THIS WOMAN’S WORK – A KATE BUSH CABARET CELEBRATION AT THE ROYAL VAUXHALL TAVERN IN LONDON
A FUNDRAISER FOR CABARET VS CANCER
Following last year’s sell out show, A Deal With God, HomeGround and KateBushNews.com are thrilled to be back once again at the iconic LGBTQ+ venue for another Kate Bush themed cabaret show to raise money for Cabaret vs Cancer.
This Woman’s Work will be a celebration of the work of Kate Bush, featuring cabaret, drag and burlesque performances of, or inspired by Kate songs. From Wuthering Heights to Before the Dawn, her Whole Story will be represented.
The cast will be announced shortly, but we can promise you returning stars from last year’s show, plus some exciting new names. Watch this space and the RVT socials.
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a world famous LGBTQ+ performance and club venue, located in Vauxhall, South London, just a few minutes walk from Vauxhall underground, rail and bus station.
Cabaret vs Cancer is an independent charity set up in 2014 by performer Rose Thorne and Dave from HomeGround is a Patron for the charity. Theyraise money, via live events and online auctions to help families, especially children cope with the effects of cancer, you can find out more at https://www.cabaretvscancer.co.uk/
With more than 450 million users, Shazam is an app that can identify music based on a short sample played and using the microphone on the device. Kate’s This Woman’s Work has seen a huge surge in searches since being featured on the Netflix film The Mother, starring Jennifer Lopez, which debuted a few days ago on the streaming service. Kate’s song is played over the closing moments of the action-thriller. This Woman’s Work is the No.1 most searched for song in the US right now, #2 in the UK and #8 worldwide.
It is worth noting though that the song isn’t moving to the top of the iTunes, Spotify or official charts around the world in the same way as Running Up That Hill last summer. It’s great to see more people discovering Kate’s searing ballad, though!
Many were shocked and saddened to hear that the great bass player, John Giblin, a longstanding member of Kate’s musical “family” and ultimately her KT Fellowship, has sadly died on Sunday in Cheltenham, aged 71. John’s extensive work with Kate started as far back as playing on Babooshka and Breathing from the Never For Ever album, and continued with his contributions on the albums The Sensual World, The Red Shoes, Aerial, Director’s Cut and 50 Words For Snow. John first worked with Kate when he played on Peter Gabriel’s song No Self Control with her in 1979. John was also Kate’s chosen bass guitarist on her Before The Dawn shows in 2014. His contribution to her work has been immense.
UPDATE: Kate has added some beautiful words about her dear friend John Giblin to her official site:
Everyone loved John. He was a really beautiful man in every sense of the word. Everybody wanted to work with him because he was such a great talent and everyone wanted to be his friend because he was such a wonderful person. I loved John so very much. He was one of my very dearest and closest friends for over forty years. We were always there for each other. He was very special. I loved working with him, not just because he was such an extraordinary musician but because he was always huge amounts of fun. We would often laugh so much that we had to just give in to it and sit and roar with laughter for a while. He loved to be pushed in a musical context, and it was really exciting to feel him cross that line and find incredibly gorgeous musical phrases that were only there for him. He would really sing. It was such a joy and an inspiration to see where he could take it. We’ve all lost a great man, an unmatchable musician and I’ve lost my very special friend. My world will never be the same again without him. Kate
Described by producer Robert M Corich as a “bass guitarist, double bass player, arranger and all round session musician extraordinaire”, John was born to a musical family in Bellshill, Scotland where he started his interest in music from a young age, playing with various rock and pop bands in his teens and progressing from there. From the Facebook page of the band Osibisa who John recently worked with:
“His immense performing ability was noticed early on and he was soon touring and recording with Peter Gabriel as well as Kate Bush, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and Annie Lennox to name a few. He became the bassist, often using fretless bass, for the band Simple Minds where he replaced Derek Forbes and performed with the band on three albums before returning to his former passion as a studio musician.
During his career he worked with countless artists and groups, covering a wide range of musical genres. Including Peter Gabriel, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Donovan, Judie Tzuke, Fish, Manfred Mann’s Earthband, Jon Anderson, Roberta Flack, Mark Knopfler, George Martin, David Sylvian, Sting, Wendell Richardson, Joan Armatrading, David Arnold, Richard Ashcroft, Asia, Big Dish, Colin Blunstone, Brand X, Elkie Brooks, Duncan Browne, Sarah Brightman, Chris De Burgh, Brian Eno, Exile, Roberta Flack, Al Green, Steve Harley, Natalie Imbruglia, David Knopfler, KD Lang, The Psychedelic Furs, Ralph McTell, Gerry Rafferty, Tanita Tikaram and Scott Walker among many others.”
