As copies of the new 50 Words For Snow (Polar Edition) start arriving to fans who have ordered them, the promised blank Christmas card with a beautiful Snowflake design is indeed included in the package. In an unexpected development, we have also heard from at least a couple of lucky fans who have discovered a SIGNED card inside their copies, with Kate wishing them a Merry Christmas! What a lovely thing to do. We have no idea how many cards Kate signed, most are indeed blank. Read more about this new illustrated vinyl edition at our news story here. The cards are also available to purchase in packs of 5 at Kate’s site here. Photos below by Dave Cross.
We’re very happy that today sees the publication of a new book, Hounds Of Love by Leah Kardos. It is part of the long-running 33⅓ book series, described by NME as ‘A brilliant series … each one a work of real love.’ We love these slim paperbacks about significant albums in popular music history and it’s high time Kate’s legendary 1985 album was included – this is the first of Kate’s works to be featured in the 33⅓ series after The Dreaming by Ann Powers was shelved a few years back. The book is available from Amazon and all good bookshops everywhere. Rough Trade even have some copies signed by the author on pre-order here. We especially love the section where Leah discusses all the appearances of blackbirds in Kate’s oeuvre! A very nice little addition to any fans bookshelf.
Thanks to the lovely people at the publisher, Bloomsbury, we have three copies to give away to our lucky site visitors! Simply answer the following question: Which song on the most recent editions of Hounds of Love now appears in the original “Single Mix”? All you need to do is email your answer to sean@katebushnews.com – winners will be drawn randomly next Thursday, 21st November. Closing date for entries is 12pm midnight Wednesday 20th November.
Competition Rules: Competition starts November 14th 2024 and ends November 20th, 2024 at 23:59 (GMT). One entry per person. Multiple entries, the registration of multiple email addresses for one person and incomplete entries will result in disqualification. katebushnews.com is not responsible for the timeliness of delivery or electronic or computer malfunctions that may affect the delivery or content of entry. Winner will be selected in a random draw from all eligible entries on or about November 21st, 2024. Winner will be notified by email. If winner cannot be reached within 3 days of notification, an alternate winner will be selected. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Prize is non-transferable and non-exchangeable. No substitution or cash equivalent will be made. All decisions of katebushnews.com is final. Winner should allow 6 weeks for delivery of prize.
Sam Liddicott reviews the book on his blog here, and Rolling Stone have published an excerpt from the book here.
From the Press Release: Hounds Of Love invites you to not only listen, but to cross the boundaries of sensory experience into realms of imagination and possibility. Side A spawned four Top 40 hit singles in the UK, ‘Running
Up That Hill (A Deal with God)’, ‘Cloudbusting’, ‘Hounds of Love’ and ‘The Big Sky’, some of the best-loved and most enduring compositions in Bush’s catalogue. On side B, a hallucinatory seven-part song cycle called The Ninth Wave broke away from the pop conventions of the era by using strange and vivid production techniques that plunge the listener into the psychological centre of a near-death experience. Poised and accessible, yet still experimental and complex, with Hounds Of Love Bush mastered the art of her studio-based songcraft, finally achieving full control of her creative process. When it came out in 1985, she was only 27 years old.
This book charts the emergence of Kate Bush in the early-to-mid-1980s as a courageous experimentalist, a singularly expressive recording artist and a visionary music producer. Track-by-track commentaries focus on the experience of the album from the listener’s point of view, drawing attention to the art and craft of Bush’s songwriting, production and sound design. It considers the vast impact and influence that Hounds Of Love has had on music cultures and creative practices through the years, underlining the artist’s importance as a barrier-smashing, template-defying, business-smart, record-breaking, never compromising role model for artists everywhere.
Leah Kardos is a senior lecturer in music at Kingston University
London, UK. She is the author of Blackstar Theory: The Last Works of
David Bowie (Bloomsbury, 2022), which was included as one of The
Wire’s ‘Best Books of 2022’. With thanks to Leah and to Mollie Broad at Bloomsbury.
In this episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast Seán is joined in Dublin by Irish songwriter and musician SJ McArdle to enjoy an in-depth discussion on how Kate’s love of Irish music and deep connection with the country of Ireland has infused so much of her work throughout her career. We discuss Kate’s Irish family connections, the famous Irish traditional musicians who Kate has worked with down the years, in particular the great Donal Lunny, and chew over the Irishness inherent in recordings like Army Dreamers, Night of the Swallow, Jig of Life, The Sensual World, Mná na hÉireann and many more! Archive clips featuring Kate, Del, John Carder Bush and Donal Lunny help to illustrate this fascinating and enduring aspect of Kate’s work.
