The first painting below is a caricature of Kate by the French artist Serge Birault, more at his blog here, see the full size painting here. The second painting is by Irish artist Trevor J Brown, based on Kate’s song “Nocturn” from the Aerial album. You can see more of Trevor’s work at his site here.
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Hi all, I’m still trying to find the time to get the site re-launched, getting to grips with a number of options right now, please bear with me, I’ve been posting bits of news in the Twitter feed which you’ll find above, I’d urge you to check out the Paddy Bush radio programme from BBC Radio in particular, stirring stuff. In the meantime I’ve realised it’s a busy time for your Kate Bush bookshelf so here’s some upcoming releases you may want to get your mitts on!
HomeGround, The Book – An anthology of the Best of the Kate Bush Magazine Update: Work continues apace on this huge project by Peter & Krys. Up to 800 pages, yes, you read that right, have been completed and a first draft should be ready in a month or so. The plan will be to have the book available on Amazon, and the HomeGround editors are aiming for a publication date in the second half of 2010. Judging by the anticipation I’ve been reading so far, many, many bookshelves out there are looking forward to this book. As I’ve said before, whether you’ve subscribed to HomeGround in the past or were always curious what all the fuss was about, now you can look forward to the ULTIMATE anthology of this iconic publication, and an incredible resource for anyone interested in Kate’s career. All updates will be on this site and on the HomeGround pages here.
Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory by Deborah M. Withers (HammerOn Press).Published March 15th 2010. From the Press Release: “A new book providing the first ever indepth engagement with the philosophy of Kate Bush’s music. It will be published on March 15th 2010. Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory will present Kate Bush as you have never seen her before. Here is the polymorphously perverse Kate, the witchy Kate, the queer Kate; the Kate who moves beyond the mime. Since Bush burst into the public eye in 1978, her fans and admirers have been fascinated by the endless mysteries of her music. She is a pop star whose brain and imagination have inspired, delighted and comforted millions. Former Sex Pistol John Lydon recently said that Bush ‘supplies me with all the clues and it’s up to me put the answers together.’ Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory is one personal response to these clues. Written by a queer woman in her late 20s, its answers are delivered in a unique way. Drawing on cutting edge feminist philosophy, critical theory and queer studies, Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory makes theory accessible to new audiences. Through analysis of the music, film, video and dance of Kate Bush, it breaks down boundaries between the academic and popular, showing that theory can be sordid, funny and relevant – despite what most people think.
The book has been described by Radio DJ Mark Radcliffe as “an in-depth labour of love from a genuine Bush fanatic” and acclaimed international artist and scholar Allyson Mitchell as “a weaving of theory, historical data, imagination and activism tied with astute observation and wry wit… Cultural Studies has met its match in a readable stretch of the boundaries of theory and genres”. Deborah M. Withers has been interpreting and telling stories about Kate Bush’s music for most of the noughties. She even has a PhD on the subject. Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory is her first book. As Deborah says: “Undoubtedly including “theory” in the title will immediately suggests to people that the book is a weighty tome, but I can assure you that this is not the case. It is important to remember that “adventures” is also in the title. I want readers to roam with me through Kate Bush’s music, unlocking the codes that are within them. Theory is one of the instruments I use to crack these codes. It is a tool that should be available for everyone to use.”
I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, so I asked longtime fan Ian McLauchlan to give me his impressions after reading it. Ian writes: “My own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose – J Haldane 1928.” It could be said that there is nothing more to write about with regard to Kate Bush and her music to the present date. There have been thousands of articles written, countless interviews, reviews and numerous books. And yet here is a forum where we still write about Kate, her art (in between discussion about the weather, cake and each other.) and hopefully we take a little time to listen to each other’s views, opinions with good humour. So here is yet another book about Kate. But it’s not about Kate. And it’s not another male journalist behind the pen. It’s an alternative viewpoint, opinion, and is full of humour. This is a book about the BFS. The subject of the book changes shape, gender, sound; taking on an ever shifting guise on its journey through each album and zeitgeist of each release. The cyclical nature of The Ninth Wave and A Sky of Honey are expanded throughout the story of the BFS. The birth, life, continuity, change, breakdown, death and rebirth are explored with reference to folklore and fairy tales, colonialism, nationalism, gender, oh and a little bit of Orientalism thrown in for good measure. Brave, funny, silly, informative, and probably the best book written about Kate and yet not about Kate. Utterly QUEER.” Thanks Ian. Read more about this book at the publishers website here and the book is available to order here. Perhaps most fun of all, we have a Youtube trailer for the book for you to enjoy!
