Kate’s Wuthering Heights has been shortlisted in the 1970s section for ITVs “The Nation’s Favourite Number One Single”:
“2012 sees the 60th anniversary of the first ever UK singles chart. That’s 60 years of 
songs that have defined our lives, reflecting the rich history of a nation. And we’re searching for The Nation’s Favourite Number One Single. In three primetime shows on ITV1, we’ll tell the stories of 60 unforgettable Number One singles. We’ll also talk to chart-topping artists to find out their favourite Number Ones across the generations – and find out from the hit makers what makes a great single. Plus we’ll reveal the results of an ITV viewers’ vote to determine which song can truly be called our greatest number one ever…”
Kate’s nomination for 1978 appears on the the 1970s shortlist page:
“Kate Bush’s record company didn’t want to release this take on Emily Bronte’s gothic novel as her debut single – but Kate, who had written the song when she was just eighteen, dug her heels in. In so doing, ‘Wuthering Heights’ made her the first female to get to number one with her own composition.”
You can add your vote here.
Rod
It is surprisingly difficult filling in 10 choices. I did go for Wuthering Heights as my number 1, but I do remember the group of us watching TOTPs together in a friend’s house (as we did then) the first time it was on the show, and it launched a massive debate about what we’d just seen. Funnily enough, my daughter had a similar reaction the first time she watched the Wuthering Heights video on Youtube not so very long ago; it is still that powerful and different.
It kind of shocked me that I’ve avoided at least two well-loved songs that might have been shoe-ins on the grounds that they feel a little like cliches now, but Maggie May and Hey Jude and Whiter Shade of Pale still stand up and they were easy additions. Gangster’s Paradise had to go in but I struggled to find any good reason for anything newer. Might be my age, of course.
Hopefully nobody with just put Wuthering Heights in every choice because that will probably void the effort. Being honest with the choices is rewarding and its also an excuse to run through some nice tunes.