1980

December: The Babooshka single goes Top Ten in Australia, Canada, and in most European countries.

November 17th: Release of the non-album track December Will Be Magic Again, which reaches UK No.29. The B-side is another new track, Warm And Soothing.

Army Dreamers video

September 22nd: Release of the Army Dreamers single which reaches No.16 in the UK. It has two B-sides, Delius (from Never For Ever) and Passing Through Air.

September 16th: Kate's third studio album Never For Ever enters the UK album chart at No.1 making Kate the first ever British solo female artist to have a UK No.1 album. Tracklisting:

Babooshka Delius Blow Away (for Bill) All We Ever Look For Egypt The Wedding List Violin The Infant Kiss Night Scented Stock Army Dreamers Breathing

June 23rd: Release of the Babooshka single from Kate's forthcoming album. The single, which is backed by the new track Ran-Tan Waltz, becomes Kate's biggest success since Wuthering Heights reaching UK No.5 and later in the year becoming an international hit also.

April 14th: Breathing from the forthcoming album is released as a single. Backed with the new song The Empty Bullring it reaches No.16 in the UK.

1979

December 28th: The BBC screen a 45 minute special entitled 'Kate' which includes new tracks Violin, Egypt, and Ran Tan Waltz as well as featuring a duet between Kate and Peter Gabriel on the Roy Harper song Another Day.

September 3rd: Release of the On Stage E.P. of four tracks; Them Heavy People, Don't Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake, James And The Cold Gun and L'Amour Looks Something Like You. It reaches No.10 in the UK.

April/May: Kate's critically acclaimed Tour Of Life becomes her first and so far only tour. Kate performs throughout Britain and Europe to ecstatic reviews and packed venues.

March 9th: Release of Wow as a single in the UK. Backed by the track Fullhouse it reaches No.14 in the UK chart.

1978

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December: Kate performs Them Heavy People and The Man With The Child In His Eyes on TV's Saturday Night Live in the USA, her only American performances to date.

November 10th: Lionheart, Kate's second studio album is released and reaches No.6 in the UK. It was recorded at Superbear studios in Nice, France in two months during the summer. Tracklisting:

Symphony In Blue In Search Of Peter Pan Wow Don't Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake Oh England My Lionheart Fullhouse In The Warm Room Kashka From Baghdad Coffee Homeground Hammer Horror

October 27th: Release of Hammer Horror from the forthcoming album. It reaches No.44 in the UK chart and has Coffee Homeground as it's B-side.

May 28th: The second single from The Kick Inside, The Man With The Child In His Eyes is released backed with Moving. It is a great success reaching number six in the UK.

Wuthering Heights video

March 7th: Wuthering Heights, the very first single of Kate's career reaches No.1 in the UK chart. It is an enormous hit and goes on to be No.1 or Top Ten in many countries around the world. The next few years are the "fame" years in which Kate has a very high media profile and has a punishing work schedule. This level of media activity will not be a feature of Kate's career in the late Eighties and Nineties.

[Note: you can read all about the wide and varied promotional appearances and performances by Kate in the early years by going to Gaffaweb]

February 17th: Kate's very first album The Kick Inside is released. It will eventually go on to reach No.3 in the UK chart in April 1978. Tracklisting:

Moving Saxophone Song Strange Phenomena Kite The Man With The Child In His Eyes Wuthering Heights James And The Cold Gun Feel It Oh To Be In Love L'Amour Looks Something Like You Them Heavy People Room For The Life The Kick Inside

February 16th: Kate's second ever TV appearance is on Top Of The Pops the first of several appearances Kate makes on the famous British music show.

February 9th: Kate's first ever TV appearance is on a German television show, Bios Banhof.

January 20th: This day marks the release of Wuthering Heights, the extraordinary single that launches the career of one of the twentieth centuries most unique artists.

1977

November/December: Kate's Wuthering Heights is an airplay hit on British radio as demos are distributed to the radio stations by EMI.

Summer: Kate records her first album.

April: Kate, her brother Paddy, and his friends Del Palmer, Brian Bath and Charlie Morgan form a band and spend three months touring pubs and clubs in the London area. They call themselves The KT Bush Band and perfom mostly "rock and roll standards" such as Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Women and Grapevine but also some of Kate's own songs including Saxophone Song and James and The Cold Gun.

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1976

July: Kate signs to EMI records after much negotiations. They give her an advance of £3,000 to develop and widen her talent.

In the early part of 1976 Kate attends mime classes.

1975

Summer: Kate attends dance classes run by Lindsay Kemp, the famous mime artist. (note: Lindsay Kemp has a role in Kate's 1993 film The Line, The Cross & The Curve)

July: EMI start negotiating to sign Kate.

June: Dave Gilmour pays for Kate to record at London's AIR studios. From Kate's large number of home demos The Man With The Child In His Eyes, Saxophone Song and Maybe are chosen to be recorded. The first two are released on her 1978 debut album The Kick Inside. (note: 'Maybe' has never been commercially released by Kate).

Summer: Kate leaves school with an ever-increasing interest in music and dance.

1974

Kate considers a career in Psychiatry as she continues with her secondary education.

1973

Kate records at Dave Gilmour's home studio. Songs recorded include Passing Through Air (which is released much later as a B-side of Army Dreamers in 1980) and Maybe.

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1972

Ricky Hopper, a music business friend of Kate's family approaches major record companies with some demo tapes that Kate had made. They are uninterested but Hopper does introduce Kate's music to Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd who likes what he hears and agrees to help develop Kate's songs.

A detail of one of many photos taken of Kate as a child by her photographer brother, John Carder Bush. This photo featured in a limited edition book, published by John entitled "Cathy"

1958-1971

Catherine Bush is born in Bexleyheath Maternity Hospital in London on the 30th July 1958. She grows up with her father Robert, mother Hannah and two brothers John and Paddy at East Wickham Farm in Kent. The family are keenly interested in music, art and literature and Kate develops a talent for writing poetry and putting her words to music on the piano.

Thanks to Jon-terje Lilleby for the video captures. Cloudbusting video capture by Stefan Punkenhofer...thanks.

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