Welcome to Episode 9 of the CROSSED CHANNELS podcast, in which music journalists/obsessives Dan Epstein (the Yank) and Tony Fletcher (the Brit) clash and connect over music from either side of the pond.
Elton John calls her “a most beautiful mystery.” Tricky notes how “you can’t hear her influences.” And yet, as St. Vincent observes, “You can hear one note of her voice and you know immediately what it is, and that is the biggest feat of any artist.”
That artist, of course, is KATE BUSH, the British singer-songwriter-pianist who shot to stardom in Britain and Europe, while still a teenager, with her 1978 single “Wuthering Heights” — marking the first time that a female artist topped the UK pop charts with a self-penned song — but who wouldn’t score a genuine hit in America for another seven years. “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God),” the song that finally broke her out of the cult artist/college radio ghetto in the US, only reached #30 in 1985, but it got enough mainstream airplay to propel her album The Hounds of Love to #30, as well. The song would return to Billboard’s Hot 100 in 2022, going all the way to #3 after being prominently featured in the fourth season of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things.
After releasing seven albums in fifteen years, Bush's recording output slowed considerably as she invested time into parenting; she only ever toured in 1979, although a London residency in 2014 attracted fans from all over the world. Greatly admired for her steadfast commitment to her own artistic vision, Bush's influence — musically, stylistically, ideologically, and occasionally all three — can be heard and seen in artists from Tori Amos to Bat for Lashes, Fiona Apple to Regina Spektor, and many others along the way.
On this episode, we focus on Kate’s early years, tracing her background as a child prodigy from a nurturing, bohemian family, living on the edge of London, and her rapid musical progress which, after a fortuitous introduction to David Gilmour, found her a record deal with EMI before her 18th birthday. Along the way we ask these questions:
Why did “Wuthering Heights” immediately click with British audiences, despite sounding nothing like the punk and new wave records that were crowding the UK charts in early 1978? Why were Bush’s brilliant and imaginative early albums The Kick Inside, Lionheart and Never for Ever warmly embraced by consumers and critics alike in her homeland and beyond, yet almost totally ignored in the US, even by her American record company? And why do Tony and Dan differ considerably in their appreciation of her music? Tune in to the latest episode of CROSSED CHANNELS to find out!
Since we mention the following TV documentaries — the 1979 doc on her Tour of Life, and the 2014 BBC documentary on her life and career — several times in this episode, we thought we’d include them here for your own reference and enjoyment:
A free preview of CROSSED CHANNELS Episode 9 is available to all listeners, but the episode is only available in its entirety to paid subscribers of Jagged Time Lapse or Tony Fletcher, Wordsmith. If you’re already a free subscriber to either of these Substacks — or better yet, both! — upgrade your subscription now to hear the whole hour-plus, as well as all our previous episodes. The full episode is also available on your streaming platform of choice if you can follow Substack’s advice for adding it there (usually to be found on the sidebar).
As an added bonus for our paid subscribers, we’re giving away a free copy of the new Omnibus Remastered edition of Graeme Thomson’s definitive Under The Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, courtesy of our friends at Omnibus Press. All you have to do to enter is to leave a hundred words or less on the topic of “Why Is Dan Wrong About Kate Bush” in the comments section below. The winner will be chosen either on strength of argument, or on how much an answer makes us laugh. The contest is open to US and UK paid subscribers of either of our Substack accounts.
As an added bonus for our paid subscribers, we’re giving away a free copy of the new Omnibus Remastered edition of Graeme Thomson’s definitive Under The Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, courtesy of our friends at Omnibus Press. All you have to do to enter is to leave a hundred words or less on the topic of “Why Is Dan Wrong About Kate Bush?” in the comments section below. The winner will be chosen either on strength of argument, or on how much an answer makes us laugh. The contest is open to US and UK paid subscribers of either of our Substack accounts.
Thanks to all our listeners and subscribers, and we hope you enjoy.
