A Dutch documentary entitled ‘Come Back Kate‘ is part of the 20th International Documentary Film Festival, held in Amsterdam 22nd Nov – 2nd Dec. It will be screened at 8.15pm Friday 23rd November (and on 3 further dates over the course of the festival). The documentary, directed by Helena Muskens and Quirine Racké, is 53 minutes long and according to the festival brochure features ‘diehard fans of Kate Bush talking about their special bond with the singer…the fans talk about her as if they were good friends…the result is a fascinating peek into the phenomenon of fandom. Bush’s devotees create their own magic world around her mythical persona, some of them celebrate her birthday on a beach in southern England…” The description certainly makes the film sound as if it’s painting Kate as an odd recluse (and we know what Kate thinks of that description!) and the featured fans as deluded and a little creepy, but having said that I haven’t seen the documentary myself. Read more about the film here.
A very in-depth new book about Kate’s work and in particular the Hounds Of Love album has just been released by Ashgate publishing as part of their Popular and Folk Music Series. From the publishers: “The album allows the author, Ron Moy, the critical opportunity to explore a wide range of issues relating to technology, production, authorship, grain of the voice, iconography, critical and commercial impact, collaboration, gender, sexuality, narrative, and social and cultural context.” Ron Moy is a lecturer in the School of Media, Critical and Creative Arts, at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. As such this book presents a very academic text book approach to appraising Kate’s work – I haven’t yet seen a copy myself, but on reading the author’s introduction the book should be somewhat refreshing after the recent published biographies. And any book which ends with a closing section called “Coda: We Become Panoramic” is a tempting proposition for Aerial-era Kate fans! The book is called ‘Kate Bush and Hounds of Love’ and can be ordered at Amazon here.
A new calendar featuring photos of Kate has just been issued. While this isn’t an official calendar release and won’t be featuring any new pics of Kate there will be demand from fans. David over at the KutureShock website is offering the calendar with free postage to UK fans from this site. You just need to enter bush2008 in the coupon section at the checkout. You can order the calendar at this page here.
Del Palmer‘s much-anticipated solo album, Leap Of Faith, is now available to order at his official website. Payments can be made via Paypal, and the CD costs just £10 plus £2 postage to anywhere. We wish Del every success with Leap of Faith and encourage all our site visitors to check it out!
There’s a lot of talk right now about Kate’s superb cover version of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man‘ (from the Two Rooms tribute album in 1991). It’s about to be named the Greatest Cover of all time by reader’s of the Observer newspaper in the UK. The single came out between the releases of The Sensual World and The Red Shoes albums and shifted more copies than any singles from either of those two albums. Backed by a memorable appearance on the Wogan BBC TV show and by an exuberant monochrome video, Kate truly made the track her own.
Lists, as we know, are controversial things, so you can read comments on this result at the Observer Music Monthly blog here ranging from ” marvellously mad” to “nasty Eighties-style plastic white reggae”. One witty poster said: “Is Gordon Brown playing the accordion in the video? Never thought I’d ever like seeing our PM right behind Bush.” [It’s actually Alistair Anderson] All in all it’s a great excuse to re-listen to a delightfully inspired piece of work from Kate which she turned into her own personal tribute to the late Alan Murphy.
If you haven’t already checked it out be sure to visit www.delpalmer.com. As well as information on his upcoming Leap Of Faith album the site is being constantly updated and contains some very interesting photos and comments from Del including his own biographical notes. We can even see unused versions of Del’s “kite” design from The Kick Inside! Many of the musician’s that Del has worked with over the years are featured. Del says: “Most of you will already know that I have been involved both as musician and recording engineer with Kate Bush for more than thirty years. It has been, from an artistic point of view, an incredibly fruitful liaison for me. I feel privileged to have had a front row seat to watch a true artist create so many musical masterpieces… having just completed the latest studio album to be released by Kate I felt the time was right to try, finally, to make some music myself. I have spent the last year or so recording songs and will soon have the project completed.” And we can’t wait! Just as we like to keep you up to speed about what Kate’s brothers Paddy and John are up to we’ll also be carrying all news of this album here at katebushnews.com. It will be really fascinating to hear this music by someone who has played such an important role in shaping Kate’s music with her.
Did you know? The very latest news is gathered at our forum’s buzzing Medialog section here.
