of the Kate Bush news before her Before the Dawn shows kick off in the Apollo tomorrow!

…BBC Essex have an interview with Brian Southall, the EMI exec who signed Kate, listen here…BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour talks about the “enduring appeal of Kate Bush” here…acclaimed writer Jeanette Winterson writes about her “hero” Kate in The Guardian here. “Kate Bush used herself as an invention – something that interested me greatly as a strategy for both life and art. The songs were like stage plays in miniature – a character, a situation, a verbal collision (oh to be in love and never get out again), a vocal polyphonics that allowed her to range through pain and doubt to resolution…she’s still here. And I’ll be there next week to see her play once more.”

NPG x126911; Kate Bush by Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of LichfieldHomeGround Magazine are to publish a special PDF download edition of the Kate Bush magazine in the Autumn to mark the Before the Dawn live shows. They’ll be looking for your thoughts, reviews, memories etc for the issue…a very nice blog post about The Ninth Wave has been published at the ‘ohbytheway’ blog here, we have a feeling we’ll be talking about The Ninth Wave a lot more over the coming weeks…The Guardian and Observer’s relentless coverage of all things Kate lately continues with The 10 Best Kate Bush moments here. From the article: “in Bush’s hands, even a washing machine can make you cry”…one of Patrick Lichfield’s portraits of Kate (pictured here) is “Portrait of the Week” in London’s National Portrait Gallery, more here…singer Jesse Ware‘s comments about Kate from the BBC 6Music Special last weekend are at the NME site here…speaking of which you can listen again to that special, which features John Carder Bush talking about the new edition of ‘Cathy’, and his thoughts on Before the Dawn at the BBC site here

The Guardian looks at the recent excitement over Kate’s shows with the following headline: “Bushmania sweeps the nation before comeback gigs. Excitement over Kate Bush’s first gigs in 35 years fuels entire cottage industry in memorabilia.” The article also has a nice mention of the HomeGround Anthologies here…the Irish Independent explores “Kate Bush: the recluse who never really went away” here. Ed Power writes: “Whatever sort of production Bush brings to London, fans are assured it will be an evening to tell their grandchildren about. In an age in which it feels we know almost as much about pop stars as about our immediate family, Bush is a rarity: an enigma who fuels our fascination the further she withdraws from the limelight.”

We are reliably informed that the two special BBC4 Kate programmes produced some great viewing figures for a channel like BBC4. The documentary peaked at around 930,000 viewers in total towards the end but held a solid audience of over 1/2 million for most of the programme…Uncut Magazine have republished an article from 2012, “Kate Bush – Album by Album” here

…The Guardian looks at Kate’s fashion in the past here. “Spandex and chiffon: Kate Bush’s most stylish moments – in pictures”…in The Guardian, Zoe Williams looks at Kate as a role model of self-expression and female creativity in an article titled The genius of Kate Bush in an age of subjugation. “Kate Bush is a one-off, a prodigy, an experiment of the species – dazzlingly successful but unreplicable.” Read it here...for Kate fans in London on Sat 6th Sept Dave Cross from HomeGround will be DJing at a gay club called Songs Of Praise, it’s cool pop music in 3 rooms and they are having a Kate room with Dave and Phil Marriott who also played at the HG party. There will be a discount offered to Kate fans, stay tuned for details. The flyer is here

More interviews with Kate plus album news round-up

So close to Christmas now and we’ve been busy getting ready – so a few 50 Words For Snow news items have been piling up that we need to tell you about. We’ll have a full round-up of the many mentions of Kate’s 2011 albums (feels so amazing to be able to type that) in year-end polls very soon. Firstly massive thanks to Brian Cloughley for yet-another seasonal banner for the site – thanks Brian! Kate did an Italian radio interview on Radio Monte Carlo on the 19th December. You can hear the interview below (many thanks to Isabelle, Louise and Tom). Look out for a new interview with Kate on Seattle radio station KEXP soon – conducted by Kurt B Reighley. Kurt has tweeted: “3 hours later and STILL a bundle of nerves from 2day’s interview w Kate Bush… she laughs a lot and has a lovely sense of humor.”

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/31183613″]

See a clip below from “The Jo Whiley Music Show” on Sky Arts 1 on 16th December.  The show featured a piece about the new album, as well as a discussion from Annie Lennox, Tim Minchin and Aloe Blacc. Also at the end of the Youtube clip below you’ll see mention of Kate’s album on the BBC 2 Review Show, also from 16th December in that programme’s review of the year.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”480″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YIB5CJGd0[/youtube]

Another interview with Kate has appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia here. Anti- Records, Kate’s new US label has been promoting the album with the following video package of review quotes:

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jwuIGrtzFQ[/youtube]

50 Words newsbits Roundup – 2

A quick round up of other bits and pieces courtesy of Louise on the site forum: The album will be reviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Review programme on Saturday 19th November at 19.15 GMT…preview of new interview by Joachim Hentschel at Rolling Stone Germany…new interview in Humo Magazine Belgium…MusikExpress Part 6 series feature (though not exclusively about 50 Words)…Kate Bush Netherlands fan club reviewFocus Knack Belgium Review…the full album is now streaming via EMI Music Ireland at the Irish Times…it’s also streaming via NYT Finland and EMI Belgium at De Standaard

