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A Happy Kate Gives Her First Full Interview Since 1994!


Kate - Photo by Anthony Crickmay - London, November 16th 2001

“If I’m really honest what I find so exciting is that people want to listen to my music when I’m not thrust in their faces. In this fast-moving world, people do forget, but they’re incredibly patient with me” (Kate Bush, London, Nov ’01)

Kate fans in the London area have been the first to get their hands on the new Q Magazine and Kate interview. Kate is pictured looking very happy and relaxed and speaks of how life’s been treating her since The Red Shoes album, her break from making music and her obvious happiness now with Bertie and his dad, guitarist Danny McIntosh. Kate admits that she found the immediate aftermath of The Red Shoes difficult.

“I needed to stop working because there were a lot of things I wanted to look at in my life. I was exhausted on every level. There was part of me that didn’t want to work. I’d got to a point where it was something I didn’t feel good about. It was as if I was testing myself to see if I could write, but I didn’t like what I was writing. I thought, No, if you don’t want to do it, it will be rubbish. Basically, the batteries were completely run out and I needed to restimulate again.”

The writer of the article sums up Kate’s story of the last few years: ‘Eventually, Bush tentatively set about writing her eighth album.  Then she found herself pregnant.  The father was Danny McIntosh, responsible for most of the guitars on The Red Shoes, although in the late 70s he was a member of hard rockers Bandit …three years ago, Kate poses at awardsBush gave birth to Albert, destined to go through life as Bertie…little Bertie has his father’s hair (auburn), his mother’s eyes and the broadest grin you ever did see. Bush’s guard comes tumbling down.

“Although I hadn’t always wanted children, I had for a long time. People say that magic doesn’t exist but I look at him, think I gave birth to him and I know that magic does exist.”‘

Kate - photo by Anthony Crickmay“I am really happy. I feel I’ve got the balance right where Bertie comes first and then the album. Some people say the best work comes from suffering: I don’t agree with this. Hounds Of Love is one of my best albums and I was very happy then. I’m very happy with Danny. I feel very lucky and that I’ve achieved a lot of the things I was looking for after the last album.”

And what’s it like (the new album)?

“I’m not sure, because I don’t get to listen to it. You see, with my other albums I used to listen to stuff such a lot. It’s very different now because with Bertie I don’t have the time. I’m quite pleased with it, though. There’s quite a lot of it done, but I can’t really talk about something that’s not finished, it’s like talking about an event that hasn’t happened.”

Worth pointing out, and perhaps it’s not illustrated fully by the quotes selected in the news piece below (Dec 5th), but Kate makes it very clear that she perceived a distinct sense ofdisappointment from people with the way The Red Shoes album, and particularly the accompanying film, The Line, The Cross & The Curve, were received. Kate says in relation to the 1993 film:

“I shouldn’t have done it, I was so tired. I’m very pleased with four minutes of it, but I’m very disappointed with the rest. I let down people like Miranda Richardson who worked so hard on it. I had the opportunity to do something really interesting and blew it. Also I was viewed in quite a negative light at that point, more so than after The Dreaming where I was viewed as some kind of nutter. It dissipated my energy severely and threw me into a state of severe exhaustion. You just get worn down…I slept, I spent a lot of time sleeping, enjoying bad televison.”

The article is entitled “The Big Sleep”, and the writer John Aizlewood found Kate in “robust” health, and tells Kate “all people care about is whether you’re happy”. Kate has obviously been through a rough time, and has come out of it the other side re-energised. As for when the new album may be released, Kate has to admit that she can’t give a definite date: “It’s hard to say when because it’s a matter of how much time I get to work on what’s left to do, so I couldn’t actually measure it in time.”

[This edition of Q also features an excellent cover CD, featuring “the best music of 2001”, with REM, Ed Harcourt, Starsailor, Air, Daft Punk, The Strokes etc…as if you needed any more reason to buy it…Q magazine – music fans, and especially Kate fans salute you! (Huge thanks to Dam Bryce, additional thanks to Reza Sayeed)]

Kate at No.3 in Q Magazine’s Women In Rock Poll

As if recent events weren’t enough to confirm Kate’s status and influence in the world of music, she has made the number three spot in Q Magazine’s Women In Rock Poll, which will be published, along with a new interview with Kate, in next Friday’s January 2002 edition of the music publication. PJ Harvey has topped the poll, with Madonna beating Kate to the second position. 200,000 readers (!) are said to have voted in the poll. Tori Amos and Bjork were in fourth and fifth places respectively. Reuters report that: “Harvey beat off competition from classic artists including Janis Joplin (10th), Stevie Nicks (9th) and Aretha Franklin (11th). Big-selling pop idols who failed to make the top 20 included Britney Spears at 24th, Mariah Carey (46th) and Whitney Houston (71st).” (thanks to Boolbar, Brian and Stewart)

