Lifelong Kate fan, Sky Boswell, is looking for musicians with passion and dedication to join her in bringing Kate’s music to the stage. Recently guest performer with Cloudbusting at HomeGround’s Midsummer Party in London, Sky has written and performed her own music and now wants to take her Kate band on the road across the UK. If you’re interested, or need more information, please contact us here and we’ll pass on the details to Sky! sean@katebushnews.com
DJ Phil Marriot will be playing at the HomeGround and KateBushNews.com 2014 party at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern on Friday 20th June, running from 9pm-3am. We asked him to pick his top five tracks for the party.
Sat In Your Lap
I love the frantic and unconventional structure of this song. It’s one of my favourite Kate singles from the early 80’s, and with 1981 being my favourite year for music, this is one of the reasons why. I vividly remember hearing this as a kid and being blown away by its power and suspense.
Constellation Of The Heart
I’m trying to resist the urge of playing the same songs that I played at last year’s fantastic Kate event, but still opting for the upbeat tracks with a sense of warmth. The Red Shoes is my second favourite album, and this feel-good track really sums up the sound of a passionate artist really enjoying making music. A great party track.
Waking The Witch
This is the ultimate Kate Bush masterpiece in my opinion. Within the short space of 4 minutes, it manages to sway from melancholic soundtrack splendour to demonic, schizophrenic frenzy. Erratic percussion, chiming church bells, aggressive demon voices and gunfire all feature in a showcase of dramatic perfection. Hounds Of Love is regarded as a classic album. And this is the proof.
50 Words For Snow
With Kate’s forthcoming London shows surfacing not that long after the release of 50 Words For Snow, it would be foolish to ignore this track, as this is not only the most uptempo track on the album, but also the title track. Not only is it completely hypnotic, it’s also an exercise for Stephen Fry to mutter words like ‘Zhivagodamarbletash’, ‘Whippoccino’ and ‘Creme-bouffant’. Which, of course, is a very good – if completely bonkers – thing.
You’re The One
The joy of playing the final DJ set at Before The Night is that I can round my set off with something touching and poignant. This Red Shoes cut, featuring Jeff Beck on guitar, highlights Kate at her truly heartbreaking best.
You can get advance tickets for the party for £8 from this LINK HERE or there will be limited number for £10 on the door. Also DJing on the night will be Paul Burston, Dave Cross and Paul Thomas plus a special live set by Cloudbusting!
The latest edition of Prog Magazine features Kate on the cover of it’s wrap around cardboard wallet – with the tagline “Kate Bush Resurfaces”. The issue explores “the inside story of her first and only tour” plus “what to expect from this year’s Before the Dawn shows”. More speculation, possibly, but another handsome addition to the widespread media coverage Kate is receiving since she announced her live shows. (keen-eyed fans will also spot site-favourites Syd Arthur mentioned on the cover too!)
Elsewhere in this issue, we’re delighted to report that Volume 1 of the HomeGround Anthology receives a fantastic review – they really seem to get what the editors of the magazine aimed to achieve with this massive project!
Order Prog Rock Magazine at their website here, iPad edition is available at the Apple store here.
The June issue (out now!) of Record Collector magazine, the bible for all serious UK record CD and music collectors, contains an enthusiastic review by Jason Draper, of Volume 1 of the the HomeGround Anthology.
“Ba-book-shka!
Missed out on tickets to see KB at Hammersmith in the autumn? Pick up this weighty tome and you’ll be so immersed in its world you might not even notice she’s there. For the first of two anthologies of dedicated Kate Bush fanzine HomeGround – published simultaneously – the editors have stripped out various articles, think pieces, fan reactions and readers’ letters from throughout the magazine’s history, matching them with a Kate Bush timeline.
