In this very special episode, Seán chats with Kate’s eldest brother, the poet, writer and photographer, John Carder Bush at his home in South East London. A dream come true! In this first part, we talk about John’s early life, how he developed his writing, his days playing in folk bands in London (with a young Kate taking notes), forming the Salatticum Poets with his great friends Tony Buzan and Jeremy Cartland, the story behind “Nicholas Wade” and so much more! Part two coming next week.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
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In this detailed new episode of The Kate Bush Fan Podcast Seán packs an hour looking back over all the amazing landmark events of Summer 2022 when Kate’s song Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) was featured on Stranger Things and became her biggest ever global smash hit – all the summer chart news, the reaction from Kate, the media and the fans! A souvenir of an extraordinary few months.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
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The First Time Kate Was Running Up That Hill! In this new episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast, friends for over 50 years, Darrell (in the US), and Paul (in the UK), known as the Bush Telegraph, try and wrap their heads around the resurgence of Kate’s 1985 ‘Running Up That Hill’, and the global phenomenon it has become because of the new season of ‘Stranger Things’. Fans from the beginning, they often take us down memory lane. This time they open up the ‘time capsule’ of the release of ‘Running Up That Hill’ the first time it was unleashed to the world when they were teenagers themselves. What is their reaction to it getting to No. 1 in many countries throughout the world today?
We also get to hear how Darrell met Kate a week before it came out, and the extraordinary experience of being gifted the single before it was in the record shops! Also, how did Paul and Darrell meet her a week later? Let’s sit back and enjoy as we go back in time to 1985…
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
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For the 50th episode of The Kate Bush Fan Podcast, Seán has produced a HUGE special to celebrate Kate’s unprecedented global chart success with Running Up That Hill! Seán chats to fans all around the world about what this momentous time for Kate Bush fans means to them in this extraordinary moment. Thanks to everyone who took part. Don’t miss this one! It includes an excerpt from today’s wonderful BBC Radio 4 chat with Kate herself.
The beautiful image of Hello Earth above is taken from the book Finding Kate which we highly recommend – you can order it here.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or Spotify or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
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As Kate Bush continues to storm the charts across the world with Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), Seán chats to performer Danimay Palmer about the global, sudden success Kate is enjoying right now. Danimay has gained a following recreating Kate’s looks and performances on social media – and this is a chance to check in with someone who represents the younger generation of fans Kate is gathering worldwide! A great chat between two very excited Kate Bush fans.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
As I write this on Tuesday morning it has been a mere four days since the fourth season of the Netflix show Stranger Things landed but the impact of the inclusion of Kate’s song Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) as an integral part of the plot has had a phenomenal effect. Kate is currently number 3 in the world on iTunes, a new entry and climbing at number 13 on the global Spotify charts, and number 1 on both the UK and USA iTunes charts. It has outperformed other songs on the US iTunes store including Lizzo’s viral track “About Damn Time,” Harry Styles’ ubiquitous anthem “As It Was” and Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand,” which is from the soundtrack of the new hit film Top Gun: Maverick. Her albums Hounds of Love and The Whole Story (which feature the song) are also climbing the global download charts. We knew the show gets tens of millions of viewers, it’s one of the biggest shows on the planet, but these download/streaming numbers are unprecedented – Kate’s iconic 1985 single is an international smash hit all over again.
I have recorded a quick new episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast to discuss the song’s inclusion in the show and to put the song itself into context for all the new fans of Kate’s music the show has now created. More details on the podcast below. Kate (herself a fan of the show) has been trending on Twitter and Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok are some of the social media platforms now awash with tens of thousands of memes, posts and commentary all about Kate’s song and how in one momentous scene in the hit show it literally saves the life of the character Max, played by actress Sadie Sink. It is clear that a new generation of Kate Bush fans will emerge after this weekend, and we are so happy to have them.
The characters of Max and Lucas discuss Kate in Stranger Things
The song is heard several times throughout the season but the big climactic moment in Episode 4 (titled “Dear Billy”) is the one that has created the frenzy and focused so much attention on Kate’s song. Vulture’s Bethy Squires humorously proclaimed “Goth gatekeepers despair: Kate Bush is for normies now,” calling Kate an “iconoclastic English singer/avant garde dance weirdo/sampling pioneer.” It’s wonderful to even get a glimpse of the Hounds of Love cassette tape at one point. It is now confirmed that MORE Kate will be heard (with Kate’s enthusiastic approval) in the final, movie-length episode of this season which arrives on Netflix on July 1st (the season is in two parts). Erica Gonzales has written an excellent article in Elle Magazine entitled “The Unexpected Hero Of Stranger Things 4? Kate Bush.”