50 Words For Snow newsbit round-up!!

50 Words For Snow

Lucky fans in Sweden could attend a preview of the album on November 15th in Stockholm, read more at this Facebook page here….DJ Mark Radcliffe is also interviewing Kate f0r BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6, we’ll have broadcast times when we get them….Eamon Sweeney has interviewed Kate for the Irish Independent‘s Day & Night magazine due out on Friday November 18th, the day the album is released in Ireland. Eamon says “An immense privelege & honour to talk to her…(the album) gets lovelier every time I hear it too”….Canadian radio interview coming up also with Jian Ghomeshi on CBC Radio (no date yet)….the December issue of Clash Magazine gives the new album a 9/10 rating….a 4-star review of 50 Words For Snow has been published in in The List. Malcolm Jack writes “The sensual, seductive Bush dominates a sparse, wintery, piano-led slow-burner”….The Wire magazine gives a more mixed review, but says the album is “like a wintry riposte to the midsummer day of Aerial’….UK journalist Pete Paphides tweets this evening that the new album is “her best since Hounds of Love”….speaking of Twitter, journalists who have been given preview listens have been tweeting their enthusiasm for the album (“truly dreamy lush & gorgeous”, “very special”, “I’m hooked”, “tremendously lovely”, “the song with Elton John on is amazing”) you’ll find many of them in a fantastic and regularly updated listing of the media activity about 50 Words For Snow here on the site forum (thanks Louise!)….

50 Words For Snow album package

Meanwhile … some non-Directors Cut news and other items

Huffington Post writes about Gwyneth Paltrow‘s cover of This Woman’s Work (clip included) on Every Mother Counts a new 15-song Starbucks compilation CD co-produced by supermodel/maternal health advocate Christy Turlington Burns … Robert Burton-Bradley thinks Sat in Your Lap is one of the worst videos ever made … Zoe LyonsClownbusting” show reaches Melbourne … Denmark’s Treefight for Sunlight cover Wuthering Heights on their new album … Katie Noonan and Karin Schuapp include Kate covers in their showcase of “beautiful songs from the British Isles” … This Woman’s Work is one of ten “Awesome Movie Songs” … Royksopp include cover of Wuthering Heights in their San Francisco gig … WSO’s Orchestral Rock gig includes cover of Wuthering Heights with Salomaa on vocals … Camilla Kerslake covers This Woman’s Work on her new album Moments … Richard Fairbrass of Right Said Fred thinks Kate is the best female artist Britain has ever seen … The Dreaming a Gnostic text? … another remix of Running Up That HillJim Guthrie covers Wuthering Heights on his album Now, More Than EverKathy Sundquist and Jon Shelton cover The Man with the Child in his EyesComments on a blog which simply put up The Man with the Child in his Eyes from the Christmas Special … Best of Pop compilation 2010 included Running Up That Hill … Kate inspires artist Joe HendryMind Flip likes And So Is LoveUmYeahOkay tells us why Kate Bush is Cool … This Woman’s Work inspires author Mila RamosWhat a Wonderful Life wants to dream about Kate … The Simple Atheist posts seven covers of Wuthering HeightsFaery Sola, a graphic artist, is inspired by the video for Running Up That HillSosostyle likes Kate’s 80s photos … Zen and the Art of Tightrope Walking examines The Red Shoes The AssHat Lounge salivates over the Wuthering Heights red dress video … It’s My Kind of Scene puts Running Up That Hill at no.55 in their Top 100 Music videos … This Woman’s Work is apparently the quintessential, classic, sex songMiss Moss updates Kate’s look from the Hounds of Love video … Mark Wallace considers The Infant Kiss and The Innocentsa disco mix of This Wonan’s Work??? … Prog Archives reviews The Sensual WorldIan Marchant wants to contact Kate to clear a quote for his new book … and finally Brian Kirst mentions Kate and the Gothic and Fantastic.

Newsbits January 2011

“The critical reflex for such singers who appear vaguely “kooky” – Bat For Lashes, Alison Goldfrapp, Florence Welch – is to compare them to Kate Bush. Denny is more seldom invoked, which seems unfair, as she was the one who opened the way for others to follow .. She died – aged 32, of a brain injury resulting from a fall – in 1978, the year Kate Bush, the most iconic, unconventional and self-reliant female artist of the 1980s, released her first recordings (Bush namechecked her on Never For Ever)” Guardian 8th January … “Three Potential Royal Wedding Singers who may not be considered, but should be include Kate Bush, Dido and Annie Lennox” Pam Gaulin Celebs 11th January … “Guy Pearce admits he loved working with Kate Winslet on the Depression-era drama Mildred Pierce because he has a bit of a crush on most Kates: “Ahhh Kate Bush, still is in fact [my biggest crush] – it’s her voice, how she looks, just the strange unique creature that she is!” Guy insisted” PA 16th January … “The overall effect is so gripping, so chilling even, that it wouldn’t be remiss to mention this song in the same breath as another great anti-war lament by a British female genius – namely, Kate Bush’s ‘Army Dreamers'” Nick Levine  on The Words that Maketh Murder by PJ Harvey Digital Spy 17th January

The press release further cites the band’s musical influences as including Morbid Angel, Emperor, Darkthrone, Neurosis, and…Kate Bush? Kate Bush? I guess that’s cool…? I mean, my mom likes Kate Bush. Oh wait, no…she doesn’t. So not even my mom likes Kate Bush. My mom is more metal.” Chris Harris on Dark Meditations in Monastic Seclusion the new album by Shroud of Despondency Gun Shy Assasin 21st January … “Many years ago, while up a hill with the Kate Bush Fan Club eating magic fudge, Zoe stumbled upon the secret of inner peace. Just live life and be happy” Preview of Zoe Lyons ‘Clownbusting’ show Liverpool Echo 21st January … “When you like everything from Dethklok to Kate Bush, I figure there has to be some sort of unifying theme. And I think it’s this: I don’t like music that feels ungrounded. You can’t kick me in the ass if you don’t have a foot on the floor. I don’t like wimpy music. (This one is hard to explain. I’ll have to try to expound on it in future entries.) I don’t like jangly guitars. I don’t like music that feels unwieldy or feels as if it’s floating in the ether. Even though Kate’s stuff is somewhat ethereal, her songs have a certain…insistence…to them that keeps them grounded” Beth Spencer Digital Artist 21st January …

