Category: Newsbits round-up Page 2 of 7

Newsbits: In the Metro newspaper on Monday 21 Feb, Kele Okereke from Bloc Party gave his “six-track mix” in the On My iPod column, and listed Wuthering Heights as one of his favourite tracks: “This song’s so theatrical and intense and melodramatic. That might turn people off, but I was exposed to Bush when I was very young and it really hit me. She’s an amazing lyricist, so playful with her words.” (Thanks to Rob Jones)…Word Magazine (March issue) has an interview with the 61 year old French singer Francoise Hardy. Mark Ellen the interviewer asked her about other female artists. He mentioned that Kate is making a comeback and gets this response: “I can’t stand Kate Bush. Too sharp, too high, too much…(she wrinkles her nose) shrieking.” Hardy was equally dismissive of Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, but likes Annie Lennox, Norah Jones and Dido…The ARTE TV channel in Europe has aired a documentary about the artist Paul Gauguin that featured Hello Earth and Waking the Witch as part of the soundtrack….Peter Gabriel has put a dance remix of ‘Don’t Give Up’ up on his official website…in this month’s Record Collector Kate has been voted number one Female Solo Artist in the magazine’s annual Reader’s Poll. She also makes an appearance in the results for Most Wanted DVD with the Hammersmith Odeon at no. 10 (thanks to Goldfishnation)…Australian singer Delta Goodrem chose Wuthering Heights on a recent BBC Radio 2 “Tracks Of My Years”…Canadian singer Martha Wainwright (sister of Rufus) has been featured in the 25th February edition of Metro explaining who is on her iPod. On Wuthering Heights she says: “I love the melody, it’s really great. She does this song so well. I think anyone that can write a song this good and do it at such an early age is probably a genius.” (thanks to Jon Morte)

A jazz guitarist, Deirdre Cartwright has recorded an instrumental version of Wuthering Heights on her new album called ‘Blow the Fuse’ (thanks Tony)…Kiki and Herb (Justin Bond and Kenny Mellman) released their new album on Feb 1st – “Kiki & Herb Will Die For You.” The two-disc CD from the popular cabaret act includes “Running Up That Hill. For more information, visit www.kikiandherb.com (thanks KT)…Tori Amos has released a new album, The Beekeeper, resulting in several reviewers comparing her unfavourably (and some would argue unfairly) to Kate in light of the latter’s impending return – see this site forum’s Medialog section for plenty of Tori reviews with Kate mentions…and finally, thanks to Peter & Jonathan for sending in a scan of the latest “Up Queer Street” comic strip which mentions Kate from ‘The Pink Paper’. See the scan here.

The New Statesman on the 7th February published an appreciative piece by Jason Cowley (a senior editor of The Observer newspaper) on Kate’s return titled The Wow Factor. “With her first single up for a Brit Award and a new album soon to be released, Kate Bush is back in a big way. It’s been a long wait, but she’s worth it” He describes Kate as a “complex and remarkable artist” who is “perhaps the most singular and talented female singer-songwriter and composer of her generation…there is no one quite like her. Without Kate Bush, there could have been no Madonna or Bjork, certainly in the guises – tough, independent, eccentric, committed, daring – that we know them…Bush occupies an ambiguous space between pop and the avant-garde, simultaneously working within and against the constraints of the pop song.” Read the full article here.

A week after the Cowley article appeared perhaps the inevitable happened. The backlash to all the expectant Kate coverage of late had to crop up somewhere, so enter David Stubbs on February 19th, who wrote a scathing analysis of Kate’s “comeback” in The Guardian newspaper, clearly relishing descriptions such as Kate having a “featherheaded fanbase” and calling her “first, foremost, essentially, incorrigibly, a show-off.” Well, it’s his opinion. Read the full article here…in their “Heating up 2005 – Top albums to watch for” section, MP3.com writes: “Though Kate Bush hasn’t released an album since 1993s “Red Shoes,” she’s suddenly been swept back up into the zeitgeist. There’s the blazing cover of her “Hounds of Love” by band-of-the-moment The Futureheads. There are constant shout-outs from Big Boi of OutKast. There’s a new satirical novel/biography, “Waiting for Kate Bush.” And at some point this year, there’s supposed to be a new Bush album. If the music even partially justifies the build up, 2005 is likely to be for Bush what 2004 was for Morrissey.’

Wuthering Heights was eventually beaten in the Brits 25 Song award by Robbie Williams, which provoked a lot of debate on the BBC website and elsewhere. The Sun newspaper felt that the voters had gotten it wrong and launched their own online poll after the Brits ceremony – Kate came third in this one (Robbie was 4th). In the tabloid’s “Bizarre” column on Feb 11th Victoria Newton wrote: “Angels is an above average anthem which is good to sing along to when you’re feeling misty-eyed in the pub. But it’s hardly changed the face of music like Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights.” (thanks to JT Black)…Kate is currently Artist Of The Week at this BBC Radio 2 show here (vote for your favourite track to be played).

Just a quick update – two things relating to the single everyone is talking about, The Futurehead’s version of Hounds Of Love. You can watch the video for the song at the NME site here. Also, the song is being featured as Jo Whiley‘s track of the week at her Radio 1 site here. The single is released in the UK on February 28th. (thanks to Ben & PDFM. Note: I haven’t been doing these recent updates at my usual computer so if your news or email haven’t been acknowledged it may be next weekend before I get to it – thanks for your patience!)

Newsbits: The press release for The Futureheads single Hounds of Love is here: “The Futureheads cover ‘Hounds of Love’ is a showstopper, beginning with Ross and Jaff’s a capella call and response yelps, the songs explodes into euphoric life with Barry’s feverish delivery of Kate’s once sensual words and a riot of overdriven guitars and search and destroy drumming courtesy of the coolest incumbent of a drumstool, Mr Dave Hyde.” (thanks to PDFM)…The Jan 5th edition of Time Out London magazine looks forward to the year in music: “The reclusive banshee of Olde Albion has confirmed that her first album since 1993 will be released” In the same issue there is a people of 2005 page which along with Johnny Depp and Kylie includes Kate. (thanks Monty and Ben)…The 17th January edition of the Daily Mail has a full page feature on Kate which manages to rehash tired old tabloid nonsense with the headline “As she plots her comeback a tantalising glimpse into the bizarre world of Kate Bush.” The article quotes from a supposed interview with Kate’s father also. (thanks to hatbar)