Launching in 
1982, HomeGround had the benefit of looking at The Kick Inside with hindsight; seems it shared chart space with Elvis Costello, Blondie and Buzzcocks – yet, neither punk nor prog, it was something unique in the dying years of the 70s. Wuthering Heights may have entranced at least one contributor at the age of 15, but by Hounds Of Love the NME would hail Running Up That Hill as the best single ever recorded by a white British artist. Shame, then, that one fan’s reaction was “complete despair” at hearing “a dance song with a somewhat interesting but monotonous and overbearing drum machine beat”.
That’s this anthology’s masterstroke: with little 
self-editing, the HomeGround team have created a compendium faithful to the original publication. Opinion may vary throughout, but one thing’s for sure: everything written here is driven by love and passion for Kate Bush and her music. Repro illustrations and posters for video-party events capture the fanzine aesthetic, while fan poetry and short stories – though unlikely to vie for your attention in the face of more pertinent diversions such as a brief history of “cloudbuster” Wilhelm Reich – are testament to the ways in which Kate’s music touched her most loyal admirers. It’s every bit as valuable as an in-depth biography because it dares to go deeper into the fan psyche, offering a plethora of insights into this woman’s work.”
Our thanks to Jason and to Record Collector for actually understanding what we set out to do with the HomeGround Anthology, and our thanks for being supportive of the Magazine over the years right back to the 1980s.
Q Magazine has ran a news item in their current issue (Lily Allen cover) on Kate’s return to the live stage. A thoughtfully considered piece by Mark Blake “salutes the reappearance of the only living pop star to maintain true mystique”
“Whatever the motivation, there’s something cherishable about a songwriter who’s succeeded in doing only what they want and when they want, for as long as she has. In a world where many pop stars tweet their every thought, these Kate Bush gigs demonstrate that she has the one commodity, other than talent, that can’t be marketed into existence. It’s the element of surprise. That alone makes these shows worth the wait.” Visit the Q Magazine site here.
Meanwhile, in Gay Times, singer Darren Hayes (formerly of Savage Garden) writes about his excitement at the prospect of seeing Before the Dawn in London later this year.
“I have no idea what Kate will do on stage later this year. She could stand there with a nose flute for all I care. True to form and in keeping with all of her artistic decisions, she has truly earned the right to do whatever the hell she wants. I’m just glad we get to witness it on her terms.” Visit the Gay Times site here. (thanks to Gary Sutton-Boulton for the magazine shots)
The current edition of the NME has a piece which speculates on what Kate’s ‘Before the Dawn’ live shows might consist of. Not much in the way of earth-shattering stuff here, we all know already that Kate intends to feature the tracks from The Ninth Wave in some way (she said so herself on her own site). There is a nice quote from David Rhodes who has been rehearsing his guitar parts with Kate:
“[Kate]’s charming, funny and sings beautifully. Sadly, that’s probably the extent of what I can divulge at the moment.”
Building on speculation that the shows are going to be more than just a regular band gig, an “insider” is quoted as saying: “It’s her statement that she wants to come back to the stage…it’ll be a Kate Bush show, but it’ll be theatrical and tell a story.” We have a feeling they could very well be right! Read the full article here.
Following the huge success of the 2012 and 2013 events, HomeGround and katebushnews.com are pleased to announce that there will be another Kate themed party this very special year. Not only can we celebrate Kate’s forthcoming live shows, but also the publication of the two-volume HomeGround Anthology. A very special year indeed!
The party takes place on the night before the Summer Solstice, Friday 20th June 2014 and again will be at the legendary Royal Vauxhall Tavern. The RVT is in Vauxhall, South London, just over the Thames from the West End and is a two minute walk from Vauxhall Underground, main line and bus stations and is two tube stops from the Victoria railway terminus. The RVT is home to award-winning club night Duckie as well as the Hot August Fringe Festival and many other top music and cabaret events and performances.
We start at 9pm and go through to 3am. The party will feature Kate-themed DJ sets from Paul Burston, Phil Marriott, Dave Cross and Paul Thomas.