HomeGround issue 78 celebrates 25 years of the publication of the longest running Kate Bush magazine. From Peter & Krys: “The issue includes: a sixteen page exclusive interview we did at HG Towers in March with DEL PALMER; a 3 page feature written for us by GUY PEARCE on his passion for Kate’s music; a two page feature written by Beck Sian plus beautiful photo of Beck when she was a child, with Kate – (Beck is Kate’s cousin’s daughter), new poems by John Carder Bush, an appreciation of the work of John Carder Bush by fellow poet & writer Collin Kelley, great poetry, photos, a wonderful article by a teacher on introducing Kate’s work into the national curriculum, plus a feature about Aerial in perspective with Kate’s earlier albums. Anyone who would like to renew their subscription can do so easily by using the Pay-Pal buttons on the HomeGround Page. I’ve read the interview with Del and it’s fantastic, do not miss. Get your Paypal orders in now!
NEWSFLASH: The ridiculously silly HomeGround back issue SALE – £1 each plus postage!!!
We have decided to have a very silly HomeGround Sale – we desperately need to create some space in our house & loft before we go completely insane. The Silly HG Sale ends 1st October 2007. You can buy any ten of the listed issues (see the HomeGround page for full listing) for £1 each…plus postage & the total rates (for ten issues plus postage) are: UK £16.50, Europe £18.50, USA & Australia £26. Please note that Issues 74, the two Aerial special issues 76, 77 & the new issue 78 are not part of the back issue offer. Back Issues 76 & 77 can be ordered. Please send Paypal payment to hgtowers@btinternet.com. Please make cheques payable to “HomeGround Fanzine” and send to the usual HG address.
Regular visitors to the site and forum will know that, lacking live shows to attend, Kate Bush fans have a tendency to organise informal gatherings to meet up with like-minded souls for chat, fun and merry-making. These events are listed in the Announcements & Fan Events section of our forum. I’m giving this first Irish gathering a special mention as I’m organising this one myself! You can click on the banner below for all the up-to-date details or please email me with any questions, whether you’re an Irish fan or coming along from further afield. The event itself consists of a meet-up at the summit of Howth Head, a pleasant stroll along the cliff walk (40 minutes or so) and an afternoon and evening quenching our collective thirst in the fishing village of Howth in the Abbey Tavern (one of the oldest pubs in Dublin) – toasting Kate, James Joyce and the Blooms – it’s happening onBloomsday you know! Music on the hill will be provided by Thinguma*jigSaw and Mike Stevens. Hope to see some of you there – Sean.
“Hello there…this is ‘Homeground’, the first serious attempt at a Kate Bush fanzine…” With these words 25 years ago today, the longest running Kate Bush publication ever started its incredible journey into the hearts and minds of fans spanning the entire globe. Conceived in Dave Cross’s flat in May 1982 the first issue consisted of 25 copies run off an office photocopier! Today, almost 80 issues later, it’s impossible to imagine how things would have been without Homeground being there with us. To say the magazine has been a labour of love doesn’t even come close to the blood, sweat and tears (and laughs!) that Krys, Peter, Dave, Debi, Sharon, Mandy and more have poured into the definitive coverage of Kate’s career for her loyal army of fans.
I first subscribed as a teenager and actually thought that “Homeground Towers” was, well, a tower! And I knew I wanted to go there someday. Homeground exhaustively covered every aspect of Kate’s music and activities. The depth and authority of the analysis within its pages has informed every subsequent mainstream biography published on the subject. What really puts Homeground in the esteemed position it has in people’s hearts however is the warmth, love, care and understanding that is to be found within its pages. Homeground is a place, and we all feel better spending time there. Fans could express their feelings of joy, pain, loss or grief that Kate’s music helped them to work through. The letters pages and articles in Homeground are a powerful archive of just what magnificent things can happen when people are invited to share their feelings together in a safe place. The beautiful artwork, in particular by the wonderful Debi Bowes, makes the magazine a feast for the eyes too. Kate herself has always lent words of support to Krys and Peter in particular over the years, and they’ve been happy to star in a couple of her videos in return! Thankfully the Internet explosion that has happened during Homeground’s lifetime hasn’t dented their faith in the printed format (it’s in the British library you know!). Nevertheless the forum which we launched together has become the largest online community of Kate fans out there, hardly surprising with the Homeground name attached.