TV presenter Davina McCall reveals that her favourite song from the last 25 years not on the Brits25 list is Jig of Life in this interview…the February editon of Burn magazine includes Kate in a list of “the post punk classics that shaped the sound of now”. The Sensual World is at number 9. Kate is described as having been a “posh teen with immense talent” who’s “shy self belief morphed from pin-up to near recluse.” The vibe of the track is described as “sex and romance in the most mellifluous way. Bush’s intention was sensuality through sound. It works. Hear it in Goldfrapp” (thanks ben)…More mentions of Kate by Erasure in the Belfast Telegraph this time here. “Kate Bush has done an album that’s been ready for two years, but she’s a real perfectionist and if there’s one little thing wrong, she won’t release it until it’s right.”…BBC Radio 2 are continuing to gear up for a new Kate release, playing Babooshka and Wuthering Heights last week…Kent On Sunday had an article on Kate in their 16th Jan edition entitled “Visionary Kate Still Hitting the Heights” celebrating her placing in the Brit Song shortlist. (thanks to crowroad)…singer Daniel Bedingfield was asked by Cat Deely what he thought of this years Brits on CD:UK on 15th Jan. He said that he was thrilled to see Kate nominated for Wuthering Heights which he called “a classic song”. (thanks to Ben)…Corrine from Swing Out Sister was on Jazz FM on Jan 12th praising Kate and her past achievements. She mentioned she loves the Lionheart and The Sensual World albums and is looking forward to the new work. She also talked about the “whole industry” being wild with news of a new album. (thanks to binny binny)…Running Up That Hill appears on a new US compilation “Left of the Dial – Dispatches from the 80s Underground”, a 4-CD set from Warner/Rhino. (thanks to Jon Thomas)…and finally Krys from Homeground Magazine tells us that they are aiming to get issue 75 out by early March, possibly sooner, leaving issue 76 to hopefully be the album issue(!). “This is going to be a great year!” We all agree – best of luck with the mag Krys, more info as ever at the Homeground pages…(additional thanks this update to Kyla & Russ Thomas)

Happy new year to all this site’s visitors! The news that Kate will be releasing an album this year has continued to spread. You can keep up-to-date on all the latest media reports daily in our site forum’s new Medialog section which Peter has kindly created for us.

The BBC website seems to think that this is the official Kate Bush website (it isn’t), but it is great that Mark Radcliffecontinues in his campaign to get Kate live on air, he now links directly to this website from his BBC Radio 2 page here. The Daily Mirror has had a large article entitled “Kate’s Big Comeback”, the article finishes with: “Her loyal fan base means next year’s album will be a big seller. What is less clear is how Kate will cope with the blizzard of publicity that will inevitably accompany it.” The Sunday Times has featured a glowing profile of Kate here, which was accompanied by a cartoon (right). “Her success was all the more notable because she was one of the few women to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of pop, governed at the time by the aggressive sounds of punk…now she is ready to face the spotlight again. This, remember, is a female star whose versatility has perhaps never been surpassed, who pioneered the fusion of dance and circus entertainment in pop and conjured a new persona with each song. For fans, the anticipation is palpable.” The 7th January edition of The Sun has a piece on the big albums planned for 2005: “This could be the biggest comeback since Lazarus. 12 years on from her last album, The Red Shoes, and 27 years since Wuthering Heights, the warbling songstress is back. Her individual style is never less than fascinating but will it survive in 2005’s guitar-band world? Probably.” Further afield, in the USA the major entertainment news provider Entertainment Weekly has carried the story here. Other stories have popped up in the Australian, Japanese and Norwegian press. The new edition of Q Magazine lists Kate’s new album as number 8 in their Top Ten most anticipated new releases for 2005, their verdict being: “Album of the year? Our fingers are crossed.” Q Magazine and a number of other sites have repeated the rumour that Marc Almond has duetted with Kate on the new record. On his official site two days ago it is stated: “Unfortunately, rumours about a duet between Marc and Kate Bush are not true. The rumour has been flying around for some time on the web and was mentioned in the current edition of Q magazine. Marc says he has not been approached nor does he know of any of his songs (‘Youth’ has been mentioned) being covered. He wishes he could confirm the rumour as Kate is one of his all time favourite artists and he looks forward to her long awaited new album, one of the big music events of 2005.” Similar rumours about Dave Stewart collaborating remain unfounded.

Wuthering Heights is one of 25 songs nominated in the new category of Best British Song at this year’s Brits. To celebrate 25 years of the Brits, they are having a one-off award for Best British Song of, for some reason, the last 27 years. Wuthering Heights is one of the 25 songs in the initial nominations, but these are going to be whittled down to five, based on the general public’s votes up to and including 9 January. If you register, for free, at http://brits.co.uk/vote/ you can vote immediately and get our Kate on the rostrum. (Thanks to Rob Jones) This vote will be featured on Davina McCall’s radio show (she’s a big Kate fan) and this news has also been widely circulated such as in the Independent here.

Erasure’s Andy Bell is asked in the current Attitude Magazine which songs make him weep: “Song to the Siren by the Cocteau Twins because it just gives me the goose bumps and Moments of Pleasure by Kate Bush [starts singing it]. Oh god! When we were doing the ‘Wild!’ album we went round her house and she was so lovely and made us tea and cakes. They should re release her stuff. I think she’s finished her next album, but shes a perfectionist so who knows when it will come out.”

The NME has published a full page article here called “Why I Love Kate Bush” by The Futureheads. “The idea of us covering ‘Hounds Of Love’ came from a couple of summers ago…Jaff our bassplayer had made a compilation tape and ‘Hounds Of Love’ was on it. Christine, the bass player in the other band, was saying how great it would be to play that live because obviously Kate Bush is pretty much reclusive and never really does shows. There’s all this talk about her making a new record, but it’s been going on for the last five years and no-one knows if it will ever see the light of day. We were thinking that it’s a brilliant song and we thought we’d try and work it out – a little challenge. We got home and it was a really quick thing. And when we played it… it just stuck. People were going barmy for it. I think that something we try to take from Kate Bush are the arrangements of the music. She made quite melodious pop music, but it’s really clever. It’s not traditional verse/chorus/verse song structure. There are interesting parts coming in and out of the songs all the time. By the time she made ‘Hounds Of Love’, she was doing everything herself. She produced the record, she arranged it all, she wrote all the songs. And you’ve got to have respect for someone with that level of control. Aside from making great music, she was a fox back in the day. All the sleeve artwork on ‘Hounds Of Love’ – wow – she has it all, really. She could really sing, she could really play, she called all the shots and she was a beautiful woman as well. It put her in a very powerful position. She also carries a great mystique because she’s a complete recluse. I know that she was some kind of child prodigy – she signed a development deal with EMI when she was 14 – and was always geared towards making that first album, ‘The Kick Inside’. I don’t know how she dealt with it, but that’s really intense pressure. And she delivered the goods. She has written some classic albums and all have a little identity of their own.”