The night will also feature an exclusive live performance from Kate Bush tribute band Cloudbusting. The band will be performing a set mixing some of Kate’s most well-known songs with fan favourites. New Cloudbusting vocalist Mandy here performs Kashka from Baghdad:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiwWrLaycFQ&feature=player_detailpage[/youtube]
This will be another great night, in a special time a chance to hear Kate’s amazing music played loud in a club, and to meet loads of fellow KB fans!
You can order your advance tickets using the PayPal buttons below:
Single advance ticket: £8.00 |
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Two advance tickets: £15.00 |
NOTE: There will be a limited number of tickets available on the door on the night for £10 each.
Raven Bush performing with Syd Arthur at the 2014 Coachella festival
We like to keep up with the latest happenings in the world of the excellent Cambridge band Syd Arthur here at katebushnews.com, and Stephen Humphries has let me know about an interview he recently conducted with Raven Bush, Kate’s nephew. As well as discussing their new album, Sound Mirror, live appearances at Coachella and hanging out with their friend Paul Weller, Raven is asked about Kate’s return to live work:
Your aunt, Kate Bush, is pretty famous—she’s a rarer sight than Beyoncé. Has she given you any feedback on your music and are you going to see her perform live in London this fall?
It’s always positive feedback from her. At the minute, it’s looking like I will be around. It all depends on what happens after the record comes out. I’m really looking forward to seeing her play myself. For me, it’s totally surreal, as I’ve never seen her play live. Kate is so down to earth. My relationship with her has really been as an auntie outside of the musical profession.
Read the full interview at the Under the Radar magazine site here. Keep up with all the latest Syd Arthur happenings at their Facebook page here. (thanks to Stephen for the heads up)
The current edition of the bi-monthly magazine, Classic Pop, features Trevor Leighton’s beautiful new portrait of Kate on the cover along with the tagline: “Kate Bush – The making of a genius.” As well as exploring Kate’s early career and the 1979 tour in detail, the feature also recommends 10 “Essential Works” and offers a “Where are they now?” summary for all of the 1979 tour personnel.
Classic Pop say: “For this issue of Classic Pop we chat with the cast of musicians and producers that helped to steer our cover star Kate Bush on the way from teenage prodigy to global success!”
It features new interviews with people who have worked with Kate. Glenys Groves, (one of Kate’s Tour of Life backing singers) says “It was a very happy tour…the fun mood was down in no little part to Kate – she was great to be around.” Kevin Burke, (childhood friend of Paddy’s who played violin on the track Violin from Never For Ever), producer Andrew Powell, guitarists David Paton and Ian Bairnson, video director (The Dreaming/There Goes a Tenner) Paul Henry, drummer Stuart Elliott, and Fairlight programmer JJ Jeczalik are all interviewed about Kate’s early career years. All in all a very nice article!
Read more at the magazine’s site here.
In a piece about David Suchet’s upcoming West End role in The Importance of Being Earnest, journalist Baz Bamigboye spoke to theatre director Adrian Noble. It is mentioned that Noble is “helping Kate Bush to prepare for her upcoming concerts.” Read it here.
Adrian Noble was the Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003. In addition to his theatre work, Adrian has also directed several successful London West End musicals including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Secret Garden.
His most recent opera productions include Cosi Fan Tutte, Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni for Opera de Lyon, Macbeth at the Metropolitan Opera, Carmen for the Opera Comique, Alcina at the Vienna State Opera, Xerxes for the Theater an der Wien and Simon Boccanegra for Rome Opera.
UPDATE: 24th April 2014: The folks at Vinyl Guru have extended the closing date of the competition to May 31st. They have also now uploaded the full version of the interview to Youtube, so everyone can find the correct answer. All you need to do to enter now is listen to the full interview and post in the comments section what the question was. The winner will be drawn at random after the competition closes on May 31st.
