Newsbits Round Up: Firstly thanks to all of you for all the nice things you’ve said about the new look site – thanks again to Brian for doing the new Wuthering Heights intro screen. Here are the latest newsbits:

Ruby Wax It was Comic Relief night last night on the BBC. Ruby Wax took part in the Celebrity Fame Academy competition, in her online profile it reveals that her favourite song is Wuthering Heights. Please click here if you’d like to donate to this fantastic cause (thanks to Gareth)…Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) played Heads We’re Dancing on his BBC 6 Freak Zone radio show on Sunday 9th March…a clip of Kate performing will be used onTOTP2 on BBC 2, Wednesday 19th March 6.20pm, a possible 25th anniversary tribute to Wuthering Heights? Also, the TOTP2 website features Kate in their online Top Trumps game. She scores as follows: Top Ten Hits – 6,  Number 1s – 1, Fashion Gaffes – 3, How Memorable – 8! (thanks to Krys, Gareth and Amanda Harrold)…new book “Urban Legends of Rock and Roll: You Never Can Tell” covers and disproves the ridiculous rumour from years ago about Kate appearing in Penthouse, more hereMoloko‘s new album is reviewed on Amazon.co.uk “a voice like a latter day Kate Bush, anything sung by vocalist Roisin Murphy is going to come out sounding like the post-Apocalyptic gospel, and producer Mark Brydon’s artistically complex arrangements are like hearing a new beautiful language”…

Kate is listed as the 134th best artist ever at the Acclaimed Music site which is a guide to essential recordings in the history of rock. Critics’ best-of lists of albums and singles have been compiled to “ultimate lists” of the most critically acclaimed music…TV ad for Radio One’s Battle Of The DJs includes part of Babooshka being played (thanks to Ben)…Marinus writes that on 17th April the popular Dutch band Within Temptation will release their cover version of ‘Running Up That Hill’ on single. It will only be released in Holland…Kate on Saturday Night Live airs in the US on E! on 11th April… several online stores (Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, JPC Germany) announce the release of a Kate Bush double CD containing The Dreaming and Lionheart for March 17/March 21. Another double pack? This is definitely NOT the remasters (thanks to Michael Leitz)…Jody Watley‘s new CD Midnight Lounge has a song called Don’t Give Up with a sample of the original song of the same name by Kate and Peter Gabriel, read more hereRecord Collector February 2003 has this snippet from an old album review of the Kick Inside in their Time Tunnel feature: “What is this supposed to be? Doom-laden, ‘meaningful’ songs with some of the worst lyrics ever, sung with the most irritatingly yelping voice since Robert Plant.”…the German music magazine Musikexpress has an article entitled “The 50 best records of the 80s” (cover story) in its newest issue (March 2003). Kate at #21 with Hounds Of Love (“a timeless pop jewel”, “the Cloudbusting video with Donald Sutherland set a standard for video clips.”)

Kristian Fletcher in Australia sends this update on his Kate Bush Night that he’s organising: “Hello! As you may already know, I am putting on Kate Bush Night at the Alliance Hotel, Spring Hill (Brisbane Australia) on May 31st. It will celebrate 25 years since Wuthering Heights reached Number One in Australia. It will feature live covers by All Yours Babooshka, Brisbane’s Kate Bush tribute band (correct me if I’m wrong – is this the first ever Kate Bush tribute band?) with fantastic lead vocals by Taylor Gibson who will don the white dress and outrageous costumes as she masters the tricky moves of Ms Bush. They will perform 16 songs (possibly 19) and between sets a DJ will play remixes of Kate to fill the dancefloor. If the night is successful, we hope to tour the band around Brisbane/Queensland. (thanks Kristian)…Ben found Andy Bell from Erasure discusing Army Dreamers on the Amazon website: “She has real fairy blood. As for the lyrics, go figure, no-one over 35 would join the army, they like ’em young. Please come back, Katie – this woman’s work is still not done.”…Tony saw an article in a Dutch TV guide “VARA Gids” last week about Bert van der Veer who was celebrating the fact that 25 years ago he could call himself a TV director for the first time. “One of the first jobs was to direct “Top Pop”. I had to prove that I could do it. I was heavily motivated because Kate Bush came to the studio, and “Wuthering heights” had hit potential, we did make a beautiful take (for that time). The next day I was nearly sacked by the boss of “Top Pop” because I let Kate Bush work too hard and didn’t offer her a chair. I had the chance to meet her again in my studio with “Army Dreamers”, I offered her a chair but she wouldn’t sit at all” (thanks Tony) (big thanks to Cynthia Conrad for forwarding several news items my way – cheers)