Interviewed in 2016 John described his delight at being asked to play on Kate’s live comeback. “I had a call from Kate Bush “I want to do a lot of live shows!”…and they were amazing! Dear Kate, we have been working together since 1978! Kate’s band was a perfect combination of David Rhodes, Omar Hakim and Minu Cinelu. I really was a happy bass player!”
We are thinking today of John’s family and friends and everyone in the music world who will deeply mourn his passing.
RIP John Giblin – 26th February 1952 to 14th May 2023
Last month Kate signed a series of prints at her home which are based on the soundwave of her song Running Up That Hill to raise funds for the charity War Child UK, and they have just gone on sale. From Andrew at War Child:
“It’s been a big year for Kate Bush. First, Netflix catapaults her back onto the charts. Then she gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And now she gets to sign Soundwaves? What more could someone ask for?! All jokes aside, we are grateful to be working again with Kate. She signed a few originals for us almost a decade ago as Tim was just starting out with this idea, and we’re so happy to have reconnected for a run of 100 prints of “Running Up That Hill (A Deal WIth God).””Running Up That Hill” has been a hit for decades, but the song ascended to truly unfathomable heights last year thanks to its prominent feature in Netflix’s Stranger Things. It reached #1 on the charts in several countries and its streams on Spotify in the US increased by almost 10,000%. Kate signed the prints as part of our ongoing celebration of War Child UK’s 30th anniversary in 2023.”
We remember the legendary Irish fiddle player, Seán Keane of The Chieftains, who has sadly passed away aged 76. Seán played fiddle on Kate’s Night of the Swallow. RIP and thanks for the incredible tunes, Seán. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
Today it was announced that Kate has finally been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so in this new episode of The Kate Bush Fan Podcast Seán catches up on this news and other recent exciting developments in the world of Kate Bush music – including her Fish People rebrand and new partnership with The state51 Conspiracy plus Seán discusses the new paperback edition of How To Be Invisible, Kate’s recent award nominations and we also remember the late guitarist, the brilliant Ian Bairnson.
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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Well, it’s a case of fourth time lucky for Kate as she is officially announced today to be one of the seven music acts to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the USA along with Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow, George Michael and the Spinners. Congratulations to Kate!
I have to admit I’m completely shocked at the news of being inducted into the Hall of Fame! It’s something I just never thought would happen. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me. It means a great deal that you would think of me. It’s such a huge honour. Now as part of the initiation ceremony I get to find out about the secret handshake… there is one, right?
Kate
Eligible for nomination since 2004 (nominated artists must be at least 25 years into their careers), Kate had previously been nominated in 2018, 2021 and 2022 before finally being inducted this year, her massive US chart success last year perhaps making this inevitable.
These honorees will be celebrated in an induction ceremony and concert to take place November 3rd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Obviously there is no word as of yet if Kate wishes to attend or perform at the ceremony. Hall of Fame president and chief executive Joel Peresman told Rolling Stone that he hoped Kate would perform at the induction ceremony: “We open that door. It’s up to her.” If she did perform, it would be her first live performance since her 2014 London concert residency, Before the Dawn. More about the Hall of Fame inductees here.
There are six more inductees beyond that list, with the distinction of being selected by a select Hall of Fame committee to join the seven performers who were voted in via general balloting. These are singer Chaka Khan, instrumentalist-producer Al Kooper and lyricist Bernie Taupin, all in the “musical excellence” category; pioneering rock guitarist Link Wray and hip-hop originator DJ Kool Herc in the “musical influence” division; and “Soul Train” TV host Don Cornelius as the recipient of the annual Ahmet Ertegun Award.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA, have revealed the nominations for the inaugural P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award, which honours “the impact of television in the UK and its power to entertain, inform and bring the nation together – looking back at key moments from 2022 that inspired and moved audiences at home”. It includes a nomination for that momentous scene from Stranger Things that featured Kate’s Running Up That Hill which went on to make the song the most massive worldwide hit of Kate’s career.
The six nominees are:
Derry Girls, Channel 4 – The Finale, the people of Northern Ireland vote overwhelmingly for peace
Heartstopper, Netflix – Nick and Charlie’s First Kiss
Platinum Jubilee: Party at the Palace, BBC One – Paddington Meets The Queen
Stranger Things, Netflix – Lucas, Dustin, and Steve rescue Max from the demonic Vecna by playing her favourite song – Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill
The Real Mo Farah, BBC One – Sir Mo Farah revealing he was illegally trafficked to the UK
The Traitors, BBC One – The Final Roundtable
Members of the public can vote for their P&O Cruises Memorable Moment online via bafta.org/moment. Voting will close at midday on May 2, 2023 and the winner will be announced at the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises on May 14, 2023 on BBC One and iPlayer from 7pm.