Newsbits: On ABC TV (Australia) the “Rage” program (8th Jan 2005) will feature a “Countdown” episode (26 Oct 1980) featuring an interview with Kate and they also play the “Babooshka” video. After the episode they play four more videos by Kate. See the Rage site here. (Thanks Shaun)…On January 29th US radio show Rockwired will be showcasing Kate’s debut album The Kick Inside at 5pm (PST). From the press release for the show: “I could call her beautiful. I could call her mysterious and enigmatic. She’s a prodigy, a musical genius and one of the most stunning singer-songwriters and performers in music. I could say all of that and it wouldn’t do Kate Bush any justice. The Kick Inside was her debut album back in 1977. At the age of seventeen she made her mark and didn’t have to bare her mid drift to do so.” Listen to the show here. (thanks to Brian Lush at KTSTFM)…London guitar band Bloc Party, dubbed the “new Franz Ferdinand”, have come second in the BBC News website’s Sound of 2005 poll to find the most promising new acts. Asked for his cultural heroes, lead singer Okereke says he respects Kate Bush, Bjork and Davids Bowie and Byrne – “artists that haven’t ever compromised”. Read more here…Best Radio, one of the most popular radio station in Athens had it’s listeners vote for the “Best song of their lives”. Over 1.000 songs were voted in total, and Kate was at number 48 with Wuthering Heights. (Thanks to Neil Gibbs, Tim Rees, David Sheasby, Yiannis and all the posters on our forum, particular thanks to PDFM for sorting through all the news posts and putting them all in one place on EZboard!)

More news-bits: Huge thanks to Brian Cloughley for his fantastic Winter intro screen. Have a look at the site’s index page to see it…EMI have issued a slipcase 2CD package of Hounds Of Love/The Sensual World priced at $22.95. They are just the CD versions otherwise available elsewhere. (thanks to Dok)…Katie Melua was asked by The Scotsman newspaper for her choice of an alternative national anthem. “Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush because the writers of the song and the book are both English heroines. I’m not sure how it would sound at sporting internationals though.” Read more here

A clip of the tribute act Fake Bush is available at this site here…Judie Tzuke is on tour promoting her forthcoming eighteenth (!) album ‘The End Of The Beginning’. In the tour programme she answers questions sent to her by fans, one question was:- Which song by another artist do you wish you had written? Her answer was Cloudbusting by Kate…Radio 2 played Kate’s Rocket Man on the twelfth of November and prior to the song being played DJ John Inverdale asked how can anyone not think that Kate Bush is fantastic? 10 minutes later he thanked everyone for all their texts and emails saying how great she is and all wondering where she is and when she might bring out a new album…Canadian singer k.d. lang, promoting her excellent new album Hymns Of The Forty Ninth  Parallel, mentions Kate as one of her favourite artists in an interview with The Independent here (thanks Daffyd)…The Telegraph newspaper have asked their critics to select the 50 best cover versions ever recorded. To qualify, a song had to be well established by one artist, then given a new lease of life by another. They placed Kate’s version of Elton John’s Rocket Man at number 14. “Elton John’s lament to the loneliness of space travel (or cocaine addiction, depending on your age group) was vacuous tinny pop until Kate Bush’s keening cadences gave it the poignancy it deserved. Her little-girl-lost voice and the bittersweet sound of Uilleann pipes add startling beauty, and a thrilling chill to the Martian air. Key moment: The breathy, pained gasp of “Oh” before the chorus line “No no no I’m a rocket man.” You can read the full poll for yourself here…

Texan singer Erin McGrew invites us to listen to a free download of her song “Masquerade” from her CD Garnet. The song is her Kate tribute on the album. The acknowledgements in the liners include “Thank you, Kate Bush, for teaching me. I hope we meet one day.” Her site is here. (thanks Erin)…the Icelandic singer Margrét Eir recorded and published an Icelandic version of Wuthering Hieghts last year. The lyrics were rendered (by Þórarinn Eldjárn, a respected poet) into Icelandic, not an exact translation but keeping the spirit, the title being “Heiðin há“. The song was quite popular and encouraged some airplay of the original song. You can see a video here searching for “heidin ha” (thanks to Skúli Pálsson)…an advert for the the new Land Rover Discovery has a version of Kate’s Running up that Hill was playing. It was obviously some sort of dance version and it was basically the intro repeated over, played on a piano. (thanks Collin)…Wow was used as the music for an ITV commercial for the show “I Want That House” recently (thanks Tony)…The Guardian have reviewed the Waiting for Kate Bush book here (thanks George – Also thanks to Rob Jones for sending in newsbits and anyone else I have forgotten in this round up!!)

Peter Gabriel has been interviewed by the Toronto Sun newspaper, promoting ‘Play’, his music DVD collection. “Kate had a son and lost her mom and I think that kept her (occupied),” said Gabriel. “I spoke to her quite recently in fact and she’s just about finished on a new record. It is exciting. She’s being a mom and loving it. So, if you like, music’s gone from being full-time to being part-time, so that slows you down. She pointed out (she takes) even longer than I take,” joked Gabriel. (thanks to Rachel and Dresden)….on November 28th Stuart Elliott, Kate’s drummer, was interviewed at a session in a church on the BBC programme Songs Of Praise. He said that he has been busy recording drums on Kate’s new album and that recording on the album had just finished (thanks to James Smythe and David)…

Rumour alert! Rumours about a release date for Kate’s new album are currently spreading like wildfire across music artist forums and CD websites. The date being mentioned by all these seems to be March 14th 2005. Please note that as far as we know, NO official release date from EMI has been confirmed, and untill it is it would be unwise to get excited by any of this. The site has been flooded with emails from people who have read this news online. One rumour even has it that “Elemental films” have been commisioned to do a visual set piece for a new video by Kate, supposedly very “futuristic”…(thanks to all of you, far too many to mention, who’ve kept me up to speed on these reports over the last few weeks – much appreciated).

Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, half of the superstar duo Outkast, told reporters backstage at the recent American Music Awards that they hoped to have a new album out by June and also revealed a desire to work with “reclusive English singer Kate Bush”. “We’re tryin’ to find her, but people say she’s crazy,” he said (thanks to Rob, William, Dan and Bona)…Sunderland post-punks The Futureheads‘ next single in February 2005 will be their cover of Hounds of Love which they’ve just re-recorded in the USA. (thanks to Matt and Priya)…From Sunday November 14, 2004 an art exhibition in France has the title “Never For Ever a tribute to Kate Bush” by the French graphic designer Clement Mériguet (alias “Kéké”). The venue is at Kingdom Of Incense, 12 rue des Haudriettes, 75003 Paris, France. Metro station: Rambuteau. The exhibit continues through December. Read more here (thanks to Swan)…In the new Q “Icons” Special Edition magazine (The Greatest Music Stars of All Time) readers have voted Kate into 29th place. “With her eccentric vocal style, Kate Bush became one of the most lauded if unpredictable songwriters of the 70s and 80s. Her legend has quietly grown in recent years while fans, most recently and notably Outkast’s Andre 3000, wait patiently for another album – her last was in 1993.” Alison Goldfrapp comments: “There was this time during my teenage years when everyone was doing ecstasy and going out to raves, and I was at home listening to Kate Bush. On ecstasy.” A full-page b & w picture of Kate in full sword-wielding Babooshka mode accompanies the piece…

Markus writes “I just wanted to introduce a short film, Sing Back The Symbols, that I did together with friends of mine. Last year we re-shot Kate’s videos And So Is Love and The Red Shoes. Our version is quite campy, but we did it as an homage! Some pictures can be found here (thanks Markus)…Paul Golder runs an FM station based in Basildon, Essex, Eastgate FM. On Saturday 11 December 2004 at 10pm UK time he will be playing a Kate Bush top 20 compiled on listeners’ votes. The show can be heard on 87.7FM in the Basildon/south Essex area and we will also be streaming the station live on the net. The link for voting and more information is here (thanks Paul)…Kate is listed at No 14 in ‘They did it their way’ in the Telegraph of 20th November – a listing of the 50 best cover versions for Rocket Man. “Elton John’s lament to the loneliness of space travel (or cocaine addiction, depending on your age group) was vacuous tinny pop until Kate Bush’s keening cadences gave it the poignancy it deserved. Her little-girl-lost voice and the bittersweet sound of Uilleann pipes add startling beauty, and a thrilling chill to the Martian air. Key moment: The breathy, pained gasp of “Oh” before the chorus line “No no no I’m a rocket man.” (thanks Malcolm)

Newsbits roundup: Adrian spotted a brief mention of of Kate in this article from The Guardian (thanks Adrian)…Kate was also mentioned in a fashion supplement for the Saturday Telegraph newspaper (18.09.04). The editor of ‘Pop’ magazine, Katie Grand, included Kate in her ‘Best Dressed List‘. Grand admires Kate for her ‘wild catsuits’ and commented that: “I love every outfit in her Babooshka video” (thanks Liza)…on her new album On Your Shore, Charlotte Martin sings the line “With a kick inside / In the dark you hide” in the song Up All Night. Charlotte is known for her admiration of Kate. Also, on her new album Day One, Sarah Slean mentions her ‘lionheart” in the title track, both references spotted by Wouter (thanks W)…Q Magazine’s ‘Essential 20 Tracks‘ for October has at Number 11 ‘Hounds of Love’, covered by The Futureheads. The link on the Q site takes you to HMV, where a further link allows you to listen to the track in question. A clip from the track was also included on the Month CD ROM Oct ’04 from the Sunday Times. (thanks to David and Orla Murphy)…Swedish fashion magazine Rodeo (www.rodeomagazine.se) in an article on Kim Jones by Daniel Björk: “In the background in Kim’s apartment Kate Bush is playing. One of his favorite songs is Army Dreamers by Kate Bush indeed, and Running Up That Hill was the soundtrack to his latest collection film.” (thanks to Henrik Nilsson in Stockholm)…on the UK soap Coronation Street on August 30th Kate got a mention from Deirdre Barlow’s mother Blanche who was telling some one about a Bed & Breakfast, called ‘The Heights,’ the lady who owned it was, she said, a big Kate Bush fan (thanks Kyla)…”Rewind“, a CD and DVD package from EMI/Universal includes the Cloudbusting video. (thanks to Philip Lau)…Finally, if you click on this person’s journal and scroll down to the entry for the 11th August 2004 you can watch the red dress Wuthering Heights video. (thanks to L Thompson)

Krys from HomeGround tells us that Colin-Lloyd Tucker (The Red Shoes) has sent her his new CD Fear of Flying & that it is brilliant. Have a look at his website for ordering info, plus some great photos of him & Paddy Bush when they werein the studio recording their Skyscraping album. There’s a great photo of Colin & Paddy as Kate’s Red Shoes devils from her film! (see pic left). There’s also a great interview on the site where Colin mentions Kate, & Paddy. See Colin’s site here. By the way on May 18th HomeGround was 22 years old – you’re amazing people! HomeGround 74 will be out in July…

Kate was shortlisted along with Morrissey, David Bowie, Prince & Marvin Gaye for the first Mojo Magazine Icon Award: “The inaugural Mojo Honours List is intended to be a music awards ceremony like no other…the list was voted for by listeners to Mojo radio and is restricted to artists that have enjoyed a spectacular career on a global scale and become a genuine household name.” The awards ceremony was held on 22nd June, but the Icon award was given to Morrissey in the end. (thanks to Rob)…In a very interesting article Sound On Sound has interviewed producer Jon Kelly about the recording The Kick Inside, parts of the article are reproduced at the Sensual World site here. (thanks to Adey, Steven and also to Andrew Kyte)…The rising UK group Keane mentioned Wuthering Heights in the 16th April NME in a feature about their musical inspirations. According to the band’s pianist Tim Rice-Oxley: “I just don’t know how she wrote this tune, the way it leaps around and works so beautifully with the weird, gothic story is incredible. It seems to be from a completely different planet to your average pop single.”