“ISR: Where do you see yourself five years from now? TAIO – I would love to be having lunch with Kate Bush” interview with Break-our new wave band Kites Indie Soup 21st January … “Gemini gets a U.S. release in February with the cover of Cloudbusting the “expansion”. Wild Nothing’s dreamy, shoegaze-type sound is a perfect fit for this interpretation of the Kate Bush song and Wild Nothing, essentially a one-man show,  renders it in a heavenly, ethereal manner that is quite delightful” Review Grounds for Appeal 22nd January … “Mila Soldatic is singing Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush. Mila sings this operatic song well, although not sure how many people will remember this song when it comes to voting. She is draped in a gold skirt.  She has a bit of a scary gaze when she looks into the camera” Report on Croatia heat for Eurovision 2011 Oikotimes 22nd January … “The first gig I ever had was engineer on Kate Bush’s first album. We used to go out for a joint every morning, and I would spend the rest of the day trying to pretend I wasn’t stoned out of my box. I used to blush whenever I spoke to her, she was that good-looking. I was only nineteen” Ian Maclean now head of A&R somewhere The Fantastic Hope 22nd January … Kate Bush vs Prince mashup Vicious Imagery 23rd January … Dinosaur Dinosaur’s cover of Running Up That Hill Silent Shout 23rd January …

“The record features .. a clutch of cover versions, including a faithfully high-pitched take on Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights” Nick Bond’s review of Robyn Loau’s second solo album Sydney Star Observer 24th January … Just in case you missed it I Love Kate Bush – a blog … and the Kate Bush Appreciation thread on Digital Spy … “What I’m going for is to make music that’s emotional and honest. I mean, I grew up listening to Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, singing songs about making deals with God and all that. It doesn’t all have to be about falling in love, meeting the right person, being in a club and being rich and dancing around!” Natalia Kills Boston Pheonix 26th January … The Old Cheeser reviews Graeme Thompson 29th January … and another Kate Bush blog Babushka Kate Bush … the Bronte Blog spots new cover versions of Kate’s first single 31st January … and Cat Party are having a Kate Bush appreciation week.

December newsbits

Poptimal review of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’: “Duncan even brought his turntables and deftly switches the mood to accompany the sudden, exhilaratingly emotional sight of Dee and her newborn being wheeled towards the motley crew. As Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” echoes throughout the otherwise soundless scene, the camera sweetly, hilariously, pans across the faces of all the men. With the exception of Cricket and his ubiquitous homemade crack pipe (which he lights up in plain sight inside a hospital), the sequence begins to enter sticky sentimental territory until Carmen the tranny and her gigantic husband suddenly enter the frame” … Bob Stanley in the Guardian on how to write a Christmas hit: “Santa, Come Up To See Me might be a predictable Mae West festive title but the song is anything but. Over a folk-rock backing, the ageing Mae breaks into an eerie prediction of Kate Bush’s December Will Be Magic Again, before subsiding into double entendres” … The Daily Mash: “Gay US army tank commander, Nathan Muir, said: “It’s a common misperception that homosexual soldiers like myself will be singing along to uplifting dance anthems or the Sound of Music soundtrack while piloting our engines of death. “While my in-tank ipod does include a smattering of Sinitta, Dr Alban and the 80s disco track Menergy by Sylvester, it’s far from just superficial dance pop. I mean, there’s loads of early Kate Bush on there too, like The Sensual World. “I really appreciate how its ethereal vibe and sparkling arrangements help me to focus as I’m leading my squadron through a battle-scarred city where danger lurks around every corner” … Music Week: A surprise new buyer has emerged as a leading candidate to acquire EMI’s catalogue with BMG revealing it now wants to become a player in recorded music. The source adds much of Bowie’s catalogue is “crying out” for the repackaging treatment and very little has been done with the works of other long-term EMI stars such as Kate Bush.  … Mike Ragogna interviewing Laurie Anderson in the Huffington Post: “You, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, David Byrne… there are certain established artists whose works seem very fresh no matter which era they were created or played in” … SF Weekly Blogs: The Top 6 Weirdest Actor Cameos in Music Videos: Donald Sutherland in Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting” “Here’s an attempt to summarize the level of insanity contained within this clip: Kate Bush puts on the worst wig ever made and pretends to be a child, while she and Don (her “dad,” presumably) alter the weather using a huge machine made of gigantic French horns” … Washington City Paper: Painted Face – “Undreamt” (self-released): This song makes me think of The Labyrinth, mostly because it’s an acknowledged tribute to Kate Bush, who, for some reason, makes me think of The Labrynth … Charlotte Martin interviewed on Artist Direct: “The foundational things that shaped me as an artist were Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love, Peter Gabriel’s Security, The Cure’s Disintegration, and The Cocteau Twins’ Heaven or Las Vegas” … Daily Breeze 30th December: “Well-known indie band Nada Surf is here just so fans will know not to ignore its album of cover versions, “If I Had a Hi-Fi” (Mardev), which is as delightful as anything the band has ever done. Songs from disparate artists from Depeche Mode to the Go-Betweens, Dwight Twilley and Kate Bush are rendered in lush settings with acres of strummed acoustic and jangly electric guitars, lovely vocals and string arrangements that will have listeners continually saying, “Ah! Good choice!”

