Category: Books & Magazines Page 2 of 6

A treasure trove of amazing images surfaced for the first time over the last couple of years – the work of photographer Max Browne, who had the privilege of documenting the final three nights of Kate’s run of shows at the Hammersmith Odeon, 12th-14th May 1979, to round out her legendary Lionheart tour. Of course, she famously never performed a full show of her own again till she returned to that very same stage 35 years later in 2014.

In what he calls “a lockdown self-published special”, Max has now produced a large format hardback landscape book with dust jacket, sized 13×11″, with all proceeds beyond the cost of this edition to be donated to charities supporting the “endangered animals of our world disadvantaged by Man.” The book is titled “Three Nights in Hammersmith“. The book images, consistently stunning, are presented in performance order, as Kate sang each song. Renowned photographer Jill Furmanovsky has contributed the foreword. The book can be ordered here.

From the press release: Industry comments on the photographs:
‘ . . a new book which will showcase his incredible photographs.’ (KateBushNews)
‘ . . a revelation to many:’ (Record Collector magazine)
‘ . . the best live shots of her . .’ (Jill Furmanovsky, RockArchive)
‘This is a treasure trove!’ (Guido Harari, Wall of Sound)
‘Nice stuff Max . .’ (Del Palmer)

From the site: “This book is a photographic presentation of the last three concerts of a tour that is now regarded as one of the greatest in Rock Music history. The 250 photographs by Max Browne included here illustrate why, song by song, as Kate Bush sings, dances and role-plays her way into legend at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, in 1979.”

“Three Nights in Hammersmith” is available to order now at this site. Author website: http://www.rockshots.co

The May 2021 edition of Mojo Magazine features Kate on the cover and includes an article and unpublished archive interview. From the press release: “The genius of Kate Bush is explored from fresh angles: an unpublished interview, revelations from key collaborators, and the 40th birthday of Sat In Your Lap – the song that changed everything. In MOJO’s Kate Kompendium, the artist casts light on her creative urges in an unpublished interview. Plus: surprising new takes on Hounds Of Love, the Tour Of Life and a poignant window on her wilderness years.”

The editor tells me that “the main story is a long interview done in 1989 that was partially published in the Netherlands at the time. It’s around The Sensual World, but goes a fair bit deeper than most of the other interviews I have read from around that time. There are a bunch of other pieces, which include a very specific one about the making of Sat In Your Lap for its anniversary (new interviews with Hugh Padgham, Nick Launay, Geoff Downes). A good one about her videos, which talks to her collaborators and directors. A piece that touches on “druid philosophy” by Youth. Something about her in 2001. A bit more about the first tour. Lots to enjoy, hopefully.”

Pre-orders being sent out from 16th March 2021 from the Mojo site here. Appropriately enough, the cover photo is from her 1981 Company magazine feature shoot with photographer Clive Arrowsmith. You can read more about that session at his site here.

Update: Meanwhile, Mojo Magazine subscribers have been receiving a unique, enhanced design version of the latest issue which features a Kate Bush cover (below right), without all the usual text that appears on the regular edition (below left).

Rather unexpectedly, no less than three Kate Bush books have already come along in rapid succession from smaller UK publishers in 2021. Hot on the heels of the “Kate Bush On Track: Every Album, Every Song” book by Bill Thomas (see news item and brief review here) there are two more slim paperback titles being released in March about Kate’s work.

First up is “The Kick Inside: In-depth” by Laura Shenton (Wymer Publishing). The press release states that “The Kick Inside is one of our first four titles in our In-depth series launched in March 2021. The book takes an in-depth look at the album; the history behind it; the story about its creation; the songs, as well as detailed discographies listing release variations around the world….author Laura Shenton MA LLCM DipRSL offers an in-depth perspective on The Kick Inside from a range of angles including how the album came to be, how it was presented and received at the time (live as well as on record), and what it means in terms of Kate Bush’s legacy today.“

The publishers were kind enough to send me on a review copy and the author sets out her approach in the preface – that no weighty personal opinions or analysis will be included from her, rather that “throughout this book you’re going to see lots of quotes from vintage articles.” And this 112 page book is indeed a rich smorgasbord of quotes; from interviews, articles, KBC fan club magazines, TV appearances and promotional materials – a resource writers and researchers now enjoy thanks to the vast archives of fan-curated info on the likes of Gaffaweb and the Kate Bush Encyclopedia site. All quotes are cited up front right there in the text.

In fact, the author relies so much on the quotes to do the heavy-lifting of narrating the story of Kate’s first album that perhaps she assumed they cover the whole album “in-depth”. This approach falls short of that; the songs L’Amour Looks Something Like You, Feel it and Room For The Life aren’t even discussed, which is a pity. There is a lot to be said for the tried and trusted track-by-track approach most other books take when considering albums. On the plus side, while I originally wondered why so much space was given to discussing Lionheart and that album’s singles, it actually feels very appropriate in the light of the later pages covering the Tour of Life – a big part in the story of The Kick Inside, after all. I only noticed a couple of factual errors in the text (not every song from The Kick Inside was performed in the 1979 shows – Oh To Be In Love wasn’t) and the 8-page photo section includes some nice photos of the various album cover and single cover variations from 1978/79. The book is published 12th March 2021 (priced at £14.99) and can be ordered direct from the publishers at the Wymer Publishing site here or on Amazon Kindle edition here.