Under The Ivy – The Life & Music of Kate Bush by Graeme Thomson. (Omnibus Press). Published May 4th 2010. 350 pages with 3×8 plate sections. Graeme Thomson is the author of biographies of Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello and a regular contributor to The Guardian, Observer, the New Statesman, The Word and The Herald. I spoke to Graeme in 2008 as he was setting out to write this book. A fan himself, he clearly had a good grasp of the previous biographies of Kate and what their strengths and failings were. He was not interested in exploring Kate’s personal life but rather to take a fresh look at her body of work, without following the chronological framework used so often before. He told me he wanted to write something insightful and elegant, a book which is genuinely revealing in terms of her working process. He wanted to redress his own disappointment that nothing so far had been published which did her justice (although we both agreed that the 1988 Kate Bush: A Visual Documentary book by Kevin Cann and the late Sean Mayes was the best so far published). So, I have a lot of reasons to look forward with interest to this book. Graeme tells me that the book has lots and lots of new information, a wealth of new first-hand accounts, and in-depth critical analysis of all aspects of her work.
From the Press Release: “This is the first ever in-depth study of Kate Bush’s life and career. “Under the Ivy” features over 70 unique and revealing new interviews with those who have viewed from up close both the public artist and the private woman: old school friends, early band mates, long-term studio collaborators, former managers, producers, musicians, video directors, dance instructors and record company executives. “Under the Ivy” undertakes a full analysis of Bush’s art. From her pre-teen forays into poetry, through scores of unreleased songs. Every crucial aspect of her music is discussed from her ground-breaking series of albums to her solo live tour. Her pioneering forays into dance, video, film and performance. Combining a wealth of new research with rigorous critical scrutiny, “Under the Ivy” offers a string of fresh insights and perspectives on her unusual upbringing in South London, the blossoming of her talent, her enduring influences and unique working methods, her rejection of live performance, her pioneering use of the studio, her key relationships and her gradual retreat into a semi-mythical privacy.” The book is available to pre-order from Amazon here
Kate Bush’s The Dreaming by Ann Powers. (Continuum Books). Published December 2011. Ann Powers is a veteran and highly acclaimed rock critic who has also written extensively on feminism, spirituality, and contemporary culture. From 1997-2001 she was a pop critic at the New York Times. She is currently senior critic at Blender magazine. 33⅓ (Thirty-Three and a Third) is a series of books written about music albums, featuring one author per album. The series is published by Continuum Books. They stagger the releases of this popular series and have published 70 volumes of the series with another 24 titles forthcoming. Thus, this is early word on this one, it’s released in December 2011! The books are very well done and the publisher’s blog makes for interesting reading. From the Press Release: “This book is imagistically rich and prismatically structured, interweaving the old tales of she-bears and werewolves, Donkeyskin and Coyote, with historical accounts of Houdini’s wife, bank robbers like Machine Gun Molly and warriors like the revolutionary war hero Deborah Sampson. Some of these tales directly inspired Bush’s lyrics, others illuminate them; all are part of the tapestry of truth and exaggeration that Bush took up with The Dreaming.” The book is available to pre-order from Amazon here
A short message from Kate on her official site: “Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. With love, Kate x”…
A concert in Joe’s Bar New York April 2nd features vocalist Theo Bleckmann interpreting the work of Kate Bush…Two Aerial posters signed by Kate on sale at Ebay in aid of Oxfam Haiti appeal…Polls and lists, boring…except when Kate is voted Greatest Female Singer of All Time by Dublin’s Newstalk FM!…hear Paddy Bush being interviewed on a (hilly!) journey through Madagascar in part two of the BBC series…Paddy Bush tells me that 1of 3 BBC radio docs on Malagasy music aired Sat. Joyous! Features Justin Vali & Paddy…clip from “King of the Mountain” vid shown on BBC’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks “Dr Who” special, with host David Tennant…Out-of-print “I Wanna Be Kate” tribute CD now available as download…
Rolf Harris is still hoping to release She Moves Through the Fair, his 2009 recording with Kate & “the best thing I’ve ever done” says Rolf in a recent radio interview – watch this space. Rolf has previously worked with Kate on The Dreaming and Aerial. Rolf has also been working with Dizzee Rascal and possibly The Chemical Brothers also.
This morning BBC Radio Scotland broadcast an interview with double bass player and Pentangle founder member Danny Thompson about his friendship with John Martyn, who passed away last year. During the chat Danny discusses his current projects, including “Recording – how about this – with Kate Bush, a week ago. What a lovely lady she is. She’s so fantastic. Stunning.” Danny has previously played on The Dreaming and Hounds of Love albums. We obviously don’t know if this is work on Kate’s next album, but welcome news nonetheless. (with thanks to Al Lehgori on our forum). Hear the interview here (Kate mentioned at 8m 30s) Apart from working with Kate, Danny is a very busy man, including working with Anne Marie Almedal (who sung The Man With The Child In His Eyes with her band Velvet Belly). Read more about Danny at his Myspace page here.
The very latest news is gathered at our forum’s buzzing Medialog section here.
21st October 2009: A quiet year as far as Kate herself is concerned, although we still hear whispers about a track recorded with Rolf Harris – mostly from Rolf himself! More on that when we get more solid confirmation.