Kate’s Running Up That Hill has been shortlisted for “Most Performed Song” at this year’s Ivor Novello Awards, after the song’s massive global success last year. As the BBC reports, the track is up against several contemporary hits including As It Was by Harry Styles, Heat Waves by Glass Animals and two tracks by Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits and Shivers. The award recognises the song that was played most often on TV and radio, and at concerts and DJ sets, over the last year. The awards, which are named after Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, will be handed out at a ceremony in London on Thursday, 18 May.
Running Up That Hill was previously nominated for best contemporary song at the 1986 Ivor Novello Awards, but lost out to Tina Turner’s We Don’t Need Another Hero. Kate has previously won two Ivor Novellos: Best lyric for The Man With The Child In His Eyes in 1979 and best song for Don’t Give Up, a duet with Peter Gabriel, in 1987. In 2002 Kate won an award from the Ivors for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. In September 2020 Kate became a fellow of the Ivors academy, receiving much praise from her peers in the music industry, the highest honour the awards can bestow.
Kate’s book of lyrics, How To Be Invisible was published in a new paperback version last week and is now available in book shops across the UK and Ireland. A very limited amount of signed copies have also been sent out to those who managed to pre-order them from selected retailers in January. Publisher Faber have announced that they are “delighted that the paperback of Kate Bush’s How To Be Invisible has entered the charts this week as a Top Ten Sunday Times Bestseller“
Kate’s new introduction is a lovely addition to this paperback edition. Replacing the original introduction to the 2018 hardback edition written by Kate’s friend and collaborator David Mitchell, Kate has now written a very personal five page piece about what her written words mean to her, remembering how she would crawl as child, under her father’s piano, and listen to him while he played, leading to her profound relationship with that special instrument and her songwriting. “I was extremely prolific when I was very young”. It’s a truly wonderful read, well worth the purchase alone.
Sunday Times Bestsellers April 16th 2023
It’s great to hear that so many fans are now reading her lyrics with new eyes, much as she had hoped herself. Kate references the process involved in creating the lyrics to songs like Cloudbusting, Mrs Bartolozzi and Snowflake while citing the influence of the likes of author Alan Garner, singer Frank Sinatra, The Trio Bulgarka and the band King Crimson on her wordcraft. She even reveals the roots of her very early composition The Man With The Child In His Eyes; a mystery man she recently met again who had no idea he was the subject she was “madly in love with” as a young teenager!
As announced, a very small number of those copies have invisible ink messages inscribed on the signed page from Kate – only visible under UV light. Secret messages from Kate include “Boo!”, “Now, You’ve Read Between the Lines”, “Can’t See The Words For The Trees?”, and “Now You Don’t, Now You See Me!” Special copies indeed!
It was very sad to hear today that the wonderful Scottish guitarist, Ian Bairnson, has passed away after a long battle with dementia. The news was confirmed by a post on his wife Leila’s Facebook page. Ian played guitar on many tracks on Kate’s first two albums and also backing vocals on Oh To Be In Love and beer bottles on Room For The Life. Later he recorded bass voices on the song Delius and went on to play guitar on Leave it Open from The Dreaming album. He is probably best known to fans for his iconic guitar solo on Wuthering Heights which closes out Kate’s hit single. His stunning work on these songs will forever have a place in our hearts.
Update 21st April: Kate has added her thoughts on Ian’s passing on her official site:
Ian
I was very sad to hear the news about the death of Ian Bairnson. He was a very sweet man. He was a huge talent and had a fabulous voice with an extraordinary vocal range but he was mainly known for his guitar work. We lost touch after we worked together on my early albums but I remember he had a lovely, warm smile and he played the inspired solo on Wuthering Heights with a broken arm. He was still wearing the cast! He was in a lot of pain but soldiered on and like all great artists, he truly suffered for his art. Making my first album was pretty daunting and I was working with people I’d never met before. Ian was kind and supportive and that meant such a lot. Thank you, Ian. Kate
He was a session guitarist before joining up in 1973 with former Bay City Rollers musicians David Paton and Billy Lyall in the band Pilot, and contributed the harmony guitar parts to their hit single, ‘Magic’. Ian was best known for being one of the core members of The Alan Parsons Project. A glittering career included work on over one hundred albums and a huge amount of live work with artists such as Al Stewart, Joe Cocker, Jon Anderson, Chris DeBurgh, Mick Fleetwood, Neil Diamond, Sting, Eric Clapton, Beverley Craven and many more.
