Wishing Kate a very happy birthday today, and very best wishes from all at KateBushNews.com
Neville has told this site that he now has a number of offers for the two pieces by Kate.
He is about to end the auction and anyone interested should get in touch with him at nevillejudd@gmail.com within the next few days.
Back in 1994, Kate took part in an exhibition of original artworks by well known people, ‘Little Pieces by Big Stars’ in aid of the War Child charity. There was quite a bit of publicity around the event, organised by Brian Eno and promoted by David Bowie. (In this Youtube clip you can see Bowie showing off Kate’s contribution, and claiming to want them for himself!). The hand made piece consists of two separate frames. Each one is 7 inches X 6 inches X 1.75 inches in size. They are called ‘Someone Lost at Sea Hoping Someone In A Plane Will Find Them‘ and ‘Someone In A Plane Hoping To Find Someone Lost At Sea‘.
David Bowie shows off Kate's artworks on UK TV in 1994
As it turns out, a big fan of Kate’s, Neville Judd, secured the winning bid and is now looking to sell them after keeping them privately for almost 20 years!
Neville describes the two companion pieces: “Each frame is made from a polished wood with gold inlay, and a gold title plate on the front featuring the name. Inside each frame is a black background, made of velvet, in the middle of which is a small red light which flashes quietly away. On the back of each frame is Kate’s KT copyright sign (hand written) with a ’94 beneath, indicating the year she made it. Kate has also signed each frame on the back, in lovely big hand writing, using a gold metallic pen. Each frame has all of this. Inside is a fabulous piece of carpentry and simple electronics.”
Anyone interested in contacting the seller, or making an offer on the pieces can email Neville at nevillejudd@gmail.com. (Note that the pieces were bought at auction in 1994 for £1,150, and bids of less than £3,000 won’t be considered).
Here’s more of Neville’s story:
“I have always been a fan, went to seven of the 1979 shows and like most of us, collected (and continue to collect) everything. I have to sell this because I need to help someone pay a bill, it’s as simple as that. I never thought I’d need to sell them (duh!) hence me having sat on them for almost twenty years. They have never been exhibited. There are no other photos of them and no one knew where they were, except for Brian Eno and Anthea Norman- Taylor from the Warchild Charity. I am also a David Bowie fan and over the years have been involved in many Bowie related projects, including the official Bowie biography ‘ Strange Fascination ‘ which I helped with and also have my name in the Index in a tale that David related back in 1993, the year before I went to the Private View for ‘Little Pieces by Big Stars’ at the Flowers East Gallery in Hackney, in the East End. I didn’t have an invite to it but spoke to Kate on her way in and asked her about her contribution. “It is about the Sea and about me too, I guess” was all she would say and I decided there and then to try to buy it.”
“My friends left when Bowie came out but I hung around and eventually David’s Art dealer, Kate Chertavian, let me in. The film director Nick Roeg was looking at ‘ Someone Lost at Sea Hoping Someone In A Plane Will Find Them ‘ when I walked in to the small room. I told him what Kate had said to me earlier in the evening. “In that case one of us needs to buy them”, he said and tapped me on the shoulder. I looked at the blinking red light in each picture. I thought about what Kate had said, and I made up my mind to bid for them at The Royal College of Art the following week. And I got them. A few days later, I went around to collect them from the home office of Opal, Brian and Anthea’s office. I later discovered that David Bowie had spoken at the time in both the press and on television about Kate’s two pieces and had suggested that he was going to bid on them himself, and I later asked him about this. He said “I thought they were the most fabulous things and I intended to send in bid but something happened and I never did. Anyway, they should hang in a fans home I reckon.” And that is exactly where they have hung, in secret, for eighteen years. It was my intention to offer them at Christies or possibly on EBAY but if anyone would like to make me a realistic offer then we could absolutely do it that way.”
Something Else reports: “Ian Anderson, Jon Anderson, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hillage, Rick Wakeman and Roger Waters will vie for the title of ‘Prog God’ in the first annual Progressive Music Awards, to be held this September in London. Sponsored by Prog Magazine, the ceremony will also include lifetime achievement recognition for a list of nominees that includes Emerson Lake and Palmer, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Van der Graaf Generator and Yes ….”