In other news HomeGround Magazine have sent out their latest update. They are thrilled to announce the release of the new album by Beck Sian – “Luminous Wings and Unseen Things“. For those who don’t know, Beck is Kate’s cousin’s daughter, Hannah Bush was her great aunt. The album is described as beautiful, and you’ll see here that the album cover art is too!
Read more about Beck and get the album here:
http://www.myspace.com/becksian
More Homeground updates:
25th Anniversary Wuthering Hike, Haworth, Saturday 31st October.
HomeGround The Book – out 2010
HomeGround Issue 79 – Out Spring 2010
HomeGround Glastonbury 2010 – 31st July
Read more on all these updates on the HomeGround Page
A brief write-up from Irish newspaper The Evening Herald about The Sensual Walk on Saturday is here. Thanks to everyone who took part – a great day as always!
Walpurgis Family (Jeroen Saegeman) performing ‘Pull out the Pin’ up on Howth Head, as part of The Sensual Walk, June 13th 2009
Digital channel BBC4 will be screening the full special that Kate made for the BBC in 1979 on Sunday April 26th at 00:10. The 1979 Christmas special features Kate performing Gymnopedie No 1, Symphony in Blue, Them Heavy People, Madrigal, December, Wedding List, Egypt, Waltz/Why Did I Ever Go Marry Her, Man with the Child in His Eyes and Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake. Guest star Peter Gabriel sings Here Comes the Flood and duets with Kate on Another Day. This seems to be part of an evening of specials devoted to the “Queens of British Pop” featured in the recent BBC documentary.
This year I’m again organising the very enjoyable Sensual Walk gathering for fans and friends in Howth, Dublin, Ireland on Saturday June 13th 2009. I’m posting details for this event on this forum thread here. Please don’t hesitate to email me if you are interested in joining us or if you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to help you out. Hope to see some of you on the hill! Sean T 🙂
A nice new article which includes the story of his meeting with Kate in 2005 by BBC DJ Mark Radcliffe has been published in The Daily Mail here. The article also recalls his meetings with David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Madonna and Kylie Minogue. The transcript of the radio interview with Kate to which he refers can be found on Gaffaweb here
The BBC site has been updated with interview clips (including Del Palmer, John Carder Bush, Peter Gabriel, John Lydon, Anthony Van Laast and Mark Radcliffe all talking about Kate) from Wednesday night’s upcoming documentary “Queens of British Pop” here. And in conjunction with this two-part programme, the BBC are asking site visitors to vote on “your favourite Queen of British Pop” – read more here.
‘Oh Johnny it sounds like a bag of cats!’
John Lydon’s mum on Kate Bush (Queens Of British Pop, BBC1)
As previously reported Kate will be one of the subjects of a major 2-part arts documentary by Dione Newton that celebrates Britain’s most admired female singers from the Sixties to present day. Kate will be featured in the first of two programmes airing April 1st BBC1 at 22.45 (except BBC1 Northern Ireland 23.25 and BBC1 Scotland 23.35). Del Palmer has been interviewed for this programme. The Radio Times preview the programme: “There are no surprises in this cheery canter through a roster of British pop queens from the 1970s and 80s, but there are some good old clips and some pretty high-quality talking heads.” David Chater in The Times calls it “an engrossing compilation of fresh insight and cheerful nostalgia”. From the BBC: “Queens of British Pop and narrator Liza Tarbuck offer a celebration of 6 female pop stars, singers and icons that lit us up from the early 60s to the late 70s. Programme 1 tells the story of Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Suzi Quatro, Siouxsie Sioux andKate Bush – some of the female artists that emerged alongside some of Britain’s defining musical movements, from the Swinging Sixties through to glam rock and punk. We give an insight into the lives of these top female artists, offering first-hand or eyewitness accounts of the highs, the lows and the obstacles they had to overcome. Our selected artists have pushed boundaries, played around with gender roles and had their private lives overshadow their success, but it is their experiences that have helped change the face of British pop as we know it today. Includes new interviews with Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Suzi Quatro, Siouxsie Sioux and contributions from Tom Jones, Lulu, Burt Bacharach, John Lydon, Martha Reeves, Nancy Sinatra, Mark Radcliffe, Henry Winkler, Marc Almond, Peter Gabriel, Claire Grogan, Jarvis Cocker, Kiki Dee, Nigel Havers, Lily Allen and Adele, to name but a few. The second show takes viewers from the early Eighties to the present day, completing the odyssey by looking at the impact made by Annie Lennox, Alison Moyet, Kylie Minogue, Geri Halliwell, Amy Winehouse and Leona Lewis.” (thanks to Greg Gilligan and Thomas Pilcher)
With the great recent coverage in The Word magazine and the upcoming BBC documentary I couldn’t resist sharing with you that Del Palmer posted on his Myspace last week that he was in the studio with “you-know-who.” Obviously we can’t read tooooo much into this but we’d be kidding ourselves if he didn’t mean Kate was working (as now expected) on follow-up material to her Aerial album. Wonderful news. We are older and wiser now and don’t expect any new music shortly, but can only smile contentedly and send out our wishes that fun is had in the studio yet again.
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