The Kick Inside MSN group has some screen grabs from a rare German tour documentary on Kate from 1979 – you may not have seen some of the early shots of Kate featured here…Emma Murphy, who is peforming recorder on Kate’s new album, has asked me to let you know that her website has a link to the new CD by Da Camera (which features Susanna Pell, also playing on Kate’s new album). The new CD, ‘A Celtic Celebration’ is: “a stunning and unique combination of Irish and Scottish Baroque music by Carolan, Oswald & others, as well as Traditional Scottish and Irish music arranged by the group. You will never have heard the recorder and viol played quite like it before!” (thanks to Emma, sending you best wishes and luck with this new release). Read more here…a photo of Kate takes up the entire front cover of the May supplement to the magazine Word. The supplement is entitled Pictures 1978-2004, and showcases photos from the last 25 years of rock. The photo of Kate used is the famous 1978 Gered Mankowitz Wuthering Heights promotional pic of Kate in her leotard…a character in a new Moroccan film is a Kate Bush fan. From the Guardian review: “A surprise success at Cannes in 2003, A Thousand Months by Moroccan director Faouzi Bensaidi picked up a prize in the Un Certain Regard section. The tale, or the series of tales, is set in the Atlas mountains during the month of Ramadan in 1981. It’s a tough time. There’s been a drought. Jobs are scarce. Local women dream of marrying rich men who will whisk them away from the village. Bands of local lads go out stealing. At school Mehdi is entrusted with guarding the teacher’s chair, a symbol of authority and continuity. But one day that too is stolen. He himself breaks the fasting rules and hangs around with a lively rebel girl who likes to smoke and to listen to Kate Bush records.” (thanks to Rezwan on the guestbook)…The Ultimate Acoustic Album features Kate, a review on Boyz magazine singles out Kate’s track on this compilation; “…and best of all, from the goddess-like Kate Bush, The Man With the Child in His Eyes.”…The Sensual World album is freshly reviewed on the Funky Mofo site here. “Funky Mofo is about music. Just good music. It’s for people who do give a damn about the quality of music produced today, people who are willing to make new discoveries and who know that there is more to a record shop than just the ‘rock and pop’ section. We aim to work with labels and musicians who want to help people decide for themselves what they want to listen to.” (thanks to Jo Whitby)…Manchester Online reviewed Hayley Westenra‘s concert at Bridgewater Hall on 25th March 2004: “Hayley stormed to the finale with her single-release cover of Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights, capturing all the off-kilter and kooky appeal of the original.” (thanks to Michael Leitz).

Joanna McMeikan is a singer-songwriter who has created quite a positive buzz with her solo debut release Breaking The Habit. Her sound has generated a lot of Kate Bush and Tori Amos comparisons, she certainly seems to be a Kate fan. Her official website is here and you can listen to her songs here. (thanks for getting in touch Joanna, best of luck!)…Irish singer Cathy Davey has also been getting the Kate comparisons recently. She’s the daughter of Shaun Davey who compased the “Granuaile” suite and has sang with Autamata alongside site-favourite Carol Keogh of the Tycho Brahe. Here’s this from the Oxegen festival website: “Dublin girl Cathy Davey has got the counterpoint between nasty and nice just right. The 25-year old singer and writer, who appeared on Elbow’s “Grace Under Pressure” mines a seam of hardcore love and hate, then turns them into stylistically broad songs which reference PJ Harvey and Bjork as well as a young Kate Bush. Whilst Davey admits a love of the latter “I love Wuthering Heights and Running Up That Hill. They’re so abstract and cold Moor-ish, which is always good.”…Susan Egan, who apparently sang in Broadway’s Thoroughly Modern Millie is releasing an album in September called “Coffee House” and it will have a Kate cover on it. (thanks to Dibble on the guestbook)…Re-fashioned 2 British Airwaves is the 2nd volume in Groovescooter’s ” critically acclaimed” cover series. It features Majella O’Shea singing The Man With The Child In His Eyes…Portugese goth rock band Icon & the Black Roses have recorded a version of “Running Up That Hill.” Read more here. (Thanks to Dae, who tells me it is “a phenomenal rendition”)…you can listen to a new Italian dance version of Wuthering Heights by Mr Conte featuring Laura Valente here (thanks to Stefano).

Singer Sarah McLachlan has chosen Kate’s Reaching Out as one of the choices on her Artist’s Choice CD compilation (she also picks REM, Cat Stevens, Nusrat Ali Khan). Read more here. (thanks to Kevin Tachman)…Marco Hietala – bassist and male vocalist with Finnish band Nightwish professes a soft spot for Kate’s music in his bio on their official site. (Thanks to Despina)…singer Kiki Dee performed Running Up That Hill with Carmelo Luggeri, her musical partner of the past few years, ina  recent concert in May. Described as “a great acoustic version” Kiki says that it will be on her new album which is due in September. (thanks to Alan)…April 2004’s edition of Maxim Blender magazine includes another Big Boi Kate mention. In the article on Outkast, it is noted that BigBoi’s iPod is cycling through songs by “Kate Bush, Oran ‘Juice” Jones and (of course) Outkast.” (Thanks to Tim Bertram)…also theDaily Record says “…but chunky Big Boi and partner Andre 3000 have another record on the go, which they are keeping schtum about. Far from making a break for film stardom, they want to work with veteran divas. Big Boi said: ‘The future is the next album, the soundtrack to the movie. Then we have another top-secret record. We need Sade, Kate Bush and Anita Baker to get some stuff done.’ (thanks to Michael Leitz)…Rolling Stone (April 29th) reviews Carina Round’s CD The Disconnection: “England’s Carina Roundbelongs to the rock lineage of female sirens and oracles of interior life – spanning Patti Smith, Kate Bush, Bjork and Tori Amos – who do diaries in blood, dream journals in neon.” (thanks to Tim Bertram)…Irish writer Noirin Gannon has published her second book of poetry, Verses By Twilight. One poem is “a tribute to Kate Bush which she wrote while speaking on the phone to a friend and twiddling a biro in the other hand. “The words just started to come into my head and I wrote them down. I grew up with themusic of Kate Bush and felt the need to pay her some kind of tribute.” Read more here at the Mayo News site here…the Apple Itunes on-line music store, which features “play-lists” from various artists to help sell the music, featured Dar Williams, American folk-indie darling who included a Kate song on her play-list. See a scan here courtesy of Bill Ritchotte (thanks Bill)…