November Newsbits

John Grant former frontman of The Czars is asked the usual 20 Questons on Pop Matters. At no.9 was “The creative masterpiece you wish bore your signature?”: “I think Hounds of Love or The Dreaming by Kate Bush are the sorts of masterpieces I could wish I had created. Or Man-Machine by Kraftwerk” …. Here’s what your karaoke choice says about you (according to Lauren Bravo of the Shoreham Herald): “Wuthering Heights: ladies undertaking this track will do so in the name of lolz, under the guise that it’ll sound so ridiculous they couldn’t possibly be taking themselves seriously. Do not be fooled. They secretly believe they are going to be ethereal in the extreme, channelling Kate Bush’s wide-eyed, mad-lady insouciance with their wafty arm movements and dog-decibel wailing. Sadly, their efforts will be such that Heathcliffe won’t let them in the window. However cold it is” … Matt Berry who plays the domineering boss in The IT Crowd has a new album out Witchazel: “Well, for me, 1978 was quite a big year in terms of being frightened by things, one of which was Watership Downand the other was Kate Bush …I also remember seeing Kate Bush on TV and I just thought that the countryside was full of sexy witches, but they were still witches. So it was that kind of atmosphere that I wanted to put into Witchazel, that kind of 1970s rustic British folk sound” – in Wales On-Line Matt says “I’ve felt that way ever since I saw Kate Bush performing Wuthering Heights on Top Of The Pops as a child … she frightened the life out of me. Something about the way she stared right in to the camera with those wild, glaring eyes. She looked like a sexy witch and it had a huge impact on me” … Kiki Dee including cover of Running Up That Hill in her recent European shows … Robyn credits Kate as influence (again) “I grew up in a theater family and learned to express my creativity in my own way and to be my own person. So for me, those things all kind of came together naturally, even in artists that I was listening to like Kate Bush. There have always been pop artists that can blend these worlds together — it doesn’t have to be contradictory” … Maryse Letarte is a Quebecois singer attracting some attention. She cites Kate as “one of her first idols” …  Artinfo tells us that Pierre Huyghe’s new film has been causing a stir in the French art scene, with fellow artists, fans, and even students on field trips descending into the pitch-black basement of Marian Goodman’s Marais space to experience “The Host and the Cloud.” This includes most strenuously, a red-tinted disco scene with an unrelenting version of Kate Bush’s shrill “Wuthering Heights” playing normally at first, then in reverse …. retro-review of Peter Gabriel (III aka “Melt”) on SeattlePi refers to “Kate Bush’s deliciously haunting, repetitive chorus ‘jeux sans frontières'” on  Games Without Frontiers ….There Goes a Tenner, Kate’s “forgotten” single, is re-apppraised on Eoin’s blog posting here … “It offered an alternative of trees, flowers, rivers, and made me seek these out in reality-style life, a longing already fomented by The Lord of the Rings. Though I still read the Rings regularly, I don’t read The Wind now. I’m wary of it. It’s like playing Kate Bush or The Beatles. They bewitch me, an experience about which one must always be ambivalent” Guest columnist in the Glasgow HeraldDenver Westword: “British music magazine MOJO referred to Ólöf Arnalds as “Reykjavic’s answer to Kate Bush,” which is fair enough considering Arnalds’ gorgeously otherworldly singing and penchant for writing songs that cannot be linked directly to any particular musical genre other than the all encompassing ‘popular music’.”

October Newsbits

David Mitchell whose unusual novel, Cloud Atlas, the Wachowsi brothers are turning into a movie, is asked by Indian paper The Pioneer how other media had influenced the way he translated literary images: replies: “Some singer-songwriters’ albums feel like novels: Dylan’s 70s purple patch, and later Kate Bush being inspiring examples” … ““Unless you’re Kate Bush, you can’t really write interesting songs about domesticity, washing baby clothes and breast-feeding”: Charlotte Church in the Daily TelegraphPop singer MPHO performed Kate’s Running Up That Hill as part of an all star bill which came together to celebrate the frontman of electro pop band Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, who took his own life shortly after an appearance at the Pukkelpop festival in Belgium in August … More about Frisky and Mannish‘s “twisted pop cabaret” act which includes Kate’s Wuthering Heights as delivered by Kate Nash … Questioned about the new sound on her Epic album Sharon Van Etten says:I feel like a cheesy Kate Bush. … It’s just that saturated, that wind-in-your-hair mountain music. Oh, that’s so silly. I would say my version of ’90s music. Like, epic ’90s music” … Chris Roberts (there’s a name I remember from way back) thinks Kate’s backing vocals on Games Without Frontiers are “barely audible” … Kate’s Delius part of a set performed by The Song Company at Auckland Town Hall … “Although the idea of covering Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” is somewhat blasphemous, Placebo does the song justice with their moody, downtempo interpretation” – Consequence of Sound on the Vampire Diaries soundtrack album … Corin Tucker, formerly the guitarist and singer of feminist punk rock trio Sleater-Kinney asked what music the band was listening to whilst making new album 1,000 Years? says “I also really loved Kate Bush’s last album Aerial, which does refer to motherhood” … “I would wander in looking for a Blondie release, and a wise record store clerk would send me home with a Kate Bush album instead” thus Anil Prasad who created the online music magazine innerviews.org … “Christian Dior’s Poison was another one that promised a sensory trip to the dark side. It belonged to that strain of stridently purple-packaged products – Silk Cut, Dairy Milk, Kate Bush – against whose evil influence we girls were constantly warned” Judy Rumbold recalls her complicated relationship with beauty products as a “pasty-faced Catholic teenager growing up in Birmingham” …

Kate Bush, Queen of the Universe

I missed these blog posts which appeared in August and September. Little Girl Lost elevates Kate to the Galactic Monarchy.  Dislocated Underbites et al reviews The Dreaming. The Aardvark likes Cloudbusting. The Politics of Music whacks in a heavy article covering Kate’s entire career, and reviews Aerial.

