Kate with John Lydon
As far as Q Magazine were concerned, the magic moment of the awards came when Kate persuaded John Lydon to sit down and have their picture taken. They write: “Who’d have thought it? Kate Bush out of hiding and John
Lydon proving vaguely approachable!”. John Lydon is asked “You’re obviously quite a fan of Kate Bush?”, to which he replied: “Kate Bush is a true original. It’s not nice that she’s been imitated – Torrid Aimless, sorry, Tori Amos. But Kate Bush is a genuine talent. She went through the same shit I did when she started, “Oh that’s not singing”. Who the f*&k wrote the rules about music?.”
Nigel Godrich, winner of Best Producer for Travis and Radiohead said that the best thing for him so far in 2001 was meeting Kate: “I’m in awe of her. Her records fundamentally enforced what I am as a person. When you listen to stuff as a teenager, you identify with elements in the music. There’s a real hidden wisdom there. It’s beautifully written. If she needs anyone to mix her new album, I’m after the job….I’m going home to listen to Kate.”
Elsewhere Midge Ure wistfully recalled his first encounter with Kate: “It was in the late ’70s and I was in The Rich Kids and we were appearing on a TV show together. I was desperately trying to get off with her and get a lift back in her limo.” QTV (the magazine’s digital televison channel) reports that Midge introduced Fran Healy, Travis lead singer, to Kate, but that he was so in awe of her that he was lost for words! The magazine also pictures Kate chatting to Donovan (Kate recorded his “Lord Of The Reedy River” as the b-side to Sat In Your Lap in 1981).
November 11th: As we await the new interview with Kate in next month’s Q here is the transcript of the mini-interview with Kate from the Q Awards on Monday 29th October (from the current edition – see Nov 9th news):
Where are you from and what are you on? I’ve just come from the stage where I’ve picked up my Q Award. I’m not eating anything because I’m too excited. I’ve been drinking water. Bottled, still water of course. What was the best thing about 2001? Giving up smoking, but I’m not a fanatical anti-smoker. What was the last thing you won? An inflatable hammer a few months ago at a fair. Actually, it wasn’t me who won it–it was my son Bertie. I can’t tell you where the fair was because I don’t really want to.Who is the best act in the world today? My son Bertie when he’s doing his Elvis impression. Presley or Costello? Er, Presley. I think. What’s the last record you bought? The Bob the Builder one. Not the Mambo thing, the one before that whatever it is called. Was it for me? Of course it wasn’t. I don’t really keep up with things like that. What’s next? Well, right now a few of us are going for a little drink somewhere. No, I can’t tell you where. More generally, I have to finish off my new album.
The January edition of Q magazine (published December 7th) will feature “an exclusive, revealing new interview” with Kate. Meanwhile, the current issue of Q has just been published with articles about the awards and some photos of Kate arm in arm with Johnny Rotten. 
The magazine’s website says that this current issue features “pictures, anecdotes and, of course, the results of this year’s bash. See John Lydon share a sofa with Kate Bush…” (thanks to Michael Leitz). Whether next month’s interview is a strong indication of more new album stirrings or purely a reflection on the award the magazine has given to Kate, we have yet to see. It seemingly coincides with the delayed Women In Rock poll results, so it may mean that Kate has done well in that vote…in any case it’s an event in itself, the first published interview with Kate since 1994!
The sponsors of the event, Orange, held a live webcast of the ceremony, but highlights are promised at their site 
The Kick Inside has just been reviewed! Well, it’s actually a re-listen by a writer to an old favourite in the online US arts review Deep Magazine. “When I was thirteen, The Kick Inside sounded so sophisticated. It was an album filled with dramatic and dreamy songs about love set in Berlin bars and casinos and candlelit dinners and the dark brooding passion of that classic misanthrope Heathcliff, all mixed up with the philosophies of Gurdjieff and a Gnostic Jesus and Sufi dervishes and Om Mani Pad Me Hum and a hippie-dippy new age vibe that somehow didn’t offend me at all…the other day I pulled it out and listened to The Kick Inside for the first time in years. Within seconds I was slack-jawed and on the verge of tears. I was back in my youth, back in my moments of longing for something more, something pure, and something innocent.” Read the full review (which will instantly make you put your copy of the album back on rotation) 
Q Magazine has announced that it is releasing a special issue on the 100 Greatest Women In Music. Readers are asked to submit their Top 5 nominations and state why you think your choices stand out above the rest of the competition. The voting details are listed in the June (Travis cover) edition of Q. The email address to send your votes to is: 
David Sheasby sends in his report on Kate’s inclusion in the new book from Q magazine: “I’ve just been to my local newsagent and found a special limited-edition ‘Collectors Special’ glossy paperback by ‘Q‘ magazine called 
“The 100 Best Record Covers of All Time”, which features Never for Ever on pages 110-111. The article includes a photograph of the Never For Ever front cover, some extracted artwork (black bat, butterfly on bleeding rose…) and a summary of the various scary creatures issuing from Kate as she stands on the hill.
Happy New Year! Thought I’d kick off what should be an interesting year for Kate fans with some newsbits:…as well as The Whole Story being released Simply Vinyl are also reissuing their 180g deluxe vinyl pressing of Hounds Of Love, read more