Kate is apparently up for the “Visionary” Award – “The spirit of prog independence, the rogues in our midst who make their own niche in a progressive direction” with Hawkwind, Kraftwerk, Radiohead, Muse, Can, and Peter Hammill.
On his Facebook page, Del Palmer has posted the following image detail of his artwork from the back cover of Kate’s first album in 1978, The Kick Inside. Del writes: “The Flyer from T.K.I sleeve. I was asked if the logo on the opposite side to the KT symbol had a meaning..It is, in fact a pictogram of my name DEL…I know but life was simpler in those days!!….”
Can you tell this event came together a bit later than usual this year? I’m very happy to say that The Sensual Walk event is happening again on Howth Head, Dublin Ireland on Bloomsday, Saturday 16th June. We are gathering at 2pm for a 3pm kick off at the summit car park in Howth. The event is inspired by Kate’s song, The Sensual World, and celebrates James Joyce, Ulysses, Dublin and of course Kate and her music. This year the event is being co-organised with the wonderful Siobhán Kane and Young Hearts Run Free, in aid of the Dublin Simon Community. We’ll have no evening venue this time, so the emphasis will be on music performances in the open air on the Hill of Howth by some great Irish musicians, recitations, peaches and seedcake on the hill and picnic fun! The event is “weather oblivious” so come prepared!
After the cliff walk down into the village of Howth, we will retire to The Bloody Stream pub (at Howth train station) for pints etc. Note that this is a busy weekend for Kate Bush related events and that Seán will of course be attending the HomeGround 30th Birthday bash in London the following day, Sunday June 17th – wish me luck! Read more on the big HomeGround celebration in the post below this. (Any queries on the Howth event – just drop me an email sean@katebushnews.com)
The HomeGround 30th Birthday Party will be on Sunday 17th June 2012 from 4 pm until 10 pm at Lo-Profile, 84-86 Wardour Street, London W1F 0TQ.
In 2012 we reach 30 years since we first decided to put out a Kate Bush fanzine and produced the very first copy with scissors and paste and the office photocopier.
We’re feeling the need to celebrate, and The HomeGround 30th birthday party is going to be relaxed and fun, a chance to meet other Kate fans and hear Kate’s music played in a club. This is not a convention with organised events or acts, just a chance to have fun and socialise in a Kate themed environment.
Lo-Profile is situated in the heart of Soho just five minutes walk from Piccadilly Circus Underground Station.
We are happy to confirm that the DJs on the day will be;
Paul Burston. Best selling author, Time Out journalist, promoter of Polari, and DJ. Paul first saw Kate Bush on Saturday morning TV performing Wuthering Heights and fell about laughing. A week later he went out and bought the record and hasn’t looked back since. An author and journalist, he has met many of his musical heroes, but not Kate Bush. He’s not bitter.
Phil Marriot. Phil is the head of music at Gaydar radio and has his own evening show on the station he is also a resident at XXL and has played at many top venues such as the RVT and Area and is one of London’s most respected DJs. He is a life long Kate Fan.
Dave Cross. Yes the HomeGround editor is also a DJ and has played at many top clubs including G-A-Y, Heaven and Fire.
Tickets for the party are just £6.00 each and can be ordered via the PayPal buttons at the top and bottom of the HomeGround Page.
Once your payment has been received you will get an email confirmation from us. This will be your ticket and you need to bring it with you to gain access to the party.
See you all there!
Dave Krys Peter
Kate has posted on her official site a message of condolence for Liz Pearson, one of the two backing singers on her 1979 live tour. Liz has very sadly recently died from cancer.
In Memory Of Liz
I was very sad to hear the news about Liz Pearson who passed away last week. She was one of the two backing singers on the tour in 1979. She was a sweetheart with the most beautiful voice and she was a lovely friend. She will be dearly missed.
Deepest sympathies to all her family,
Kate
On his FaceBook page Del Palmer posted: “Another of the wonderful people from The Tour of Life has died!!… Lovely Liz Pearson one of the bee-vee singers… My thoughts are with her family.. She was a wonderful singer and a special person and I will miss her!!... just bothers me that all these wonderful people are gone!!… As someone said earlier God is putting together one hell of a band!!”
More UK chart action for Kate! In today’s mid week Chart update Kate’s original version of Running Up That Hill is No 31. This follows Bo Bruce’s performance of the song on ‘The Voice’ on Saturday.