Listen to the wonderful music of Seán’s guest SJ McArdle at his Bandcamp page here: sjmcardle.bandcamp.com/ and more from SJ at his official site: sjmcardle.com/ [Piper photo: John Carder Bush]
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes, Audible, Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Podcast Addict or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
At a time when we’re already buzzing at Kate’s confirmation that she is working on ideas for a new album, it has been announced that Kate and her son Albert McIntosh have been nominated as art directors in two categories in next year’s 67th Grammy Awards in the USA. Her 2023 special presentation of Hounds of Love, the Baskerville Edition is nominated for Best Recording Package, while The Boxes of Lost at Sea art pieces (also editions of Hounds of Love) have been nominated for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. You can read more about these releases on our original news item here. Congratulations to Kate and Albert and team! We are sure you must be delighted by this. Winners will be announced on the day of the Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles on February 2nd 2025.
The Grammy Awards, established in 1958, are awarded annually by The Recording Academy of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry. They were originally called the Gramophone Awards, as the trophy depicts a gilded gramophone. There are a whopping 94 categories covering not just every genre of music but also for the likes of record packages, historical recordings, production, engineering, composition and arrangement. Most of these less glitzy Grammy trophies are presented in a pre-telecast “Premiere Ceremony” in the afternoon before the Grammy Awards telecast, a live show dominated by the most popular “general field” pop categories. Previously Kate was nominated three times for a Grammy; in 1988 for Best Concept Music Video (The Whole Story), in 1991 for Best Alternative Music Album (The Sensual World) and in 1996 for Best Music Film (The Line, the Cross and the Curve).
Significantly, in terms of Kate’s profile and status in the USA, these are Kate’s first Grammy nominations in nearly 30 years, with Forbes magazine musing that “clearly Recording Academy voters seem interested in recognizing her work and her talent.” This follows Kate’s biggest chart success ever in the USA in 2022 with Running Up That Hill and her induction last year into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Forbes also notes that while Kate faces tough competition in the two fields, “she should be considered a serious contender for one, if not both awards. She is one of many artists who have never won a Grammy whose legacy has grown throughout the years.”
The Baskerville Edition of Hounds of Love, adorned with artwork by Timorous Beasties, was notable for its innovation for being the first ever vinyl record to have a solar powered LED light specially developed and built for the project by Kate and her team. The circuitboard was exclusively designed for the package so it would fit into the standard thickness of the gatefold sleeve. The release was accompanied by a special Cloudbusting-themed short film written and directed by Kate. Read more about the Grammy for Best Recording Package, history and criteria, here.
Meanwhile Kate has made a donation for each sale of The Boxes of Lost at Sea artworks to War Child, a charity Kate has recently also supported with the release of her beautiful Little Shrew animation. Inside The Boxes of Lost at Sea are two vinyl records, each with a UV print on a side without grooves, on white vinyl. Kate said of them last year: “The idea was to create a hybrid of an album and a piece of artwork you could hang on the wall. They’re based on something I designed for an auction for the charity War Child” Read more about the Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, history and criteria, here.
Seán is delighted to introduce a new exclusive interview from Bush Telegraph with Stewart Avon Arnold, Kate’s longtime dance collaborator. Stewart chats with Paul and Darrell about his first experience with Kate on the Tour of Life in 1979, where he and Gary Hurst danced with Kate for many of her songs from ‘The Kick Inside’, ‘Lionheart’ and ‘Never For Ever’. Stewart’s work with Kate spanned many years and albums, right through to ‘Rubberband Girl’ on ‘The Line, the Cross and the Curve’. His reminiscences of his special collaborations with her are wonderful to listen to, and there are a new things to discover about Kate’s catalogue of visual work. We also get to hear about his work on videos such as ‘Breathing’, ‘Sat In Your Lap’ and ‘Love and Anger’.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes, Audible, Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Podcast Addict or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
Kate’s official site now has a Little Shrew T-shirt available to pre-order, featuring an image of Little Shrew on the front and the following lyrics on the back: “THE WORLD IS SO LOUD, KEEP FALLING, I’LL FIND YOU”
Also available to buy now are packs of 5 Polar Edition Christmas cards featuring the artwork from the back of The Polar Edition illustrated reissue of 50 Words for Snow and including a decorative envelope.
Seán hosts a shorter mini episode all about Kate’s beautiful and unexpected short animation, Little Shrew! Apologies for the sound quality on this one – I was away from usual set up at home. With thanks to Tristan for production support! Also includes the full interview with Kate as heard on the Today Show on BBC Radio 4.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes, Audible, Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Podcast Addict or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
Kate has this morning announced the third release in her series of illustrated reissues, following Hounds of Love (Baskerville Edition), and The Dreaming (Escapologist Edition). The 50 Words For Snow (Polar Edition) is available to pre-order now, and will be released online and in stores on the 15th November as a double album on 180g vinyl. It is once again illustrated by Timorous Beasties and designed by Fish People, with a gatefold sleeve, metallic belly band with embossed text, poly sleeve and stickers. Each record will also come with a special snowflake design Christmas card. It was printed at Pozzoli and pressed on black vinyl at Record Industry from new lacquers cut by Bernie Grundman of the 2018 remasters by Kate and James Guthrie. It is available to pre-order on Kate’s site here: https://music.katebush.com/buy/50-words-for-snow-polar-edition/ but you can also check with your local record store and ask them to pre-order it for you.