Vinyl Guru, the online vinyl records and accessories store is launching a new website on Record Store Day on the 19th of April. Their main launch feature is an exclusive audio archive interview recorded with Kate in 1979. Gered Mankowitz is supporting the site by allowing them to use several of his iconic images of Kate and a competition prize of his latest book, ‘50 Years of Rock and Roll Photography‘.
The competition involves listening to a clip of Kate answering a question and guessing what she has been asked. The full archive interview will be available to hear on 19th April.
NB: You can watch the full clip here but please leave your entries at the Vinyl Guru website here.
Peter Gabriel’s longtime guitarist, David Rhodes, has confirmed that he has been busy rehearsing with Kate and will be joining her for the Before the Dawn shows which start in August. From his official Facebook page this morning:
“Busy times. Have just spent the last eight days rehearsing with Kate Bush. Needless to say, a delight and a pleasure. Off to New York on Tuesday to play for PG at the Rock Roll Hall Of Fame shindig.”
Meanwhile singer Sandra Marvin has tweeted that she’ll be on backing vocals duties for Kate’s shows. On the day following the live shows announcement, she tweeted:
“My 3rd reason to be happy….Because my summer will be spent singing for @KateBushMusic in her UK Concerts!! EXCITED!”
It might all eventually seem real to us! Thanks for all the emails and apologies if we’ve been useless at getting back to you, we’ve been swamped. Some of the headlines from the last fortnight gathered here (with thanks to Tom Pilcher for scanning many of them). We’re slowly getting back to what I thought we’d mainly be doing around now and that’s selling the HomeGround books! Do spread the word on the books, they are wonderful. I am so proud of Peter, Krys and Dave and what they’ve achieved. – Seán
This may have passed some of you by in the Before the Dawn madness of the last couple of weeks, but our immensely talented designer friend, Brian Cloughley, has put together a beautiful infographic celebrating the Tour of Life in 1979 (which is 35 years ago now). Thanks Brian!
Check out more of Brian’s work, including other fantastic visuals he has created for katebushnews.com at his page here.
The following ‘report’ was fabricated by myself, Seán, earlier this morning. Thanks for taking it in the spirit it was intended! Obviously myself and HomeGround promise as always never to rely on rumour or unverified sources to bring you the latest Kate Bush news. Anyway, here is the FALSE report I posted this morning, for April Fools Day – Seán
A source this morning reports that Kate is working with the management of the Eventim Apollo to turn the venue into what is being described as a “controlled water environment” for part of her London shows. The Apollo, formerly the Hammersmith Odeon, seats more than 3,500 people and will require an extensive re-fit including under seat tubing for “splash effects” as well as an enormous “tropical” roof sprinkler system. Meetings are said to be taking place with at least one leading US film effects company to synchronise these effects at key points during portions of the show believed to be taken from ‘The Ninth Wave’ suite of songs.
Unconfirmed reports also suggest the production team have been instructed by Kate to hire an unprecedented amount of working life jackets for her run of shows which begin on August 26th and run for 22 nights. More on this development as we get it.
Other Kate-related April Fool pranks that we heard of included:
Radio Carmarthenshire & Scarlet FM Presenter Jay Curtis decided to announce on his radio show that singer Kate Bush had announced a further one-off special gig in Carmarthenshire this year, in addition to the 22 shows previously announced at the Apollo, Hammersmith, in London. Thousands of listeners gathered at a local ticket office to buy the tickets…
eFestivals claiming Metallica were to headline Glastonbury, playing Kate Bush songs: Gigwise they reported that the metal icons would be headlining Worthy Farm, claiming that Michael Eavis called them up to say: “Then it came to me, a way to have them headline and not be too metal, by not playing their own material. So that was it, proper job, Metallica will be headlining The Pyramid Stage this year, doing the classic Kate Bush album ‘Hounds Of Love’ in full, plus a selection of hits from Kate Bush’s back catalogue. Personally I’m shaking in my shorts with excitement!”