“At the start of this season 4, Max seems to be trying to manage her extremely complex feelings of emotional estrangement from her friends, meshed with the devastating loss of her brother Billy. ‘Running Up That Hill’ is very deeply connected to Max and ultimately serves as her emotional touchstone and source of strength,” Stranger Things’ music supervisor Nora Felder explains. “Her friends also quickly realize that this song could be the key to freeing her from this powerful monster…in the climactic scene, the track’s pounding percussion adds to the adrenaline rush while Bush’s commanding vocals give it emotional weight. The version of the track in the show also includes swelling strings to make the moment feel even bigger…a lot of brainstorming went on as this song [selection] really had to be something unique and special serving as such an integral part of the story,” Felder says. “When I was running through varied ideas to present, as is part of the process, I remember getting instantly excited. ‘Running Up That Hill’ popped in my head. It is such an inspiring and soulfully centered song which seemed like something Max could really identify with. The song also has a great musical build which was also a key element Matt and Ross [Duffer, the Stranger Things creators] wanted. I was really quite pleased that it resonated for the Duffer Brothers. We were all thrilled that Kate Bush was a fan of the show and allowed the use of the song.”
Stranger Things creators, Matt and Ross Duffer
Meanwhile, the series creators, The Duffer Brothers, have been interviewed on a Netflix blog and reveal that Kate herself has been involved in viewing the scenes during production and approving the way her music is used, something the brothers are exceptionally grateful to her for.
Max’s arc of loss, grief and numbness is incredibly moving this season. “Running Up That Hill” was such a symbolic theme song for her. Why did you pick that song? And why did you want music to be what saves people from Vecna’s trance?
Ross: Music wasn’t in the initial season outline, but we knew Max was going to get cursed, and we knew we needed some way for her to defeat this curse. We were looking, just medically, into people that have comas and all of this stuff, and I think that’s honestly what led to the music. Music has a power to reach people, even when they’re in these catatonic states. But then we’re like, “Well, whatever the song is, it’s got to be perfect.” And by perfect, I mean, it needed to be cinematic in a way, in the music of it, because we knew that scene where she’s running through what we call the mind layer [at the end of Episode 4], we knew it needed to have a cinematic scope and build to it. But at the same time, it needed to be emotional, and Kate Bush’s lyrics are just so emotional.
Matt: And haunting. [“Running Up That Hill”] felt like the tone of the season. We locked in on it. It’s weird, Ross and I were looking on Spotify, we had our music supervisor, Nora [Felder], looking — she doesn’t really have to; she knows all these songs. And I’ll never forget, she sent an email that was like, “I think it’s ‘Running Up That Hill,’ Kate Bush.” And that was our [mine and Ross’] top choice, completely separately. Then we started to freak out a little bit because we’re like…
Ross: “What if it doesn’t work?”
Matt: “It has to be Kate Bush. What if Kate Bush doesn’t want it?” Because it wasn’t just licensing it, getting it to play once. It was like, “No, we need it a lot.” But she’s been awesome, and we’re sending her the scenes so she’s able to see how the music is used in the show. We keep going back because we keep wanting to put more Kate Bush in there. There’s an epic Kate Bush moment in the finale [Episode 9] that we weren’t expecting, that we kind of discovered as we were editing.
Ross: We’re like, “What if we tried a little Kate Bush here?”
Matt: The sequence was really cool and we were happy with it, but it was missing a little something. And I was like, “Well, let’s try Kate. Because when has Kate let us down?” And it just took it to this new height. Then we had to go back to Kate Bush and just… [demonstrates praying] We sent her the scene and she was gracious enough to let us use her song one more time. She’s been amazing. It’s arguably the most epic Kate Bush moment. It comes back in a major way.
Shawn Levy, The director of episode 4: “Dear Billy” has responded warmly to the news of Kate’s chart success on Twitter:
Seán is on holiday (forgive the mic quality!) but I recorded a quick episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast to discuss the huge success of Running Up That Hill being featured on the phenomenally popular Stranger Things and to welcome the new fans discovering Kate’s music!
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
Seán introduces the final instalment of Bush Telegraph’s interview with Preston Heyman. Here we get a further glimpse into the workings of the Tour Of Life and the special camaraderie that existed on tour, as well as the fun antics that happened offstage. Preston also remembers musical highlights and special moments with Kate during the show. Darrell and Paul mention their first meeting with Preston and the band at the 1980 Convention as young 13/14 year olds (being the youngest ones there), and fun memories of that meeting are remembered. Find out what other antics Preston and guitarist Alan Murphy got up to at the recording of the ‘Kate Show’ a few months after the tour. These memories and a whole lot more are revealed in this packed episode.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
In this second episode of the Kate Bush Fan podcast we’ve had out this week in time for Christmas, the guys from Bush Telegraph, Paul and Darrell present: “2011 – The Year Of The Director’s Two Cuts!” Being the 10th anniversary of both ‘Director’s Cut’ and ’50 Words For Snow’, Bush Telegraph chat from either side of the Atlantic, and reminisce about their individual experiences of listening to the albums for the first time and their reviews of both albums. Kate surprised her fanbase by releasing two albums in one year, and although fans have divided opinions about these albums, they are solid works that fit perfectly in her prolific recording catalogue. Bush Telegraph wish everyone a safe and peaceful Christmas and New Year.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
Michael Byrne, the co-creator of the new coffee table book, Finding Kate, which visually explores Kate’s songs is interviewed by Seán to discuss how the pandemic, and a successful Kickstarter campaign, lead to this stunning book being realised. You can find out more about ordering the book at www.findingkatebook.com. This is the first of two Kate Bush Fan podcast episodes we’ll have for you this week, so you’ll have plenty of KB chatter to have on in the background as you prepare for the holiday season!