Update: Thanks to our linguist friend, Tristan, for deciphering the Inuktitut words (one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada) on the Polar Edition’s “belly band”. It reads: ᐸᐃᐱᑎ ᐅᖃᐅᓲᑦ ᐊᐳᑎᒧᑦ which is spoken as Paipiti uqausuut aputimut which approximately translates as “50 Words For Snow” – additionally Kate’s full name is transliterated into Inuktitut as ᑲᐃᑦ ᐳᔅ on the reverse side of the belly band. So now you know!
Wonderful, wonderful news this morning! Kate has given an interview to Emma Barnett on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme (listen back to it here) to announce the launch of a new short film she has written and directed to raise money for children affected by war. She also talks about her plans to make a new album. The black-and-white, four-minute animation, called Little Shrew, is set to a shorter edit of her 2011 track Snowflake and aims to raise money and awareness for the charity War Child. (be sure to read the story of Little Shrew on Kate’s official site)
Little Shrew is released on Kate’s official website today. It is free to watch, but Kate encourages viewers to support organisations helping children in conflict. Kate says: “I would like to ask that if you watch the animation, please make a donation to War Child, or to another charity that aids children in war.” War Child are accepting donations at their site here. The short film, which Kate worked with illustrator Jim Kay to create, was partly inspired by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “I started working on it a couple of years ago, it was not long after the Ukrainian war broke out, and I think it was such a shock for all of us,” Kate explained.
“It’s been such a long period of peace we’d all been living through. And I just felt I wanted to make a little animation that would feature, originally, a little girl. It was really the idea of children caught up in war. I wanted to draw attention to how horrific it is for children.
“And so I came up with this idea for a storyboard and felt that, actually, people would be more empathetic towards a creature rather than a human. So I came up with the idea of it being a little shrew.” Reflecting on the impact of conflict on children, Kate said: “I think war is horrific for everyone, particularly civilians, because they’re so vulnerable in these situations. But for a child, it’s unimaginable how frightening it must be for them.”
Kate added: “I think we’ve all been through very difficult times. These are dark times that we’re living in and I think, to a certain extent, everyone is just worn out….We went through the pandemic, that was a huge shock, and I think we felt that, once that was over, that we would be able to get on with some kind of normal life…But in fact it just seems to be going from one situation to another, and more wars seem to be breaking out all the time.” The Guardian newspaper in the UK have already given Kate’s animated film a five star review “…this devastating film will make you weep at war’s violence against children.” Also, concept artist on the Little Shrew animation, Jim Kay, writes about working with Kate over on his official site.
War Child are accepting donations at their site here
About her next album, Kate adds that she is “very keen” to start working on new music. She said there are “lots of ideas” she wants to pursue, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’m really looking forward to getting back into that creative space, it’s been a long time.” BBC report.
In 2022, with war breaking out in Ukraine, I decided I wanted to make an anti-war animation. In particular, I hoped to draw attention to the children caught up in war.
I based the storyboard around the song, Snowflake, which was sung by my son when he was a child. I think his performance is extremely moving and although I‘d originally written the song to capture his beautiful descant voice before he entered adolescence, it has taken on a haunting new meaning within the context of this animation.
I knew I wanted the featured character to be a child caught up in war, so I made a very rough, off the cuff story board.
Although I’d initially thought to make the character a human child – a little girl – I settled on the idea of a Caucasian pygmy shrew (Ukrainian shrew): a tiny, fragile little creature. I felt that people might have more empathy for a vulnerable little animal than a human…
This little shrew would take a journey on a moonlit, winter’s night through a war-torn city, initially unaware of what was going on around her in this land of the giants. She can sense that she’s being called by a kind of spiritual presence… HOPE.
She starts to search for HOPE. Sometimes hope is all there is to hang on to.
War Child are accepting donations at their site here (and be sure to read the story of Little Shrew and all the talented people involved on Kate’s official site)
The new trailer for the movie The Legend of Ochi features a TOTEM remix version of Kate’s song Hounds of Love, and it sounds fantastic! Teases of the “hounds” vocalisations start as early as 15 seconds into the clip, but later Kate’s actual vocal from the 1985 single explodes onto the trailer soundtrack along with stirring drums and orchestration. TOTEM (Patrick Buchanan and David James Rosen) were also responsible for another memorable remix of Running Up That Hill for the Stranger Things TV series in 2022 – Kate has clearly been impressed by their work.