Favourite Kate?

The Straight Dope polls for the most popular Kate album. Hounds of Love is way ahead.

Newsbits September 2010

Gemma Arterton wants to play Kate in a biopic, should anyone actually be making one – see here here and here …. comedy duo Frisky and Mannish have melded Kate Nash’s cockney pop patter Foundations and Kate’s Wuthering Heights into “a jaw-droppingly brilliant twin-Kate soundclash” see here here and here …. MTV com notes that Maxwell‘s album Now has topped the US charts, and considers that the best moment on the album (“and perhaps the most astonishing moment of Maxwell’s career”) is his cover of This Woman’s Work …. Placebo‘s cover of Running Up That Hill will feature on the Vampire Diaries soundtrack album …. the recent Cardiff Mardi Gras included a presentation by Deborah Withers of her recent book Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory …. American Idols LIVE! brought the top ten finalists from season nine to Seattle’s Key Arena Friday, August 20th, 2010 and contestant Lynche began his set “with possibly the best received song of his Idol run” Kate’s This Woman’s Work …. “I can just about accept that Kate Bush at her dippiest might be channelling the old weird Albion of early pagan folk songs, but the electronic soundscapes of Coil or Psychic TV are as far from folk music as it is possible to go” – Sean O’Hagan reviews Rob Young’s folkopus Electric Eden in The ObserverBig Boi still wants to work with Kate …’Hello Earth’ was selected by Jarvis Cocker on his BBC 6 music radio show, the same Sunday as The Kick Inside was Johnnie Walker’s featured album…

Christmas message from Kate plus Dec/Jan/Feb Newsbits

A short message from Kate on her official site: “Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. With love, Kate x”…

A concert in Joe’s Bar New York April 2nd features vocalist Theo Bleckmann interpreting the work of Kate Bush…Two Aerial posters signed by Kate on sale at Ebay in aid of Oxfam Haiti appeal…Polls and lists, boring…except when Kate is voted Greatest Female Singer of All Time by Dublin’s Newstalk FM!…hear Paddy Bush being interviewed on a (hilly!) journey through Madagascar in part two of the BBC series…Paddy Bush tells me that 1of 3 BBC radio docs on Malagasy music aired Sat. Joyous! Features Justin Vali & Paddy…clip from “King of the Mountain” vid shown on BBC’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks “Dr Who” special, with host David Tennant…Out-of-print “I Wanna Be Kate” tribute CD now available as download…

Newsbits round-up

In the UK the NSPCC has launched a DRTV advertising campaign showing vulnerable children at risk from abuse, in an attempt to boost donations. The advertising, in 60-, 40- and 10-second versions, features Kate’s song ‘This Woman’s Work‘ and a voiceover by actor Michael Sheen. Kate allowed the use of the song free of any charge, Marian Rose, head of direct donor marketing at the NSPCC, said: “Parts of Kate Bush’s song could have been written especially for this ad.” Read more here (thanks to Nathan & Kyla)… here (thanks to rblazon)…The Boston Herald has reported that Pat Benatar has performed Wuthering Heights live for the first time Patrick Wolfin many years. Read more here (thanks John)…Alison Moyet was answering a series of fan questions on her fan site, and she revealed that she had considered doing a cover of The Man With The Child In His Eyes for her most recent album “Voice.” She says “…Kate’s people wanted to hear it before they gave permission and that for me was like going back to seeking record company approval for comfort. Its what I am determined to avoid…too dangerous anyway because if they knocked it back I would have felt bad and that would have coloured the way I listened to Kate and I don’t want that to happen because I love her work purely and I want to maintain that feeling.” Read more here (thanks to Steve Coats)…English singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf (pictured right) has been keen to show a little devotion to our Kate in recent interviews and – on the British Council’s online radio show, Selector – chose ‘Oh England My Lionheart’ as his favourite British track from the past. Patrick has also been playing ‘Running Up That Hill’ as part of his set on his recent tour (see here). Patrick also talks about Kate in this interview here: “When I was growing up my Mum really played Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. I totally forgot about Kate Bush until I was about 20 so it was only in the last year after Lycanthropy came out. People started saying Kate Bush this, Kate Bush that so I bought ‘Hounds of Love’. Then a lot of people were saying about how she was the same age as me when she released her first album. She’s somebody in the last year that’s really given me confidence that there are ears out there for my work.” Read more about Patrick at his site here. (thanks to Michael Richardson, Traxtv and rblazon)