More From This Month’s Q Magazine

Kate with John Lydon

As far as Q Magazine were concerned, the magic moment of the awards came when Kate persuaded John Lydon to sit down and have their picture taken. They write: “Who’d have thought it? Kate Bush out of hiding and JohnKate & John Lydon Lydon proving vaguely approachable!”. John Lydon is asked “You’re obviously quite a fan of Kate Bush?”, to which he replied: “Kate Bush is a true original. It’s not nice that she’s been imitated – Torrid Aimless, sorry, Tori Amos. But Kate Bush is a genuine talent. She went through the same shit I did when she started, “Oh that’s not singing”. Who the f*&k wrote the rules about music?.”

Nigel Godrich, winner of Best Producer for Travis and Radiohead said that the best thing for him so far in 2001 was meeting Kate: “I’m in awe of her. Her records fundamentally enforced what I am as a person. When you listen to stuff as a teenager, you identify with elements in the music. There’s a real hidden wisdom there. It’s beautifully written. If she needs anyone to mix her new album, I’m after the job….I’m going home to listen to Kate.”

Kate chats to DonovanElsewhere Midge Ure wistfully recalled his first encounter with Kate: “It was in the late ’70s and I was in The Rich Kids and we were appearing on a TV show together. I was desperately trying to get off with her and get a lift back in her limo.” QTV (the magazine’s digital televison channel) reports that Midge introduced Fran Healy, Travis lead singer, to Kate, but that he was so in awe of her that he was lost for words! The magazine also pictures Kate chatting to Donovan (Kate recorded his “Lord Of The Reedy River” as the b-side to Sat In Your Lap in 1981).

Mini Interview From The Current Q Magazine

Kate with her awardNovember 11th: As we await the new interview with Kate in next month’s Q here is the transcript of the mini-interview with Kate from the Q Awards on Monday 29th October (from the current edition – see Nov 9th news):

Kate makes her speechWhere are you from and what are you on? I’ve just come from the stage where I’ve picked up my Q Award. I’m not eating anything because I’m too excited. I’ve been drinking water. Bottled, still water of course. What was the best thing about 2001? Giving up smoking, but I’m not a fanatical anti-smoker. What was the last thing you won? An inflatable hammer a few months ago at a fair. Actually, it wasn’t me who won it–it was my son Bertie. I can’t tell you where the fair was because I don’t really want to.Who is the best act in the world today? My son Bertie when he’s doing his Elvis impression. Presley or Costello? Er, Presley. I think. What’s the last record you bought? The Bob the Builder one. Not the Mambo thing, the one before that whatever it is called. Was it for me? Of course it wasn’t. I don’t really keep up with things like that. What’s next? Well, right now a few of us are going for a little drink somewhere. No, I can’t tell you where. More generally, I have to finish off my new album.

Q Magazine announce interview with Kate next month

Q Magazine - December '01 issueThe January edition of Q magazine (published December 7th) will feature “an exclusive, revealing new interview” with Kate. Meanwhile, the current issue of Q has just been published with articles about the awards and some photos of Kate arm in arm with Johnny Rotten. The AwardThe magazine’s website says that this current issue features “pictures, anecdotes and, of course, the results of this year’s bash. See John Lydon share a sofa with Kate Bush…” (thanks to Michael Leitz). Whether next month’s interview is a strong indication of more new album stirrings or purely a reflection on the award the magazine has given to Kate, we have yet to see. It seemingly coincides with the delayed Women In Rock poll results, so it may mean that Kate has done well in that vote…in any case it’s an event in itself, the first published interview with Kate since 1994!

More Pictures of Kate from the Q Awards

Huge thanks to John Harper for supplying these!

Kate At the Q Awards – Latest Updates!