Sending our sincere thoughts and condolences to his wife, family, friends and loved ones today.
In January this year the katebushnews.com website turned 25 years old! In this episode of The Kate Bush Fan Podcast Seán celebrates this hard-to-believe milestone by asking some fan friends to cherry-pick their choice of news stories, both obscure and momentous, from the site archives which date back to 1998! An enjoyable, eclectic chat with guests Dave Cross, Paul Thomas and Darrell Babidge! Here’s links to the news stories that we chose from the archives:
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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Kate has signed copies of the Running Up That Hill CD single, issued in 2022
Kate has donated a number of signed Running Up That Hill CD singles to the annual Cabaret vs Cancer charity music auction. Cabaret vs Cancer was set up in 2016 and raises money through cabaret and burlesque shows as well as themed online auctions to help people coping with the effects of cancer. Kate has donated signed items for the previous two music auctions. Dave Cross from HomeGround Magazine is a patron of the charity, and last year organised a Kate themed cabaret fundraiser at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London. The music auction also includes signed items from Kim Wilde, Belinda Carlisle, The Pet Shop Boys, Stormzy, Taylor Swift, Joan Armatrading and many limited edition vinyl and CD collectibles. Please do check out the auction online here, a wonderful cause – thanks Dave!
Interesting news this lunchtime, Kate’s official Fish People site and social media channels have been updated with a brand new logo design. The logo has been designed by Timorous Beasties who previously designed the Between Two Worlds sea/sky artwork for the Before The Dawn concert programme which later also featured on the Remastered CD box sets. (UPDATE: her site now also features some wonderfully hidden fishy secrets – see bottom of this post!) The updates come as she announces via her official site that from March 1st 2023 she is moving her album catalogue from Warner Music Group over to The state51 Conspiracy with the following albums:
The Dreaming Hounds of Love The Sensual World The Red Shoes Aerial Directors Cut 50 Words For Snow The Kick Inside (USA only) Lionheart (USA only) Never For Ever (USA only)
Kate will be re-releasing the Hounds of Love album in special presentations of vinyl and CD later in the year. A brand new range of Fish People merchandise featuring the new logo design has also been launched, including a soon to be released jigsaw, vinyl slipmats and aprons! The news item finishes with this note: “Fish People continue to have an ongoing positive relationship with WMG.” You can read more about The state51 Conspiracy here. Update July 2024: An additional Fish People logo beach towel has been added to the range.
UPDATE: Kate is clearly having a lot of fun with this business refresh! Be sure to click on the “O” of the word PEOPLE on the new logo on the landing page of www.katebush.com – it will reveal some wonderful, cryptic Fish People secrets! FISHY SPOILERS BELOW
From the hidden section behind Kate’s new logo :
Fish People were a civilisation which became lost around 900 BC. Little is known about them other than they walked out from the seas onto the land one day when no-one was looking. It is believed that they were centuries ahead of their time. Their culture was not defined by wealth or social status and they abolished all violence as they believed in the harmony of nature and the equality of all oceans.
Their mystical language was thought to originate from The Tethys Trench. They could speak simultaneously to all aquatic creatures and to most of the humans in the Western Hemisphere. There were certain frequencies in their language that could only be understood by small crustaceans and very young children.
The full meaning of where their distinctive letterforms came from, has been lost. Many believe that these originated from the complex migrational paths of birds and a cellular-level understanding of the underwater mammals that had moved around them.
Fish People were said to have walked back into the seas one night when everyone was having dinner and it was foretold that they would again return to land when their teachings would be needed to heal a wounded world.
The seven variants of The Kick Inside sleeve, including the 1988 Swedish cassette variant! Photo: Monty Moncrieff
Today marks 45 years since the release of The Kick Inside, Kate’s brilliant debut record! It sounds as beguiling today as all those years ago. This album is a companion for life. Below you can hear Kate in 1978 talking about the songs on the album from the US “Self Portrait” radio special promotional disc.
As we celebrate, don’t forget our news archives have lots of features about this album and its legacy: like the time the entire album was played live by Cloudbusting for the 40th anniversary of the album when Del Palmer played Kate Bush songs on stage for the first time in decades…or this detailed look at the creation of the famous ‘Kite’ cover…don’t forget to listen to the recent BBC Radio feast of programming to mark the 45th anniversary…not to mention the many, many news features we have ran about the album’s worldwide hit single, Wuthering Heights! And do check out all those The Kick Inside collectibles…
Czech coloured vinyl reissues of The Kick Inside. Photo: Monty MoncrieffSeán Twomey
www.katebushnews.com
