Photo by Deborah Priestley – uploaded to Facebook 24th February 2016

The Kate Bush fan community was completely shocked and saddened this week to hear about the sudden passing of longtime fan Deborah Priestley. An exceptionally popular person, the shockwaves have been felt right across the globe and on hundreds of messages on forums and on Facebook. Our sincerest condolences to her children Dan and Kate, and her husband Rob and her best friend, Keeper – Seán, Peter, Krys & Dave x

Our friend, Sky Boswell, has written the following heartfelt piece to remember the lovely Deborah:

I logged into my Facebook account at around 6am on Tuesday to find a message from a friend, to tell me that Deborah Priestley had died suddenly the day before. It was a terrible shock.

Many Kate Bush fans will know Debs from the early days of the site Forum. She was a dyed in the wool Kate Bush fan, a warm and funny Yorkshire lass who delighted in being with people, loved her family and her dog Keeper, and was a talented amateur photographer whose work often featured in the local press and on regional TV.

I knew Debs for just a few years, but in that time got know her as one of the sweetest, kindest and most thoughtful people I’ve ever met. Debs was a truly genuine person who wore her heart on her sleeve. Self effacing and modest, she was a bright jewel of a woman who touched the lives of many just by being herself. Her Facebook updates of family life were charming, witty, observant, and full of loving enthusiasm. She adored her children Dan and Kate, her husband Rob, and her beautiful German Shepherd dog, Keeper. She loved taking photos of the world around her and had a true artist’s eye. Those long walks with Keeper, or days out with friends or family would always result in more of her wonderful photos, a window on the world according to Debs. Even if you never met her in person you could share her story, and delight in the things she loved.

Debs was always one of the first to be supportive if a friend was having a hard time. She had enormous empathy for others, and on several occasions surprised and delighted me by sending little gifts through the post when I was feeling low. A colouring book, a set of starry fairylights, some chocolate…always accompanied by a lovely note or card. Debs had a generous heart and gave freely of her huge store of love to those who needed it. She had formerly been a nanny by profession, and I imagine the life of every one of the children she cared for was made richer just for knowing her. Only a few days ago I received another of those thoughtful gifts and notes after sending her a coupon for some free gourmet dog food. Typically, Debs’ response to my gesture far outweighed my original ‘gift’. She thanked me publicly on Facebook, too – the last message I was to receive from her. I’ve reproduced it here as it shows what a beautiful person Debs was, always appreciating the little things in life:

“Thank you so much for the beautiful postcard and the coupon for Keeper, you are beyond kind. I was only thinking of you last night, I found something I think you may like!!!! Will get some and send it next week xx”

Debs achieved many things in her short life; it was a life filled with love, laughter, and kindness to everyone she met. She loved, and was loved in return. She truly lived every moment to the full, and in 2014 she achieved a lifetime ambition of seeing Kate Bush live in concert. I’m so glad she did. Goodbye for now, Debs, and thank you for bringing your light into my life. I’m honoured to have counted you among my friends. – Sky Boswell

Note: Deborah’s photography can be viewed at her photography Facebook page here.

NOTE: This Christmas I have decided to donate proceeds from the sale of a copy of Lake Tahoe on vinyl and a few other KB items to Oxfam, and I intend to do the same in the new year with other “swaps” that I have. This is one of the reasons I find it worth keeping up with the value of bits and bobs I’ve collected over the years; I get to enjoy them and look after them and then, ultimately, put them to some good use – Seán

I have to admit I’ve never been a must-have-everything collector of Kate’s stuff but recently I have been filling out some of the gaps in my Kate Bush vinyl collection. There’s something about owning those original artefacts from a particular time in Kate’s career that can be very satisfying. I had decided to limit my current renewed passion for collectible records to UK releases, but when you inevitably start to dig further…there’s a LOT of interesting stuff out there and it can get overwhelming. Luckily we have some great Kate Bush collector sites to help us out, even if we know that realistically we’ll never get our mitts on many of these treasures. Here are three sites, all from genuine fans, that come recommended…

Firstly, for years I’ve relied on an excellent site called “The Single File” by John Heislman which he has maintained since the 1990s. It focuses on Kate’s career as a singles artist and is bang up-to-date with the re-recorded Running Up That Hill from 2012. With neat navigation, effective use of national flag symbols and pictorial chronologies for all formats he takes the guess work out of what was released when and where. A brilliant site.

Next up, if you’re looking for a site that also takes in albums, books and all manner of memorabilia you simply have to take a look at the “World of Kate Bush” blog site. The site owner has been tireless in photographing and describing their impressive collection. This is collecting at its most serious, and a revealing pleasure to browse through for even a casual fan.

Since 1978, thanks to robust work by EMI Japan, Kate has been a noticeable presence in that territory. Some of the most expensive collectible Kate Bush items on the market today emanate from Japan and there is a LOT to discover. Luckily longtime fan Bart Lienard has put together “All We Ever Look For“, an exhaustive labour of love which lists just about every Japanese Kate Bush album, single, box set, video and book as well as a large array of magazine articles. Fascinating.

Update: An honourable mention also to “This Woman’s World“, a German-language site that has a nicely illustrated discography.

Apart from the above sites, there is of course a wealth of information to be found on Gaffaweb, on the constantly expanding Discogs Kate listing, in the pages of those incredible HomeGround anthology books, and in the now out-of-print Illustrated Collector’s Guide to Kate Bush (now, curiously, an expensive collectors item itself!). The Kate Bush Clippings site is now enormous, and also be sure to check out the Kate Bush Encyclopedia site which has been coming along very nicely!