Here is an artist who is capable of flying, but no ones sees it because the world is glued to her feet. Nothing beyond her heart is hers. But her heart is everyone’s. If they did a scan of her lungs, there would be an aquarelle painting: sunset, school yard near the old factory, someone jumped over the fence, took the ball from the kids and kicked it out of the yard forever. Ready to find out who is this week’s SundaySpotlight?
With 9 full length studio albums, few compilations and more than 20 millions copies sold, Kate Bush is one of the most successful UK solo female singers. She is the musician who was perpetually changing the pop culture. Her idiosyncratic and eclectic audio-visual performance influenced numerous artists no matter their music orientation. She is the first artist who relied on the tradition of promotional videos. In 1979, she started utilizing Wi-Fi microphone so that she could freely act and dance across the stage. With her third studio album Never For Ever, she became the first solo British female singer who debuted at number 1 on UK Album Chart.
In 1985, two years after media hiatus, she returned in public eye with the promotional single of her upcoming album. It was Running Up The Hill (A Deal With God), her most famous hit. The authentic music video for the song added up to the impression that this is not just a regular artist. It became clear that Kate Bush is a goddess.
My favorite Kate Bush album, Hounds Of Love, is nothing less experimental than her predecessors. A master piece she produced in her own studio was supported by her long term partners Paddy and Palmer, but also sees guest arrangements of Michael Kamen. The album managed to debut at the top of the UK Album Chart ant went on to become the most sold album in the singer’s discography. For a reason. So, If there is something to pick up from this week’s SundaySpotlight, it’s House Of Love.
Kate Bush is also responsible for one of the best music lyrics ever written. Cloudbusting talks about how the arrestment of the famous American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich was seen from the perspective of his young son Peter. I am so disappointed that the song only reached 20th spot on the UK Chart, as it stands as one of the greatest songs of that decade. It just proves that artists who are busy with climbing the Wuthering heights are not usually the ones who are focused on climbing charts.
Before we bring this SundaySpotlight to closure, I would like to suggest you to immediately find Don’t Give Up, a sensitive duet with Peter Gabriel. It embodies everything Kate Bush is. Kate Bush is an artist, a humanitarian, a goddess, an award-winning business woman. Kate Bush is a brand.
Kate Bush is also a feminist, although it took her some time to grow as one. When she was describing the message of her 1985 hit Waking The Witch, she noted how she was talking about the fear from power in the hands of a woman. On the other hand, when recently asked about Theresa May, she recently said that nothing better could have happened to UK in the modern history.
Even though she is an introvert who likes to keep her private life hidden, when Queen Elisabeth II awarded her with an accolade for her contribution to the music world of United Kingdom, she claimed that she is not a lone wolf. After all that she gave to the humanity, we have to trust her on that.