Here’s a round up of recent lists Kate’s appeared in: The special edition of Q magazine entitled “The ’70s, From Zeppelin To The Pistols” has 20 singles that “changed the world” in that decade. Kate’s at number 11 with Wuthering Heights: “Otherworldly femme fatale falls to earth – Released bang in the middle of the new wave’s chart invasion, Wuthering Heights was so thrillingly peculiar that even 19-year old Bush’s hippy-chick look was excused. A David Gilmour protégé who’d not bothered to read the Emily Bronte novel that inspired her bewitching madwoman epic. Bush and her falsetto-voiced debut had one-hit wonder written all over it. Instead, she survived for a series of Bowie-like musical reinventions. With her maverick tendencies proving the rule, rather than the exception, Kate Bush became a key alternative role model inspiring everyone from Björk to Tori Amos.” In the category “Images Of Rock’n’Roll 1978”, there’s a double-sided reprint of the pink leotard photo of Kate. (thanks to Malcolm)…Mojo Magazine had Wuthering Heights at number 6 in their ‘Top 100 Epic Rock Tracks of All Time‘ in April, describing the track as “audacious”. (Thanks Johnny & Malcolm)…The Obsever newspaper had Kate at no. 22 in their “Best British albums” listing. Emma Warren wrote: “The first woman in this list is the hugely talented, wildly strange first lady of romantic experimental pop. Hounds Of Love, recorded at her own studio in Kent, was Bush’s fifth and most successful studio album, selling more than a million copies. It remains a trenchantly individual piece of work, resonant with ghosts and connections to witch-dunking mythology – although you could never describe the crafted pop and dramatic sound sweeps on the record as fey. Not only did Bush write the songs, and sing them in her four-octave voice, but she played Fairlight bass and piano too. And anyone who says they’ve never sung along to the pretend barking on the title track is simply a liar.” On Sunday June 20th Miranda Sawyer additionally wrote: “What? No Girls Aloud? Well, no, because no girls are allowed in a list of Top British Albums, banned by ancient boy law which states that women only make two types of credible contemporary music – either whimsical, solo love ditties or guitar-fuzz, eff-you rock attack. So we’re left with ‘that nice Katie Bush’, as my grandpa used to call her, and the Slits. Down in the 80s and 90s we get Dusty et al, tucked in at the end to show that, yes, there is still a point in having a Best Female Singer award at the Brits. Well, there’s a point if you’re Annie Lennox.” (thanks to PDFM)…Hounds Of Love was listed at number 23 on Q’s Best British album ever chart, the only female artist on the list…The July issue of ‘Classic Rock‘ Magazine has Kate at number 38 in their ‘100 Greatest Frontmen‘ article: “The etheral dove who shot to prominence as a teenager with the enigmatic ‘Wuthering Heights’ single. Her beauty, brains and prodigious musical insights got the attention of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, who helped guide her early career. Kate hasn’t released a new album in more than a decade, and is now a recluse. But nobody ever combined gothic music (not goth), dance and theatre better.” (thanks to Liza)…

The Gideon Coe show on 6 Music (via DAB/Sky or the web) is on ’till 1pm. He does a feature called “The great lost album” which recently featured The Red Shows. Listeners could vote to hear Rubberband Girl, Moments Of Pleasure or The Red Shoes…at the recent Miss Virginia beauty pageant, last year’s winner took her last walk across the stage with the voice-over talking about her reign…the background music was Kate singing “This Woman’s Work”(!)…the novel The Sandblasting Hall Of Fame by Lawrence Mathews mentions Kate: “At home in his basement apartment his upstairs neighbour regularly treats him to the music of Kate Bush, “a torrent of ice water, freezing Niagaras of it, indecipherable lyrics blending into each other in some Esperanto of female pain and longing.”…Tommy in the US was watching “History Detectives” on PBS and heard Kate’s “Under Ice” playing in the background on a story about possibly the first submarine built by the South during the Civil War in 1861. (thanks Tommy)…the Yahoo group Rolling The Ball have been playing a Kate Survivor game: “Beginning with The Kick Inside each week or so the song receiving the most votes was eliminated and a new song took it’s place. This way the list of 109 songs was reduced to 15. The winner was Wuthering Heights. The final list in the order of elimination were: Be Kind To My Mistakes, Mná na hÉireann, December Will Be Magic Again, Un Baiser d’enfant, This Woman’s Work, Love And Anger, Under The Ivy, Sat in Your Lap, Cloudbusting,Running Up That Hill, The Sensual World, Suspended in Gaffa, Moving, Night Of The Swallow, Wuthering Heights.” (thanks to John Roger in Australia)…a very short clip of Kate’s appearance at the Vela d’oro show in Venice (1980), was broadcast On RAI2 in Italy during a documentary programme called Eventi Pop. Kate mimed Babooshka on that night, dancing with Gary Hurst. Interestingly Kate should have won the award for best single of the year on this show (she came second in 1981, with Spargo coming first with their single “You & Me”. Later on that year, in a Milli-Vanilli type twist, it was discovered that Spargo had “booked” a singer to record that song so they didn’t really deserve the prize! (thanks to Antonello Saeli)…On the 16th April in Australia on ‘NightLife with Tony Delroy 774 Melbourne (AM radio) there was a 10 minute, very complimentary program about Kate. There was discussion between Delroy and an unnamed music critic. They played Wuthering Heights, Babooshka, and chatted about Kate’s discovery, ‘wealthy’ upbringing, and ‘strange vocal style’ (which they called ‘beautiful’ and ‘distinctive’, and radiant in an era when there was a ‘flatness about the music scene’). They argued that Kate’s popularity in the 70s and 80s was linked to the “England is Beautiful” patriotism that rose with early Thatcherism (here they mentioned Lionheart and her use of Tennyson, and argued that her music appealed to a sense of British pride). (Thanks to Katie in Melbourne)… Kate was featured on BBC1’s “Test The Nation” quiz in a section of questions called “guess the year” which comprised of musical and news clips.  A small section of Kate singing “Wuthering Heights” on TOTP in her black dress was shown. Later in the show when all the answers were given, co-presenter Ann Robinson commented favourably on Kate’s voice. (thanks to Krystyna)…Finally, bored at work? Here’s a Kate Bush jigsaw to master, how long will it take you to do it?

Newsbits roundup: Dido was the winner of this year’s Best Female award at the Brit awards, and in her recorded acceptance message she thanked other female singer songwriters for inspiration including Kate and Annie Lennox. A clip of Kate performing Hounds Of Love in 1986 was shown during the show…Johnny reported on the site forum that his local paper, The Hornsey and Crouch End Journal, mentioned an art exhibit featuring a work by Kate. “Famous faces went under the hammer on Tuesday as celebrities joined Bindi Harris – daughter of TV presenter Rolf Harris – to raise hundreds of pounds for a Crouch End sheltered housing scheme. TV presenter Jonathan Ross, Travis front-man Fran Healey, singer Kate Bush and kids’ telly star Timmy Mallet were among those who painted self-portraits to be sold at the special event. The celebrities were encouraged to explore their creative sides by professional artist Bindi, who has been running art workshops at Abyssinia Court, Weston Park, since last year. Miss Harris hit upon the idea of a money-making auction to raise funds for Abyssinia Court after she started the workshops. She decided to auction off work done in the classes and then got pupils at Weston Park Primary School and celebrities involved.” The exhibition wasn’t widely publicised so we presume Kate’s work has been sold, we have no idea what it went for. (cheers Johnny)…the new issue of Homeground will be available in March. Articles, letters & artwork are always welcome, as always be sure your subscription is up-to-date by visiting the Homeground pages…