The new biography of Kate by Rob Jovanovic (pictured) will be released on Oct 25th. Signed copies are being pre-booked at the Kulture Shock site here where a signing is being organised with the author…a recent review of John Mendelssohn’s Waiting For Kate Bush book by Sharil Dewa of the Malaysian Star summed up the book by saying “While it is hardly earth shattering, Waiting for Kate Bush is an entertaining stopgap for Kate and non-Kate fans alike. Those who find Kate intolerable will find some amusement in Mendelssohn’s exploration of the quest for instant celebrity and Kate fans can find comfort in this Kate-related tome while waiting for the next opus from Ms Bush.” (thanks to Peter Molloy)…Kiki Dee did a cover of Running Up That Hill at the Womad Festival, she includes her version of the song on her newly released Walk Of Faith CD (thanks Cathal and Nathalie)…on August 23rdTori Amos covered And Dream of Sheep in her concert at Saratoga Springs NY, look at the 2005 downloads section at this site to listen to this and also a version of Running Up That Hill that she performed recently also. (thanks to James Russell)…Dutch singer Birgit Schuurman has sang a piano version of Wuthering Heights (find the show by searching for her here (thanks to Dik)…Coronation Street actress Debra Stevenson has appeared on ITV’s Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes, dressed as Kate singing Babooshka. She has also released the track on her “In the Sunshine” CD. Jonathan Ross has played the track on his BBC Radio 2 show on June 18th when he revealed that his wife had also been asked to go on the show as Kate (thanks Charles)…Kate was featured in the August issue of Russh magazine in Australia, once again as a fashion icon (see the scan here – thanks to ally and John)…a nine DVD box set of the Comic Strip Presents has been released on the 4th July which includes Kate acting in Les Dogs and providing the soundtrack to GLC. Her appearance in the set was mentioned in the Empire magazine review: “…and Kate Bush is in the baffling Les Dogs.” (thanks to Richard and Stevo)…video work by Kate was featured in the recent New York Video Festival, read more here (thanks to Darrell)…

U2 compiled a “U2 Jukebox” CD to be given away free with the July 2005 Mojo Magazine. It featured The Futureheads hit version of Hounds Of Love (thanks Anneke)…Kate is mentioned in the book “Too Much Too Young – Popular Music Age and Gender” by Sheila Whiteley (thanks Henrik)…Swedish pop singer Robyn has been compared to Kate and mentions Hounds Of Love as one of her favourite albums. In an interview with Rodeo Magazine her song Be Mine is compared to Cloudbusting for its staccato strings and vocal refrain. She says: “of course, she’s there too. The reason it sounds like Kate Bush is probably mainly that the strings are so dry” (thanks to Henrik)…Goldfrapp have a new album out, “Supernature”, and once again the Kate comparisons are flying. From The Observer: “Those two grand dames of pop, Madonna and Kate Bush, are both due to release new albums in the coming months. An unlikely diva, the petite Alison Goldfrapp, may just have made one of those albums redundant and seriously compromised the sense of occasion surrounding the other. An eccentric English woman with a very fertile imagination has just made a great record…it isn’t quite a masterpiece (like, say, Bush’s Hounds of Love), but it’s as near as dammit in 2005 and deserves to be massive.” (thanks to Johnny)…this month’s Q magazine includes a small pic and review of The Red Shoes. They suggest a re-listen, give it a 4 star rating and say Kate sounds like nobody else, except Tori Amos. (thanks Ben)…here’s something a bit different, Ariel Pink has recorded “a love song to Kate Bush” according to Wire magazine. You can watch the video of “For Kate I Wait” here (thanks Peter)…Finally, Thomas Dunning, producer of the I Wanna Be Kate tribute CD had me on his Internet radio show, “Hoot Radio“, as his guest on July 28th. We got to chat about music and play some of our favourite tunes. It’s a two hour show but you may like to listen to the audio stream. Obviously we do talk about Kate for quite a while and I play a Kate track, you’ll hear that about 54.30 minutes into the show. Click on the link for Hoot Radio with Thomas here (thanks Thomas, it was a lot of fun!)

Huge Newsbits round-up!

5th June 2005: Coldplay have just released their new album, X&Y. In several recent interviews the band has revealed that the new single Speed Of Sound was inspired by Kate. Bassist Guy Berryman admitted that it was written in an attempt to copy the drum sound in Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” Singer Chris Martin said that the track was written in the summer of 2004 and inspired by two very different women; Kate and Martin’s daughter Apple, who was just a few months old at the time. “That’s a song where we were listening to a lot of Kate Bush last summer, and we wanted a song which had a lot of tom-toms in it,” Martin said. “I just had my daughter up also, and was kind of feeling in a sense of awe and wonderment, so the song is kind of a Kate Bush song about miracles.” (thanks to Kevin Tachman, Kyla)…HomeGround 75 - Spring 2005 issueHomeGround has reached something of a milestone recently with the publication of issue 75 of the much-loved Kate Bush magazine – the Spring 2005 edition. Congratulations to Peter, Krys and Dave! Also on the 18th May Homeground celebrated 23 years of producing the mag. Krys says “Thanks to everyone who has stayed with us in the quiet times and continued to support us and the magazine. Big hugs.” As well as the usual comprehensive news round-up the issue features more poetry including pieces by Kate’s brother John Carder Bush, a review of the recent highly successful Kate tribute night at Duckies (see below for news on their second event in October), reviews of the Waiting For Kate Bush book, some ghostly and seductive fiction, a piece on the latest CD and DVD audio technology and more. Subscription info can be found here