We think we can see why Kate would have been charmed by the film, it even stars one of the kids from Stranger Things! The Legend of Ochi is an upcoming American fantasy adventure film written and directed by Isaiah Saxon in his feature film debut. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel. It is scheduled to be released by A24 on February 28, 2025. We have no idea if the track will feature on the film soundtrack itself (by composer David Longstreth), but this is a brilliant use of Kate’s iconic track to promote this charming movie. The trailer music was also composed in conjunction with composer Ursine Vulpine (aka Frederick Lloyd).
On the film company A24’s site, the story is given thus: “In a remote northern village, a young girl, Yuri, is raised to never go outside after dark and to fear the reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi. When a baby ochi is left behind by its pack, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to reunite it with its family.“
Already known for covering Running Up that Hill live back in June 2022, US singer Halsey has announced that the song “I Never Loved You” is inspired by Kate Bush. The singer also pays visual homage to Kate on social media with a photo shoot recreating the Clive Arrowsmith “blue gauze” photograph of Kate used for the cover of the January 1982 issue of Company Magazine.
The track is featured on Halsey’s upcoming new concept album, The Great Impersonator, which takes influence from many different artists and eras, thematically tied to artists who’ve influenced her. Halsey also sent a message to her subscribers upon the song’s release to detail the dark story behind it: “This song cuts deep….a woman lies ill-fated in an Emergency Room. She’s holding on with all her might, in hopes her lover will show to say goodbye. He arrives, too late and defensive. Who was driving the car that hit her?”
Prog Magazine have featured Kate on their cover many times over the last couple of decades and it’s nice to see an outtake from Jay Myrdal’s album cover shoot for The Kick Inside used here. This issue (no. 154) is on sale Friday 18th October and also features 4 postcards with images of Kate.
Prog have sent me some details of the cover feature: “This issue we explore Kate Bush’s wonderful debut album, 1978’s The Kick Inside: the album that birthed a phenomenon. Kate’s whole story is quite remarkable in itself, but with the help of people who were there at the time we look back to when it all started and how that fantastic debut came to be made. At the same time the cover story offers a rare insight into what this most remarkable of artists was really like in her early days.”
The Prog printed edition of Issue 154 will be available for purchase here from Friday 18th October. More details about Prog magazine can be found at their site. Thanks to editor Jerry Ewing for the info.
In this new episode of The Kate Bush Fan Podcast, Seán celebrates 10 years since Kate’s incredible Before The Dawn concerts by introducing audio memories sent in by fans from all over the world who were lucky enough to attend. Many thanks to all those who recorded their memories for this episode!
With thanks to Omnibus Press, one lucky voicemailer will receive a copy of the new edition of Graeme Thomson‘s excellent biography of Kate, Under The Ivy. Read more about the book here.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes, Audible, Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Podcast Addict or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
In this new episode of The Kate Bush Fan Podcast, Seán discusses the latest Kate Bush news and Paul and Darrell talk all things related to Kate’s videos. They reminisce about the first time they saw these videos, glued to their TV sets, hoping that she would appear. What were their first impressions and what set Kate apart from other artists promoting their music at that time? They still stand the test of time today. Let’s delve in to the years of 1978 and 1979 to start off this series.
SEND US YOUR BEFORE THE DAWN MEMORIES!
We’ll be putting together an episode in conjunction with Omnibus Press next week featuring your memories of the unprecedented Before The Dawn shows. The shows are astutely covered in the new updated version of Graeme Thomson‘s biography Under The Ivy and the publisher, Omnibus Press, are also seeking your Before The Dawn recollections on their site. We will also be announcing details of a competition this week to win a copy of the book!
Incredibly, it is now 10 years since Kate’s first performance on August 26th 2014. For a very limited time this week you can record a short (best keep it short for inclusion!) audio voicemail message here, of your special moments or memories of the shows. We will include what we can in the finished episode next week!
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes, Audible, Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Podcast Addict or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
Wishing Kate a very happy 66th birthday today! Hope you have a wonderful day, Kate. Xxx
UPDATE AUGUST 15TH: Kate has thanked fans on her official site for their birthday wishes:
Thanks for the Birthday wishes
Hope you’re all enjoying the summer although it seemed rather reluctant to arrive. I really loved all that rain!
Thank you so much to everyone who sent through birthday wishes. They’re very much appreciated.
It’s really lovely to know that you’re out there with your positive messages amongst all the negativity in the world right now.I also want to say a big thank you to Shepherd’s Bush railway station.
Some friends sent me the notice board above.
It’s such a lovely gesture and I’m very touched.Best wishes,
Kate