A new Kate Bush biography has been published in Italy, written by long-time fan Monica Tessarin. It is called “Kate Bush – I segugi dell’amore“, published by Firenze Atheneum Libri. It costs €16 and can be purchased here. The book contains illustrations by Paulina Stuckey and is said to be a “must have” for all Kate’s fans. Read more here. (warm congratulations to Monica on her new book, thanks also to Antonello)…Ben de Vos found a Sony CD “Celtic Sounds Of Middle Earth” featuring Mná Na hEireann (thanks Ben)…the January/February 2004 edition of the American magazine Women In Rock features a 4-page spread on Kate – “While glorious Kate remains a recluse working on a new record, we wait patiently for an interview. In the meantime, score! Sylie Simmons interviewed Kate in ’89 and here the piece in published for the first time.” (thanks to Tim Bertram)…Kate was mentioned on University Challenge, BBC2 on Monday 26th January, in a round where the panel had to identify guest musicians/singers, a snatch of Kate singing the BVs on Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers” caused them some puzzlement. Nobody guessed correctly, although one panel member suggested it might be Tatu! (thanks Krystyna)…

More on that Lee Kaay story: his FROST 2003 EP which featured December Will Be Magic Again was a massive hit charting at No 1 in Iceland, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, Latvia and Estonia. The limited DVD featured the video as well and included a cameo from a Kate Bush look-a-like as a tribute to Kate. At a recent gig in Latvia, Lee decided to change the whole set and included a 30 minute tribute to Kate as inspiration. His DVD “Russian Tour” will feature his version of “This Woman’s Work” and has now been given a September release date to coincide with a new album. Lee is a huge Kate fan and plans to release a further EP at some stage…Pet Shop Boys Neil & Chris recently stated that the album “The Dreaming” was quite a favourite of theirs and they had heard rumours of a new album in the pipeline at their record company EMI…Claudia De Booche has included her version of The Big Sky on her US single Salute To Ciao Baby (thanks MB)…recent issues of Blender Magazine mention Kate – Dido says Army Dreamers is one of her favourite songs, and Nelly Furtado is likened to Kate in a CD review (thanks Sudane)…The Darkness played their favourite videos on ABC’s Rage (on 7/2/04). Babooshka was one of them and was played in its entirety here (thanks to Brian Parker)…Kate was recently discussed on the Richard & Judy show’s Book Club on ITV in the UK. Starter For Ten was reviewed, and author David Nicholls was interviewed. As prevously reported on this site the main character of the book has an obsession with Kate Bush. Some studio guests discussed the book and the topic came around to Kate – and her absence from the charts. None of the panel had a clue as to what she was doing now. One of them thought that she now writes – but didn’t say whether it was still songs or other forms of writing. Then a brief clip of the Wuthering Heights video was shown. (Cheers to Argotist on the site’s forum).

Due to their huge success in Germany, the Dutch band Within Temptation have decided to release their cover version of Running Up That Hill (already released in Holland in April last year) on a 3-track single CD and 5 track DVD on Feb 16th in Germany. Their official site reports: “On 16th February 2004, Within Temptation release their new, long-awaited single ‘Running Up That Hill’, which has always been a mega success in their native country The Netherlands. The classic originally sung by Kate Bush is taken to a new dimension thanks to its rocking riffs, its sensitive, classical arrangements as well as Sharon den Adel’s atmospheric voice without losing the intensity of the original. A really great cover version!” The video is also available on the German version of their website.  (thanks to Michael Leitz)…Kaz at Cooper Owen auctions has let me know that two Kate items are featured in their Rock Legends auction on the 26th February; a signed photo and a Hounds Of Love item, read more here…

And finally, Night Scented Stock and Army Dreamers were played on BBC Radio 3, The Late Junction Wed 18th Feb (thanks to Jonathan Hugh) – a fascinating discovery unearthed on our site’s forum is the link between Night Scented Stock and Blow Away from the album Never For Ever. Listen to these MP3 clips from Tristan and Gabriela to be amazed: here and here.)

Hi all, back again after a small break (blame the mince pies and mulled wine!). KBN&I will be six years old in about a week. Indications are good that 2004 is an album year, but we don’t want to jinx anything so let’s keep that to ourselves for now. The site is kicking off the new year with a mound of newsbits. Please remember that even between updates on this news page our forum is open 24 hours a day for you to post on and it’s a very busy and entertaining read – the Kate discussions are just the tip of the iceberg – thanks to all the forum members for making it a huge success. On with the latest KB schtuff:

The latest editon of Q Magazine features the “100 Most Insane Moments In Rock!” As you’ll see in the cutting opposite allegedly regarding a visit this year to chez Kate by an EMI executive. (thanks Malcom and thanks to David Sheasby for the scan)…in an interview about Pop Idol Justin Hawkins lead singer from The Darkness had this to say: “I know it sounds harsh but f**k Will and Gareth (winners of last years Pop Idol). Where are the Kate Bush’s and Princes of today? The record companies won’t touch them because they’re too scared.” (thanks to Brian & Svein)…on the 15th December Peter Gabriel was interviewed on BBC Radio 2. Richard Allison played Games Without Frontiers (which features Kate) and asked Peter about Kate. Peter said he was a big fan of her work. Richard commented on the fact that she had not produced any work for a long time. Peter’s reply was “I have heard there is something coming VERY soon.” The DJ was a bit more cynical: “Yes, well she said it would be soon 5 years ago…where’s the new album Kate, c’mon we’re waiting.”…The Times in the UK on the 14th December revealed that “..a Whitehall whistleblower has leaked a secret document showing that Tim Henman is being recommended for a new year’s honour. The insider has disclosed minutes of the main honours committee that vets people for knighthoods and other awards. A five-page Cabinet Office document describes the discussions by Whitehall’s most senior civil servants about the merits and demerits of 38 people being lined up for the new year’s honours list. According to the Whitehall sources, other prominent people being discussed for honours include Eric Sykes, the comedian and Kate Bush, the pop singer.” (thanks Michael)