Music journalist and author Rob Jovanovic is putting the finishing touches to his biography of Kate due to be published by Piatkus in November. Rob has written for the likes of Q, Mojo, Uncut, Record Collector and many others and has had books published on Beck, REM, Pavement and Nirvana. He has contacted me looking to see if any site visitors would have photographs of Kate which might be a bit different from the usual oft-used promo-shots and press archives (i.e. good quality personal snaps from signings/appearances etc). Rob says that he can offer an advance copy of the book for anyone who can help. You can email him at robj@innotts.co.uk…Kate is up for the Mojo Songwriter award this year. Paul Weller, Van Morrison, Damien Rice, Brian Wilson and Kate are all nominated. “While other awards celebrate the biggest names and the best releases of the preceding year, we believe there’s long been a need to properly honour the extraordinary talents of the artists, bands and songwriters whose careers have been responsible for enhancing our rich musical culture,” explained Mojo editor-in-chief Phil Alexander. The Mojo Honours List winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Porchester Hall in Bayswater, London on June 16. To vote for this award email mojo radio now at studio@mojo4music.com or pick up a voting form from any branch of HMV. Read more here (thanks Kris)…Sandy Shaw was one of the guests at the Queen’s music industry party om March 2nd. She wrote in the New Statesman: “I really enjoyed meeting some of my Eighties musical heroes for the first time, like Peter Gabriel, Joan Armatrading and Kate Bush. Peter admitted to having me as a bedroom pin-up as a boy; Joan informed me she was now chair of Women in Music; and Kate took us on a grand tour of the Queen’s art collection, which adorned the walls. She was ecstatic. “Can you believe it? That’s a real Rubens up there. Fancy having that in your front room,” Kate bubbled. I turned around and there was Da Kween (sic) in a bright turquoise suit smiling at me holding out her hand to be shaken (no gloves) She chatted away amiably and even managed to look interested as I explained my latest foray into European copyright law. All the while Kate Bush was rummaging in her handbag. Suddenly, she produced a pen and some paper. “Would you mind awfully signing this for my son?” she asked sweetly. The Queen looked lost for words. “I think that’s a pop star thing Kate” I mumbled. The Queen seemed pleased to be let off the hook. “Quite right” she answered as an equerry quickly hustled her away” The Guardian also mentioned “60s pop sensation Sandie Shaw having to rescue Ma’am from the autograph-hounding ways of Ms Kate Bush…” You’ll be glad to hear that Kate was defended in a letter from Sandra Spiers in the London Evening Standard: “How rude of Sandie Shaw to correct Kate Bush for approaching the Queen for an autograph. Clearly it was Bush who was doing the polite thing. I seem to remember that when Bush was invited to a royal function to mark the Golden Jubilee, the Queen, in a similar scenario to her recent meeting with Eric Clapton, did not appear to know who she was. Could Shaw not have been gracious enough to let her fellow singer demonstrate that at least she was in no doubt who she was talking to?” (thanks to Wayne)

Byblos "mood wall" featuring KateByblos Kate fashionsWe’ve reported on the widespread embracing of Kate as a fashion icon by designers and artists this year. Greg Myler, the English designer for the Italian label Byblos, has written to me to tell me more about their Kate-inspired Milan show. “I wanted to tell you how our Autumn Winter 2005/06 show was inspired by Kate. I am a huge fan and hearng about her new album release decided to base all the show on her, using her eclectic and original style as a starting point. We used a mood board of photos and album covers as a backdrop for interviews and television. We did a fantastic electronic remix (lasting around 20 minutes) for the show with Gak Sato, a famous Japanese musician and dj. He mixed “Wuthering Heights”, “The Sensual World” and “Running up the Hill” with moody and sexy Bedrock tracks that had all Milan rocking! I was surpised how big she is in Italy and all the Italian press loved the idea of using her as inspiration.” (thanks Greg, hope the Kate-inspired designs are a big hit this year)….according to the Guardian newspaper composer Michael Nyman has plans to release an album of songs arranged for popular singers including Beth Orton, Kate Bush and Norma Winstone. Read more here. (Thanks to PDFM and Kelv)…anyone who has read the reviews of the Duckie Kate Bush tribute night on the site forum or in Homeground 75 will know that it was a resounding success. Paul Thomas in Homeground reported a “sea of leg-warmers, lycra, leotards and faded old t-shirts from the 70s and 80s.” Images of Kate were projected on big screens, a man sculpted a topiary Kate (!), a lady was making Kate Bush badges, another lady offered Kate makeovers including a lot of crimping and many acts, including Kiki and Herb and Fake Bush, performed on the night. For info on a second KB event at the club visit this site here (thanks to Paul and to Orla Murphy)…it’s Big Brother time again on Channel 4 in the UK. One of this year’s contestants, Kemal, was seen skipping around the garden in a red floaty dress with fellow housemate and witch “Scary” Mary when he exclaimed “I feel like Kate Bush!” (thanks to Lou, Andrew and Stunning)…an article about the American sculptor Thomas Ostenberg mentions that Kate owns one of his works. Kate has previously thanked Thomas in relation to the “Strange Fruit” sculpture that she did for Warchild in 1996 (read that here)…US broadcasterBruce V. Bracken has written to let me know that he “had the distinct pleasure of discussing Kate Bush with Dr. Camille Paglia, author of “Sexual Personae”, as she stopped here in Seattle on a promotional tour for her new book, “Break Blow Burn”. I asked her for her opinion on Kate’s work, and she gushed that she is a true performance artist, and that her favorite song is “Running Up That Hill”. (thanks Bruce)…The much-lauded Antony and the Johnstons have released their new album I Am A Bird Now. Singer Antony remembers being a kid and doing slow-motion cartwheels in the style of Wuthering Heights for the neighbours. “I remember watching Kate Bush on television” he says “and thinking – gasp – who is she? I want to be like that!” The bands music has been described as ‘antique torchsongs’. Guests on the album include Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright and Boy George. (thanks Monty).