Seán Writes: I’ve had a tonne of very complimentary emails and guestbook messages since Monday’s event, it’s been great to hear how useful you’ve all been finding the site, even when there was no news of Kate much to speak of. Thanks for that, the site is a pleasure to continue doing, in fact sometimes I log onto it myself to see what’s happening, before remembering I have to get the next lot of updates up first! I’m just writing this note to mention the fact that Peter & Krys at HomeGround are hard at work putting together the next edition of the magazine. HomeGround is the number one source of inspiration for this site, and no doubt the best coverage of all Kate Bush happenings will always be contained within its pages. So do make sure your subscription is up-to-date, HomeGround will always be a most essential part of any fans collection. Remember, they’ve been doing this since before The Dreaming came out in 1982! Amazing. Very proud to call them my friends, warm wishes to you both guys! Okay, back to the newsy stuff…Seán 🙂

Update: The sponsors of the event, Orange, now has the clip of Kate receiving the award at their site hereQ Magazine‘s website also have a Quicktime clip here. Kate thanks her family, Del, Lisa and EMI among others. Before reading her speech she said “I know it’s a bit naff but here it goes..!”

Daily Express

Everyone’s talking about Kate today it seems. Midge Ure presented Kate with her award yesterday afternoon, and he made an appearance today on ITVs ‘This Morning’ TV show. Questioned about yesterday’s ceremony he replied, “I gave Kate Bush the Q Award – the Classic Songwriter. It was lovely – the place just stood up for her and just hailed her as a genius that she is. It was fabulous.”

Kate’s appearance at the show certainly caught fans by surprise, and there has also been quite a splash made across the media as a result of the award. In today’s UK newspaper The Daily Express, there is a half page feature (above) under the headline: “Blast From Past As Kate Bush Says: I’ll Be Back” It goes on to write: “Reclusive Star Gets Top Award And Makes Promise To Fans”. The paper quotes Kate as saying: “I know that it seems like a long time but I really have been working on making a new album. If it seems like it’s taking a while it’s because I’m really enjoying spending time with my son. He’s the most important thing in the world to me. Getting this award has been amazing and I thank everyone who voted for me. My albums have always taken me a long time to record but I hope this one will be ready next year”.

Q Magazine’s own website has ran a story: “Kate Bush To Return – New LP on the way”. It says that she also thanked Dave Gilmour and Elton John for their help and guidance through her career, adding a special thanks to her father for “putting up with me banging on all those years ago”.

In the US, Billboard Onlinealso lead with news of Kate’s award: “The uniquely British Kate Bush received a rapturous welcome today (Oct. 29) at the 12th annual Q awards in London, honored in the category of classic songwriter by readers of the U.K. music magazine. Clearly wowed by the warmth of the reception from musicians and industry professionals alike at the event, the notoriously slow-working Bush admitted, “I am actually making an album, [but] it’s just taking longer than I thought.”

Reuters news agency reports: “Kate Bush won the Q Classic songwriter award to mark nearly 25 years in the charts with singles such as “Wuthering Heights” and “Running up that Hill”. Channel 4’s Teletext service “PS News” quotes John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) at the ceremony: “I want to say hello to Kate Bush, who is brilliant!”. The service also mentioned Kate’s award under the headline “Kate Plans New Album”. A “well-behaved” Liam Gallagher was apparently among the first to rise to his feet to applaud Kate, according to DotMusic.

The Sun newspaper also run a picture of Kate today and mention the “huge cheers” she received from the audience. Also, from The Independent newspaper: “[…] But while the attendant stars, including New Order, Super Furry Animals, Coldplay, Feeder and Liam Howlett from The Prodigy, refused to be roused by Lydon’s lone antics, the room rose united to give a standing ovation to Kate Bush, who won this year’s Classic Songwriter award – and whom even Lydon graced with complimentary words.” (thanks to Michael Leitz). Highlights of the awards will be shown at 10.15pm Saturday November 3rd on UK Channel 5.

Kate Wins Q Songwriting Award (and mentions new album)!

Kate receives her award

I’m delighted to tell you all that Kate has won the Best Classic Songwriter award at the 12th Annual Q Magazine awards. Kate was there to receive her award! The ceremony took place at the Park Lane hotel in London today. The BBC website reports: “The awards, which are well respected within the music industry, also singled out veteran singer Kate Bush for a special classic songwriter award. After receiving a standing ovation she said:

“This is just great, I am making an album but it is just taking a little longer than I thought and I have been having a great time with my son.”

Congratulations Kate!

Kate at Q awardsThe sponsors of the event, Orange, held a live webcast of the ceremony, but highlights are promised at their site here. Other winners at the star-studded event included Radiohead, Starsailor, Ash, Travis and Elvis Costello. Visit the Q magazine website, which promises more updates on the awards over the next week. (Special thanks to Jane, who rang me from Scotland to tell me that “Kate looked so beautiful!!” after she saw the news.)