More on Hayley Westenra‘s upcoming Wuthering Heights single here (she’s already been on the Frank Skinner show on ITV in the UK plugging it) here…Amanda heard Andy Bell on the World Service talking about his love of Kate and playing Wow, Under The Ivy and Moments Of Pleasure on Dec 2nd. He was talking to Kevin Greening on the Top 5 Best show the series which invites musicians to talk about and pick 5 songs from an artist or musical genre that has inspired their own career. Andy talked about her continuing importance in the world of popular music and the influence she has had on him (he even revealed what happened when he dropped round to her house for a cup of tea) Read more here…The Sun newspaper in the UK decided that the recent Q Magazines top 1001 records was a bit out of touch with the real world so they asked their readers to pick their Top 100. Kate made No. 35 with Wuthering Heights. The recent special edition of Q magazine deals with what they call the “1001 Best Songs Ever”. Wuthering Heights made #592 and RUTH #807…The BBC 3 spoof-umentary “Sex, Lies and Michael Aspel” was screened in December and had two brief clips of Kate being interviewed on the Michael Aspel Show. The voice-over said something about Mike meeting “some of the most beautiful women in the world”…On Dec 4th there was a 5-minute interview on BBC1’s breakfast programme with Peter Gabriel. The interview was trailered with a few short clips from a handful of Peter’s videos, and a section of Don’t Give Up was shown, featuring Kate. Peter talked briefly about his new CD greatest hits release, and his involvement with charitable causes including his passion for human rights. (thanks Krys B)…The BBC website mentioned that “New York drag ‘cabaret terrorists’ Kiki and Herb return to London with their latest seasonal show, P***ed at Christmas – a Concert for the Lonely, opening a three performance run at the celebrated south London gay pub, the Vauxhall Tavern. Juxtaposing Christmas classics with songs by Eminem, Nirvana, Kate Bush, Radiohead, Mary J Blige and Debbie Harry…see here…Scarlett has told me that “independent singer/songwriter Danielle French, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, does a stunning cover of “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush on her brand new CD ‘Piece’.” Check out the full clip here (thanks Scarlett)

From Contact Music: “Outkast hip-hop star Big Boi has a surprising musical hero – eccentric British singer Kate Bush. The ‘Miss Jackson’ rapper – real name Antwan Patton – credits his teenage musical development to Bush, and he’s still so infatuated with the reclusive star he wants to track her down and get her to produce songs for his duo’s next album. He says, “My uncle introduced me to Kate Bush’s music when I was about 14 years old, and that shit opened my mind up. The first one I got was The Kick Inside, then I bought Hounds Of Love, then the The Sensual World. “She was so bugged out man! But I felt what she was talking about in the songs. Mother Stands For Comfort, Running Up That Hill. My uncle would explain what the songs stood for. Like The Man With The Child In His Eyes and all that shit. I thought, Wow! she’s so f**king deep! I was infatuated with her, still am. I gotta track her down! I just found out that she was producing all that shit herself! She’s so f***ing dope and so underrated and off the radar. So hopefully on the next record you’re going hear Outkast and Kate Bush do at least two or three songs.” Apparently the band also talk about Kate in the recent Mojo magazine feature. Read more here. (thanks to Christian & Sharon)

The comedy series Little Britain which has recently finished on BBC3 and is now being screened on BBC2 and features a wonderful version of Babooshka in it’s final episode. (thanks Louise)…Lee Kaay re-worked his 2001 version of December Will Be Magic Again for his 2003 “Frost” single EP and DVD. A a video was also shot in Iceland. The EP also featured 3 other seasonal tracks. His DVD “The Russian Tour” will be issued July 2004 and is due to feature his live version of “This Womans Work”. (thanks MB)… the January issue of the UK magazine Gay Times has a brief Q&A with an artist named Jon Cooper (aka Jon Pleased Wimmin); “Are drugs necessary for writing good dance music? Oh God, no. I think they can help sometimes when listening to music, like getting stoned before the cinema. There’s nothing I like more than rolling about the floor cross-eyed, listening to Kate Bush.” (cheers Benjamin)…Channel 5 in the UK trailed the screening of the Batman movie with Kate singing The Man With The Child In His Eyes. It was played over the part of the film during which Batman relives the shooting of his parents when he was a young boy. (thanks David)…The Sunday Herald in Scotland published a list of the 100 greatest albums. Hounds of Love is included, and the author of the list wrote an incredibly positive and well-written blurb for it: “The tidal beauty of Kate Bush’s moon music has long enlivened the mainstream of British pop. Rather than ranking her alongside dull no-marks such as Peter Gabriel and Dave Gilmour, we should look at her work in the tradition of such visionary English artists as William Blake, Derek Jarman and Current 93. 1985’s Hounds Of Love is still her greatest work, mixing esoteric musings with a series of compositions that seem to completely ignore any of the basic tenets of songcraft. They rarely, if ever, venture into predictable verse/chorus/verse territory, yet they are unparalleled in their ability to burrow deep beneath your skin. Although the second half of the record is by far the most ambitious and startling – a conceptual suite defined by dramatic tempo-changes and cut-up voices, it’s the languorous beauty of the singles that remains the most affecting. Running Up That Hill, in particular, still sounds like the most unlikely pop song, its gush of hauntingly surreal imagery as eerily affecting as some half-remembered dream. She may be small but she’s undeniably powerful.” The writer mentions a ton of albums that very much deserve to be on such lists but are usually overlooked for whatever reason. Read morehere

Malcolm Calder has sent this link to an article by David Kennan in the Sunday Herald (Scottish newspaper) from November concerning Wilhelm Reich, Cloudbusters and Kate and Patti Smith’s songs based on his life, read it here…an old article from 1999 featuring Tricky in the German “Visions” music magazine. He mentions Kate and her influence on his own work. Apparently the drum line from Watching You Without Me was sample looped in his song Contradiction from the Juxtapose album. The article can be found (in German) here (thanks Robert)…German TV channel ZDF screened a programme called “Die ZDF Kultnacht – RockPop”. Featuring old clips from the programme “RockPop“, including Kate’s performance of Babooshka. Read more here and there are some screenshots of this Kate performance at Gaffaweb here…The News Of The World printed a cartoon in it’s 28th December edition of Kate with George Bush (with photos of their heads stuck onto their animated bodies), housed within a picture frame, and captioned “Quibbling Siblings…Kate and George Bush”(!)…a trailer for a Channel 5 documentary on Emily Bronte played Kate’s “Wuthering Heights”…and finally the Christmas edition of Ireland’s music paper Hot Press contained this excellent letter which won Letter Of The Fortnight! You’ll see why…(big newsbit thanks to Michael Leitz and Cynthia Conrad)