Kate Bush (born Catherine Bush on July 30, 1958 in Bexleyheath, Kent, England) is a British singer and songwriter who has acquired a large number of extremely devoted fans since her debut in 1978 with the surprise hit "Wuthering Heights," which was number 1 in the British music charts for 4 weeks.
Biography
I'd pass the key
And feel your tongue
Teasing and receiving
"Houdini" from The Dreaming
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd was largely responsible for bringing her to prominence, funding her first demo sessions and attracting the interest of the Floyd's record company, EMI. They have since worked together on occasional projects and in concert.
While her range of styles does not appeal to everyone, Bush is nevertheless widely respected by many musicians, and has been noted as an influence and inspiration by artists as diverse as Jewel, Tori Amos, Björk, Paula Cole, Sinead O'Connor, Pat Benatar, Happy Rhodes, The Utah Saints, and others. The trip hop artist Tricky has stated her work has been a significant influence on him and that she should be treasured more than the Beatles. Though many outside of Europe remain unfamiliar with her work and its profound intensity, others in her profession are also unreluctant to declare her works as those of great genius. Even the iconoclastic punk rocker John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) has declared her work to be "fucking brilliant" and has labelled her "a true original".
Even in her earliest works where the piano was a primary instrument, she weaved together many diverse influences, melding classical music, rock, and a wide range of ethnic and folk sources, to produce a uniquely impressive amalgalm, and this has continued throughout her career. More than one reviewer has used the term surreal to describe much of her music, for many of the songs have a melodramatic emotional and musical surrealism that defies easy categorization. It has been observed that even the more joyous of the pieces is often tinged with traces of melancholy, and even the most sorrowful have elements of a unique vitality struggling against all that would oppress it. The unapologetic use of her voice as an instrument to convey a broad range of emotional intensity and subtlety is one thing that characterizes nearly all that she does.
Kate Bush has tackled sensitive and taboo subjects long before it has become fashionable to do so. Moving discusses female orgasm; Kashka From Baghdad is a brilliant song about a happy gay couple oblivious to the world's prejudice around them. Her originality transcends time and space.
She has worked with Peter Gabriel on two of his albums, most notably on the hits "Games Without Frontiers" and Don't Give Up, (the latter a duet); and his appearance on her 1979 television special. Their duet of Roy Harper's Another Day was discussed for release as a single, but this never came to pass. Harper is another frequent collaborator, appearing on her song Breathing and her on his albums HQ and Once (both also featuring Gilmour).
She has appeared in duets with Midge Ure, Big Country and others on their albums. A wide diversity of respected artists have worked with her on some of her more recent albums ranging from the rock guitarist Jeff Beck, the classical guitarist John Williams, the folk artists The Trio Bulgarka, and Prince.
She has stated that she is at work on a new album, with the title of one track "How to be Invisible" having been discussed on at least one of her fan sites. She was reportedly recording tracks as recently as November 2003 at Abbey Road Studios, but as of summer 2004 no release date for a new album has been announced, more than a decade after her last recordings were released.
The only gripe fans and critics have ever had about her has been her refusal since the end of the 1970s to tour.
"Kate Bush" is also a character in Victory Gundam, one of the five (of the six) original members of the Shrike Team who were named in homage to famous 20th century female singers.
Discography
Studio albums
- The Kick Inside (1978)
- Lionheart (1978)
- Never For Ever (1980)
- The Dreaming (1982)
- Hounds of Love (1985)
- The Sensual World (1989)
- The Red Shoes (1993)
Compilations
- The Whole Story (1986) (includes a new rendition of "Wuthering Heights")
- This Woman's Work Vol.s I & II (1990)
- This Woman's Work 1978-1990 (1998) (A boxed set of albums including two discs of rare b-sides)
Live albums
External links