Newsbits…

Newsbits: This Woman’s Work was featured on the second episode of Alias, a new show by the creator of “Felicity” that airs on Sunday Nights on ABC in the US. The show is about a young woman who just happens to be a secret double agent for the CIA and its enemy organization SD-6. Creator J.J. Abrahms is clearly a fan, This Woman’s Work appears on the Felicity soundtrack….Kate fan Ingo Pohl has taken part in the German quiz show Risiko (see August 8th news). We are happy to report that Ingo won the quiz, his chosen topic being Kate of course, taking home 13,000 DM for his troubles….Bart writes: Guitar One and Rockrgrl magazines have released a special ‘Women Who Rock’ issue, to celebrate the contributions of 100 of the most essential female musicians in pop. Kate is of course mentioned, starting with this quote from Kate:

“Keep laughing and you stand a chance of getting through it alive. I’ll always be tough on myself. But I find strength in being alone, fighting a battle and emerging satisfied that I’ve done my best. Perhaps that’s what is strange about me. It’s music that says it; it says it eloquently enough.” The article continues:”The immensely talented and innovative Kate Bush has enjoyed succes commensurate with her abilities. Discovered while still in school by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Bush has since developed a reputation as a true musical original, creating and executing ever more sophisticated work. Her early discs like 1980’s Never For Ever, were lauded for their style, but her later works – ‘Running Up That Hill’ and ‘Cloudbusting’ – were stunning in scope, mind-boggling triumphs of vision and craftsmanship. Today, though the 43-year-old records sporadically, she is still recognized as one of the most uniquely accomplished artists of her era.”

….also, Kate gets mentioned in the new issue of the Dutch magazine OOR in a special issue on “30 years of pop music according to OOR” on the 1978 pages, and there is also a small piece on the 1982 pages….Hideaki Nishihara writes from Japan:”I have a video tape of Japanese TV programme “Tribute To The Great Song“. A Japanese female singer Mimori Yusa covered Kate’s Wuthering Heights, L’Amour Looks Something Like You & Army Dreamers on the 2nd October. Mimori Yusa is a famous singer in Japan and an ardent Kate Bush fan ever since she listened to Wuthering Heights. She explained that Kate has had a strong influence on her life and music”….

The Kick Inside reviewed once more

US cover of The Kick InsideThe Kick Inside has just been reviewed! Well, it’s actually a re-listen by a writer to an old favourite in the online US arts review Deep Magazine. “When I was thirteen, The Kick Inside sounded so sophisticated. It was an album filled with dramatic and dreamy songs about love set in Berlin bars and casinos and candlelit dinners and the dark brooding passion of that classic misanthrope Heathcliff, all mixed up with the philosophies of Gurdjieff and a Gnostic Jesus and Sufi dervishes and Om Mani Pad Me Hum and a hippie-dippy new age vibe that somehow didn’t offend me at all…the other day I pulled it out and listened to The Kick Inside for the first time in years. Within seconds I was slack-jawed and on the verge of tears. I was back in my youth, back in my moments of longing for something more, something pure, and something innocent.” Read the full review (which will instantly make you put your copy of the album back on rotation) here

Japanese visitors will want to know that Sozo in Japan has updated his Japanese version of this news page (thanks Sozo, find the site here).

Newsbits

Celebrities can’t seem to stop talking about Kate these days; Tori Amos is questioned by readers of the latest Attitude magazine and Brian Chambers of Brixton asked, “How many Kate Bush records do you own?” to which Tori replied, “Well I owned two, which are of course Hounds Of Love and the one after, The Sensual World. I really love those two. Someone gave me The Red Shoes, but then someone stole it …” (thanks to Boolbar) and on the 4th September, the UK Channel 4 show “The Big Breakfast” interviewed film star Nicole Kidman. She discussed her role in the film musical “Moulin Rouge” and said that she had insisted on singing all her songs herself. When asked what singers she liked she replied “Ella and Kate Bush”. (thanks to John Lang).