The Scotsman has ran an article on March 26th celebrating the more unusual “outsider” arists emerging at the moment including Joanna Newsom and Antony and The Johnstons. “…there is something in the air, and it bodes well for the imminent, long-delayed return of that queen of musical misfits, Kate Bush. Bush, lest we forget, launched her career just as the UK was in the grip of Punk. Bush has been heroically ignoring both fashion and received commercial wisdom ever since, whether dressing like a gay pirate, getting Rolf Harris to play didgeridoo on one of her songs, or baffling most of her hard-won audience with The Dreaming, one of the most pigheadedly uncommercial albums ever released on a major label. Given that Kate Bush has released nothing since 1993’s The Red Shoes, her return will be one of the biggest musical events of this year. Her influence can be detected everywhere – Gwen Stefani’s loopy performance at the Brits, in particular, was very Kate Bush – but it’s a good time to remind ourselves that, if she has become something of a national treasure, it has a lot to do with the fact that a genuine misfit – 1978’s equivalent of Antony or Joanna Newsom – became a huge star…I suspect that Kate Bush’s extended absence will make people like her all the more. She has stayed away so long, by all accounts, simply because she was enjoying being a mother, and had no great interest in either releasing music or remaining famous simply for the sake of it.” (thanks to RBlazon on the guestbook)…The 25th March edition of the Irish Examiner newspaper had a front page colour pic of Kate (the one we’ve all seen – wearing her headscarf arriving at Buckingham palace) with the tagline “Heights Of Fame. Which ’80s superstar, who racked up 10 million album sales and a personal fortune of €36 million, is due for a comeback?” The feature itself, “Beating Around The Bush” is on page 15. “Widely adored, totally reclusive and rumoured to be making a comeback, the unique Kate Bush has Suzanne Harrington on her trail….Imagine being so idolised that a rare posting on a website – not even your own, because you don’t have one – starts a flurry of media attention. Without ever confirming a release date for your latest album – the first in 12 years and counting – newspapers write breathlessly of your comeback and your trademark legwarmers and jumpsuits duly appear on the pages of Elle Girl and the catwalks of London Fashion Week….Barely able to contain my excitement, I call EMI, Kate’s long-suffering record company, for the release date of the long-awaited album. A weary voice sighs down the phone. ‘We don’t know,’ says the EMI spokesperson resignedly. We’re waiting and waiting for Kate Bush. Like everyone else.’ The spokesperson went on to say that, although there is an album due from Ms Bush, who has been working on it in her own recording studio, as yet there is no definite release date…in the age of instant pop noodle – just add Louis Walsh and stir – Kate Bush is an anachronism, a rich, talented recluse who just wishes to be alone. So who is she, this woman who keeps everyone waiting decades but is still adored?” The 2/3 page article goes on to outline Kate’s career in the usual way and concludes with: “However, now that her son is seven, Kate Bush is due to give her adoring fans what they have been waiting for – a new album. Watch this space. Patiently”. (thanks to Thomas Dunning)

Cover versions round up: Coronation Street star Debra Stephenson has covered Babooshka on her new CD. Apparently Wuthering Heights was the first single she ever bought. Read more here (thanks to Richard, David, Dylan and John)…The Decembrists (with singer Petra Haden) have covered Wuthering Heights. Read more hereGene Manuel has made his version of Under The Ivy available for download here…Hounds of Love is on a new EP by the recently reunited Australian band Frente, fronted by Angie Hart. More here (thanks to Will and Greg)…Swimmer One, an electronic pop duo from Scotland have released Cloudbusting as a single featuring Cora Bisset on vocals. Read more here (thanks Yiannis)…Les July has made his video of Running Up That Hill available for download here (thanks Les)

Rapunzel - click on image for larger versionThere is a feature article on Kate in this month’s arty Black & White magazine from Australia on Kate’s comeback (thanks to Ariel)…The Complete Comic Strip collection has been released on DVD (£34.99 at Play.com) and it includes Kate’s music in the GLC and her starring role as the bride in the 1990 short film Les Dogs. (thanks Richard)…7th April the popular daytime ITV show ‘This Morning’ featured the TV wedding of Coronation Street soap characters Deidre Rashid and Ken Barlow. At the beginning of the item, Kate could be heard singing her version of Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” (thanks to Krys Boswell)…Sister Bliss of dance act Faithless has named Never For Ever as one of her three defining musical moments in the March edition of ‘Juice’ a local magazine in Brighton…”Rapunzel – A Modern Fairytale” by Lynn and David Roberts is a children’s book about Rapunzel, set in a tower block in the 1970s, and Rapunzel happens to be pictured listening to “The Kick Inside”, holding the cover, and having a giant poster of Kate (from the Lionheart inside cover) staring down at her! (thanks Louise – click on the picture for a larger image)…Tory Co-Chairman Liam Fox is a Kate fan. “I love Hounds of Love by Kate Bush. I’ve been waiting over a decade for the new Kate Bush album to come out and now it’s nearly arrived – that’s a definite buying event to look forward to!” Read more hereMotór, an award-winning Polish film by Wieslaw Paluch is set in 1983 and depicts the daily life of a group of provincial youths. Kate is featured on the soundtrack. (thanks Swan)…VH-1 Classic‘s Alternative show named Hounds Of Love a classic album on the 18th March. The US show comes on three times a week and they have been playing Kate at least once a week since the beginning of the year when they announced the new album. (thanks to Collin)…Mike from the Mick Karn website says that Mick has a new website, www.mickkarn.net, and is giving away free downloads of full tracks in high quality MP3 from many of his albums. As you know, Mick is said to be playing on the track “How To Be Invisible” on Kate’s new album….and finally, actor Russell Crowe’s iTunes playlist can be seen here. (thanks Christine)

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