Please be aware that this is just the midweek chart and only features sales from Sunday and Monday, so the final position will be lower on this Sunday, but it’s still fantastic that once again thousands of people are responding to Kate’s songs!
Update: Kate’s final position in the chart was 51, with sales of 6,011.
KateBush.com Kate’s official site, has announced that they have a last 200 copies of the Lake Tahoe picture disc:
“On 9th May 2012 at 18.30 GMT (UK Time) the discs will be exclusively available to purchase in our shop here
We only have a very small number of these discs so purchases will be limited to one per customer on a first come first serve basis. We apologise in advance if anyone isn’t able to get a copy, but as this release is truly limited we’re lucky to be able to offer this many directly to fans. Anyone who is found trying to abuse the shop system to purchase more than one copy will have their additional orders cancelled and run the risk of losing out entirely.
The discs will remain on sale while stocks last.“
The supremely talented poet, author and photographer John Carder Bush writes about photographing his sister Kate all the way from her childhood right through to her most recent album release in The Independent here. The site features photographs from John’s almost-impossible-to-find book ‘Cathy’, published in the 1980s, which he sent to me (Seán) a few years ago completely out of the blue. And I’ll always cherish it! Have you got your copy of John’s brilliant novel ‘The Cellar Gang‘ yet? If not, you’re seriously missing out…more on how to order his must-have book here. (with thanks to Louise) If you’re wondering what Kate’s other exceptionally talented brother, Paddy Bush , has been up to, check out my recent report on his wonderful exhibition in Co. Cavan, Ireland, here.
Update: Kate has now sent a message of good luck to Bo on her official site:
Dear Bo, Many congratulations on your fantastic performance last night on The Voice. I thought it was really beautiful and very moving. I feel so proud of you. Good luck for tonight and very best wishes to you and your mum. With love, Kate Bush xx
From Michael Hogan’s Daily Telegraph live blog: “20.26 The final act tonight is Bo Bruce for Team Danny. The aristocratic girl with the quirky indie voice. Her mother is seriously ill at the moment, which was reported in the papers this morning and she admirably doesn’t mention but Danny does. Another great song choice – they’re ending strongly in that sense – with Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. 20.28 Slightly static staging and hard to compete with La Bush, but she’s got a lovely tone to her voice. 20.29 Nice acapella coda there and an emotional climax. “Art is the only justification for pain,” says Danny. Well-meaning but rather melodramatic. Will calls her an artist. Compliments come no higher on this show, it seems. Jessie’s proud and loves being part of the show. Tom comes over all avuncular, tells her to channel her current experience into her voice and let it all flow. Bless him.”
The Judges comments in full:
JESSIE J: I was ready to stand up before you finished your song. This is a great show to be a part of, what a wonderful ending! WILL.I.AM: This is a great show and you are all singing to represent your country. You Bo are an incredible artist and I know there is a Voice US and a Voice Australia, but singing like you did, the UK has something really special out of all The Voice’s TOM JONES: If there are things that are bothering you or on your mind you should try to use it as a strength and tonight you let it all flow and it was fantastic! DANNY O’DONOGHUE: It’s been very tough, the reason why I came on the show is to find someone like you. Someone who is willing to bare their soul to the whole world. I am proud, your mum is really proud and the whole of the UK is really proud too.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Y8rYDv1jU[/youtube]
Useless fact: Bo Bruce is daughter of the Earl of Cardigan and a descendant of the Lord Cardigan who led the charge of British cavalry known as “the charge of the Light Brigade” against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War.
While it would be nice to say it was surprising to read yet another tired old ‘article’ in The Daily Mail newspaper today claiming to offer evidence that Kate has “withdrawn herself from the world” among other inaccurate statements, it really isn’t a surprise. The only reason we’re briefly mentioning it here is that we’ve had a spike in visitor numbers and would suggest that any new visitors read the words that one fan posted as a comment on the Daily Mail website:
“Why do you appear to think that shunning a meaningless existence of celebrity and limelight, makes a person odd?…this woman should be the role model for all young ladies who instead, watching their celebrity obsessed idols, grow up behaving like Divas, falling down drunk, reading magazines about who has just broken up with who and literally aspiring to nothing other than money and fame.” Kyla Clay Fox
Update: Jan Moir, also writing in The Daily Mail, has reacted to the paper’s coverage here.