The second book, “Kate Bush: Song by Song” by John Van Der Kiste, is one I have yet to see a copy of myself, but has already been delivered to some fans via Ebay and other sites. This is a 164 page paperback, that seems remarkably similar in structure and approach to the recent Bill Thomas book in that it “provides a thorough examination of the songs on all her singles, albums, and occasional recorded collaborations with other artists.” I’ll update this article with my thoughts about the book when I’ve seen a copy, but this again features a spread of 50 colour photographs and unlike the Thomas and Shenton books appears to include article citations in the endnotes section for those wanting to read further. Kate Bush: Song by Song by John Van Der Kiste (priced at £18.00) can be ordered from the publisher, Fonthill Media here or on Amazon UK here. As an Amazon Associate this site earns revenue to support running costs from qualifying purchases.

Next month Sonicbond Publishing in the UK publish the latest in their series of “On Track” books, this time about Kate’s recorded work, written by Bill Thomas. It gets a UK release on February 12th and is released in the US on March 26th. A handy paperback guide for the casual music listener as much as for Kate’s fans, the book is freed from the demands of a full-blown biography of the artist. From the press release: “With a string of platinum albums and hit singles to her credit, Kate’s is a fascinating journey. This book examines her entire recorded catalogue from The Kick Inside through to Before The Dawn, hoovering up all the B‐sides and the rarities along the way. It’s a comprehensive guide to the extraordinary music of Kate Bush.” The book can be ordered here.

I’ve read a preview copy and the author has clearly researched his short pieces on each album/song very well, making this book bang up to date for 2021 readers. He generously uses quotes from Kate’s interviews over the years to allow her to speak about the work but his own observations and commentary are considered and warmly engaged with Kate’s music – he writes as a clear fan of her work. He includes a wealth of information about chart positions and single formats as well as discussing b-sides and other tracks related to each album era. Factual errors are almost non-existent (always nice to see) and this slim 128 page volume additionally includes 16 colour photo pages in the centre. Selling for £14.99, overall this is a nice addition to your Kate Bush book shelf.

We were very sad to hear that Q Magazine, a famous icon of the British music press since 1986, is to cease publication with its next issue as a result of being hit badly by the current pandemic and dwindling print sales. Kate has been featured in the magazine and on its cover many times, and in 2001 we had the great excitement of Kate emerging to accept their Classic Songwriter award. Who can forget that speech! Q gave Kate mostly very strong reviews throughout her career and only this month had Kate included in an illustrated cover montage. Thinking of all the staff at Q Magazine – thanks for all these years of writing about the music that we love. https://www.qthemusic.com/

A newly updated and revised edition of Uncut Magazine’s Ultimate Music Guide to Kate Bush is now available in the UK and Ireland to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of “Wuthering Heights”, which takes place in January 2018. It now contains a section on Kate’s Before the Dawn live album set and some other additions. You can read about the 2015 version of this publication here or order the revised version from their site here.

It’s fair to say fans are getting quite excited about this upcoming book from Guido Harari, The Kate Inside, if the comments on the project’s Facebook page are anything to go by. First up for this project is the end-of-January deadline for the pre-order 25% discount on both the Deluxe and regular versions of the book. Fans who go for the deluxe option (Guido has arranged a 3 month instalment plan) will receive a significantly different, expanded edition of the book, extra print/polaroids, signed by Guido and Lindsay Kemp, presented in a solander slipcase. All early donors to the crowdfunding phase will have their names acknowledged in the book itself. Information on how to get the discount for either version is here. Watch the project’s promo video here.

Highlights of the book include official press photos for Hounds Of Love, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes, including a completely never-before-seen reportage on the set of Kate’s film The Line, The Cross & The Curve. Right now, Guido is busy selecting the final shots for the book, choosing the format, materials and covers for both versions of the book and restoring negatives from 2-3 decades ago. Best of luck, Guido! [order info here]

The current edition of the bi-monthly magazine, Classic Pop, features Trevor Leighton’s beautiful new portrait of Kate on the cover along with the tagline: “Kate Bush – The making of a genius.” As well as exploring Kate’s early career and the 1979 tour in detail, the feature also recommends 10 “Essential Works” and offers a “Where are they now?” summary for all of the 1979 tour personnel.

Classic Pop say: “For this issue of Classic Pop we chat with the cast of musicians and producers that helped to steer our cover star Kate Bush on the way from teenage prodigy to global success!”

It features new interviews with people who have worked with Kate. Glenys Groves, (one of Kate’s Tour of Life backing singers) says “It was a very happy tour…the fun mood was down in no little part to Kate – she was great to be around.” Kevin Burke, (childhood friend of Paddy’s who played violin on the track Violin from Never For Ever), producer Andrew Powell, guitarists David Paton and Ian Bairnson, video director (The Dreaming/There Goes a Tenner) Paul Henry, drummer Stuart Elliott, and Fairlight programmer JJ Jeczalik are all interviewed about Kate’s early career years. All in all a very nice article!

Read more at the magazine’s site here.