Whatever their adventures over the course of the next 25 years, I’d like to send a huge hug, and an enormous THANK YOU to Homeground, for simply brilliant work and dedication for quarter of a century! We’re all getting ancient!! Sean xxxx
The King of The Mountain video, and Aerial TV ads can be seen at www.katebush.com – Kate’s excellent official website…the heavyweight double vinyl release of Aerial was released just before Christmas 2005, it comes with the stunning big 24-page booklet…the Aerial sheet music has been issued more info here…to the bafflement of many, Kate’s new album was not nominated for the Mercury Music prize in the UK…
Kate has sent a very amusing ‘good luck’ comment to Mark Radcliffe on BBC Radio 2 (his show is moving to a new 8pm timeslot) – it was played on Thursday April 5th and you can download the MP3 of the clip here (thanks to Looking At Blue on the forum) or listen to the BBC Radio player archive of the show here (the message from Kate starts 31 minutes into the show).
Placebo are releasing their cover version of Kate’s Running Up That Hill in the US to coincide with the release of their iTunes only ‘Covers’ album. The track has been described as a “slowed down version of Kate Bush’s unbelievably beautiful classic…taking an already gorgeous song and covering it in a way that makes you fall in love with it again”. There was huge digital download demand for their cover of Kate’s song after it recently appeared in The O.C. Placebo are recruiting fans to star in the forthcoming video for the song. Placebo fans have been submitting single-camera video clips of themselves singing the cover. From an UnderGroundOnline interview with Placebo’s bass guitarist, Stefan Olsdal: UGO: What made you guys want to cover Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill?” Stefan: We cover songs that we like. For us it is something that we do for fun in B-side sessions. We’ve covered a variety of bands, usually from the ’80s. We did a Depeche Mode cover and Robert Palmer even. We’re fans of Kate Bush so, when it came to this track, we thought that the lyrics had a real depth and you can’t really get that in the original because she’s singing it so fast. We wanted to slow it down and it felt really good, and we’re really proud of it. UGO: Have you heard whether or not she likes it? Stefan: Yes we did, actually. We met and she does like it and we’re relieved by that fact because we’re big fans. Full interview here . According to this site “when the band’s singer Brian Molko saw Kate at a party, he approached her to see if she was O.K. with their version of the song. Lucky for them, she loved it.” You can hear the track on the Placebo Myspace page or see a live version on Youtube
Did you know? The very latest news is gathered at our forum’s buzzing Medialog section here.
Happy New Year folks! We’re still very much enjoying Aerial here at KBN&I and hope that you are too. A Coral Room is still knocking us out this week. We kick off 2007 with the news that Kate has written a special foreword to a MOJO Magazine Classic Special Edition on 60 Years of David Bowie (he’s the same age as my mum!). On sale 24th January in the UK and Ireland. Kate writes: “I was sitting in my bath, submerged in bubbles, when I heard David Bowie for the first time…” The magazine writes: “60 Years Of Bowie” A Mojo Classic special edition magazine is a month-by-month, year-by-year celebration of one of rock music’s greatest icons. Containing eyewitness stories, previously unpublished photgraphs, classic interviews, album reappraisals, the best Bowie songs from each era, plus a specially written forward by Kate Bush.” (can we just squeak that as huge ‘we are not worthy’ Bowie fans at KBN&I this is a dream come true!…eeep)
Kate has posted a note today at her official site www.katebush.com and finally, as with the other albums, we get to see who played what and where on Aerial – be sure to check it out at Kate’s site. I’m off to listen out for that didgeridoo on The Painter’s Link!
Hello everyone, It has been a very quiet year and lovely for us to catch up on things. We are all well and happy. I know that many of you have asked for more details on Aerial’s track-by-track credits – these can now be found in the ‘Musicians’ section. I am seriously shocked and extremely flattered to be voted in the top 10 living icons on ‘The Culture Show’. Thank you so much for voting me in, I feel very honoured. I hope you have a fantastic Christmas, we are really looking forward to it… and here’s wishing you all a wonderful new year ahead.
With love, Kate
Living Icon update: Kate has been voted in 7th place of the 10 finalists, with Morrissey, David Attenborough and Paul McCartney making the top three – see Kate’s reaction to the voting in her official website note above.