Kaitlin Moran in the 4th May Times says: “All kudos to the Daily Mail this week, whose ongoing mission to make all its female readers self-loathing, self-harming neurotics too scared to leave the house in case they get mugged by a gay Muslim continues apace.
Reporting on the South Bank Show Awards, held on Tuesday, the Mail online greeted a rare appearance from Kate Bush with a barrage of unflattering pictures and snide comments …This is, of course, the correct way to treat a shy genius …”
Suzanne Moore in the 5th May Daily Mail says: “Adele outsells Michael Jackson, but people remain obsessed with her weight. The goddess that is Kate Bush reappears and snide comments are made about her. Bjork reveals her range of influences, which are called, of course, ‘obsessions’. Lily Allen takes some time out. Why do we not accept our great female artists as artists? Bush, having been hothoused, chose to stay out of the limelight and raise a son. Adele did not sell herself as an emaciated sex machine. Bjork remains at the cutting-edge, forever interesting. Why do we have to pathologise these women as mad, bad or ‘unable to cope’ if they play the game on their own terms? Actually they are all making, in their individual ways, eminently sensible choices.”
Of course, this all just momentarily distracts from the real story this week; the enormous appreciation and admiration which Kate’s work continues to attract. To that end, here’s a reminder of why Kate’s new album has generated so much critical acclaim: another look at Kate’s recent film, Eider Falls at Lake Tahoe. Seán, Dave, Peter & Krys.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKPHA3_cBus[/youtube]
Kate has now posted this message of thanks on KateBush.com:
“I am so thrilled and honoured that ’50 Words For Snow’ won the South Bank Sky Arts award yesterday. It was a really wonderful event with the most extraordinary collection of artists. I was absolutely delighted to be a part of it and simply stunned by the incredible welcome. Many, many thanks to Melvyn Bragg for such a special day. I wonder if he knows what a total treasure he is?
I have been sent a great long list of comments from you all and I am just completely overwhelmed. Thank you so much for all your kind words and love. You made me cry! I feel so touched and grateful to have you there and I am over the moon!
With love,
A very happy Kate xxxxxxxxx“
Kate has won the prestigious pop award at this year’s South Bank Sky Arts Awards ceremony in London today. Sir Tom Jones presented Kate with her award.
Update: Kate has posted this on her official site:
UPDATE : A message from Kate …
I am so thrilled and honoured that ’50 Words For Snow’ won the South Bank Sky Arts award yesterday. It was a really wonderful event with the most extraordinary collection of artists. I was absolutely delighted to be a part of it and simply stunned by the incredible welcome. Many, many thanks to Melvyn Bragg for such a special day. I wonder if he knows what a total treasure he is?
I have been sent a great long list of comments from you all and I am just completely overwhelmed. Thank you so much for all your kind words and love. You made me cry! I feel so touched and grateful to have you there and I am over the moon!
With love,
A very happy Kate xxxxxxxxx
From the Irish Independent:
“Reclusive singer Kate Bush pipped Adele to a prestigious prize after her latest album was recognised at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards. 50 Words For Snow won the Pop Award at the central London ceremony, beating Adele’s Grammy-winning bestseller 21 and PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake which was also nominated. It is Kate’s first set of completely new songs since 2005 when she released Aerial. The awards at the Dorchester Hotel, on Park Lane, also saw wins for BBC1’s Sherlock, Channel 4’s Fresh Meat and the musical Matilda. The awards were hosted by Melvyn Bragg who said the judges had faced an “impossible decision this year”. He said: “With such a strong and vibrant array of winners, from Kate Bush to Matilda, to the ENO, this is a wonderful opportunity to praise the incredible wealth of artistic brilliance we have in this country.”
Fantastic achievement for Kate! Huge congratulations, we are over-the-moon!! The awards show is televised tonight on Sky Arts HD at 9pm.
Speaking backstage at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards where he presented a gong to Kate Bush, Sir Tom Jones revealed he would like to team up with Kate. He said: “If Kate could come up with a song I would gladly do it with her.”
More coverage: Music Week | Daily Telegraph | BBC News | Independent | Evening Standard | Daily Mail | Daily Mail 2 | Sky News | Daily Express | The Sun | Huffington Post
[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjPvh4V-MgI[/youtube]
Zelo Street Blog takes the Mail to task.