Point of view: the record store.
You’re young and restless and asking the world for answers you couldn’t possibly understand, even if you did receive them. So music is your scapegoat. You’re blown away by the possibilities. You’re thrilled by the hunt and the unknown. In short, buying albums becomes an obsession, a medicine and a balm for growing pains.
For many young music fans, Kate Bush was one of the most influential people in their musical journey.
Bush began writing her own songs in her early teenage years, and upon entering her mid-teens, she recorded a vast, 50-song demo tape with the help of her parents.
Every record label she submitted to turned her down, but the energy was starting to change in the 1970s. Record industry executives were becoming increasingly aware that there was money to be made with adventurous musicians, and Bush was definitely one of those.
At just 16 years old, Bush was signed to a contract with Pink Floyd’s record label, EMI.
Her music was ultimately brought to the attention of Pink Floyd’s guitarist, David Gilmour
Impressed by her vocal range and songwriting skills, he financed a three-song demo with her, which further landed in the lap of label executive Terry Slater. In 1977, Bush recorded her first album, The Kick Inside, and released her first single, “Wuthering Heights.” Her single reached the number one spot on the British pop chart just one month after its release in 1978.
Bush went on to become legendary in England, a success that she has not shared with the United States.
Her inability to achieve widespread recognition in the states could be attributed to many things.
In essence, she was very English, producing very English music—including celebration songs that were aimed at a primarily English audience. And while she took the island by storm in her teenage years, her influence in the States was relatively quiet. Still, as the years go on, Bush’s influence is getting more and more pronounced—and people are rediscovering her music.
Bush was one of the first artists to extensively combine rock elements with synthesizers.
By the mid-eighties, she had established herself as an eccentric artist with much success.
She had injected herself into the scene with a wide range of sounds, vocals and subject matter. She continuously invited literature and art into her music, and made things interesting and challenging all at once for listeners.
Her second biggest-selling single is entitled “Running Up That Road.”
That was the song she sang in 1985, in this amazing performance on the Wogan Show.
Bush is unapologetically herself and can easily reap the rewards of being present in such a manner.
But what it really boils down to is that her manner is truly unforgettable.
There is something ultra-eighties about this moment in time, and it’s a pleasure to be able to witness it.
Her fusion of rock instruments with synthesizers sounds ahead of its time now—and her influence only gets stronger as the years go on.
This, combined with Bush’s artistic performance, stamps her in time forever.
If we can do anything to spread the appreciation of Kate Bush around the internet, we’re happy to do it!
Check out her impressive performance for yourself in the video linked below:
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