Q magazine’s music TV channel, where you can call up and request videos, are featuring ‘Hounds of Love’ this month…Tracy Story writes that “I have posted the new interview with Kevin McAlea in the photo section of my Yahoo Clubs site” If you’ve been keeping up with Tracy’s site you’ll know that he’s interviewed Charlie Morgan and Simon Drake. Kevin McAlea’s work with Kate over the years will be well known to Kate fans, read more about Tracy’s club in June 27th news or click here to visit the site…James Lagner tells us: “I recently authored a web site, an online version of the book “Cathy” by John Carder Bush, I think fans who have not seen this sweet tribute from a brother to his sister, might enjoy viewing it” (find it here)…in the US the CBS network is using This Woman’s Work in the commercial for the new fall episode of “Jag” (thanks to Chris)…Marinuz writes: “I just finished reading a book called ‘Juno & Juliet’. It’s about an 18 year old identical twin. Juliet, one of the two sisters, who listens to Kate Bush music. She has a tape of ‘Hounds of Love’ Juliet got to know about Kate’s music through her brother Paul. In the book a few characters go see the play of ‘Wuthering Heights’. Sounds like the Irish writer, Julian Gough, must be a Kate Bush fan himself.”

100 Greatest Women In Music

Q Magazine coverQ Magazine has announced that it is releasing a special issue on the 100 Greatest Women In Music. Readers are asked to submit their Top 5 nominations and state why you think your choices stand out above the rest of the competition. The voting details are listed in the June (Travis cover) edition of Q. The email address to send your votes to is: q@emap.com Entries must be received by mid-June…elsewhere in this issue Q also reviewed the new REM album ‘Reveal’ and describe one track thus: “Without a doubt, Saturn Return will be a highlight for most people. It’s in the musical neighbourhood of Nightswimming and Perfect Circle, but the haunting piano line may also remind you of early Kate Bush.” (5 stars for the album). They go on to review singer/songwriter Carina Round (album “The First Blood Mystery”) as “…like a darker, more sinuous Kate Bush…” (thanks to Ben Bishop & Boolbar)

Salon article

The major (and award winning) online Salon magazine has a new feature on Kate in their “People” section. Read the article here. (thanks to Tom Dunning)

The 100 Best Record Covers of All Time

Q cover bookDavid Sheasby sends in his report on Kate’s inclusion in the new book from Q magazine: “I’ve just been to my local newsagent and found a special limited-edition ‘Collectors Special’ glossy paperback by ‘Q‘ magazine called Never For Ever album art“The 100 Best Record Covers of All Time”, which features Never for Ever on pages 110-111. The article includes a photograph of the Never For Ever front cover, some extracted artwork (black bat, butterfly on bleeding rose…) and a summary of the various scary creatures issuing from Kate as she stands on the hill.

Nick Price, the artist, is quoted as saying, “She gave me a specific brief. Light and dark creatures coming out from under her skirt. I think the meaning is unequivocal, but I did ask her at the time. She just gave a big grin.” Elsewhere Kate has commented on the mixture of optimism (as personified by her white swan appearance on the record label) and despair (represented by the Kate as black bat) which is part of music and the creative process. On a different level entirely, it was therefore amusing to read of her dilemma when choosing a name for the album, after the artwork had been completed: “We had to be careful,” she says. “My skirt was blowing about but there couldn’t be anything about wind in the title or that would make the album one big fart.” (big thanks to David, also thanks to Orla Murphy)

Happy New Year! Newsbits round-up…

20th Century Rock & Roll: Women In RockHappy New Year! Thought I’d kick off what should be an interesting year for Kate fans with some newsbits:…as well as The Whole Story being released Simply Vinyl are also reissuing their 180g deluxe vinyl pressing of  Hounds Of Love, read more here…Dale Sherman let me know that he has written a new book entitled 20th Century Rock & Roll: Women In Rock (ISBN 1-896522-29-7), the book, out on the 10th January, features a well-researched essay on Kate’s career among over 90 other entries…Michael Leitz has unearthed a previously unknown version of James And The Cold Gun by a Japanese band called Pageant. Apparently, it’s an old track from the 80’s, but the album it’s on has been re-released, read more here (Gaffaweb is a great resource for looking up versions of Kate’s songs by other artists)…

DVD Express are still listing an unconfirmed imminent release of The Line, The Cross & The Curve on the format…VH1 (UK) will be screening the little-seen video of  The Man I Love (Kate & Larry Adler) on Sunday 28th Jan @ 17.00 GMT…Danny Diess got a great reaction to his performance of Get Out Of My House (see below and current HomeGround), Danny is seeking sponsorship to help him to put on his 75 minute show “The Song Of Solomon” based around 13 of Kate’s songs, using costume, dance and mime and very simple sets, email him here…(newsbit thanks to Michael Leitz, Danny Diess, Dale Sherman, Collin Kelley and John Harper)

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