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
Preston waiting on the set of the ‘Breathing’ video.
Paul and Darrell dive further into drummer Preston Heyman‘s collaboration with Kate. We find out how he first got to work with her on the 1979 tour, and their incredible meeting of minds. We also get some fascinating and humorous stories involving his work on her third album ‘Never For Ever’, as well as his experience on the filming of the ‘Breathing’ video.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
In this new episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast, Bush Telegraph (Darrell and Paul) talk all things ‘Sat In Your Lap’ as they celebrate its 40th anniversary! They reveal an exclusive interview withPreston Heyman, who played the iconic drum pattern on the single. Preston is a brilliant and revered drummer in the music industry, and here we get to hear how he collaborated with Kate on this special and unique song. ‘Sat In Your Lap’ would catapult Kate into the progressive singer/songwriter that we know and love today, and this interview shows how incredible and special her approach was. As book-ends to the interview, Bush Telegraph reminisce about the day it came out, when they rushed to the record shop to see what the cover looked like and listening to the single and B-side ‘The Lord Of The Reedy River’ on the turntable for the first time. They also talk about the demo, the Roundtable radio reviews, and a whole lot more!
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
In a brand new episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast, Seán explores Kate’s one and only promotional trip to Japan in June 1978. A highly memorable two-week schedule in which Kate performed in a song contest in front of 35 million viewers, sang many songs on another Japanese variety show, charmed the Japanese media and even shot an ad campaign for Seiko watches! And Kate sang a LOT of songs by The Beatles. With many thanks to Sozo Yamamoto (who has provided the Japanese translation of this site for 20 years!) and also to Hideaki Nishihara for his valuable help and insights.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
December Will Be 40! Seán introduces another Christmas special from Bush Telegraph, covering all things ‘December Will Be Magic Again’, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. Paul and Darrell, chatting transatlantically, reminisce about the first time they heard and saw Kate perform this song on TV as a guest on the ‘Showtime Special’ in December 1979. This version (fondly known as the ‘Bongo Version’) was recorded at Abbey Road in November of that year. Its official release came a year later with a new arrangement and vocal. On this podcast we get to hear the first version, as well as a live version from the ‘Kate Show’ in 1979. The lads also reminisce about rushing out after school to get the single, and they discuss reviews and chart stats. There is also a great cover of this song on the podcast. For a Christmas ‘bonus’, we also get to hear the two jingles Kate sang for Capital One and Radio 1.
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
In this episode of the Kate Bush Fan Podcast, Seán introduces Darrell and Paul covering all things Never For Ever, celebrating 40 years of the first album to reach number one by a British female solo artist. Darrell and Paul remember being 14 years old, rushing home from school on Friday, the 5th September in 1980, phoning the local record shop and begging Darrell’s family’s foreign exchange student to drive them there! Six of the ten songs had been seen as videos or costumed performances in the previous 9 months on TV. These and other performances are discussed, including Darrell seeing Kate sing ‘Wedding List’ live in 1982. We hear Kate being interviewed on Radio 1 about the album, as well as reading Kate, John and Paddy’s takes on the recording process from the KBC Newsletter, and reviews of the album from the music mags of the day. What new information does Andrew Powell have to say about the unreleased song ‘Never For Ever’ and its beautiful orchestration? This and much, much more…
You can subscribe to the Kate Bush Fan Podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app you happen to use, such as Stitcher or Tunein or listen below on Soundcloud.
Opening night of Before the Dawn was utterly unforgettable, this day six years ago on August 26th 2014. I documented Kate’s amazing return to the live stage in a three-part podcast series which you can listen to below.
BEFORE THE DAWN Podcast Part 1 – The Dream Begins...
In this first episode, I trace the origins of Kate’s live comeback through the initial concept, rehearsals, massive media coverage, ticket frenzy and right up till opening night…
BEFORE THE DAWN Podcast Part 2 – The Show!
This 90-minute episode takes the listener right through her opening night performance on 26th August 2014, song-by-song, capturing the atmosphere, describing the on-stage action and celebrating one of the greatest returns to live performance in music history!
BEFORE THE DAWN Podcast Part 3 – Kate’s Triumph
The run of 22 shows begins! In this final Before the Dawn episode – all the excitement, ecstatic reviews, historic album chart success, celebrity attendees, awards, acclaim and the live album are all discussed in detail as Seán revisits the impact and lasting legacy of Before The Dawn….he even takes you for a browse through the merch stall. Enjoy!
