Kate Bush | Artist
Catherine 'Kate' Bush CBE is an English singer-songwriter, musician, dancer and record producer born 1958 in Bexleyheath, UK. She makes innovative, fearlessly experimental work that's also commercially successful. From the start, Bush's music was ambitious and strange, and her blend of art rock, pop hooks, theatrical twists, fantastical vocal performances, and complex musicianship resulted in hits. She became an immediate star in the UK in 1978 with the release of her debut single "Wuthering Heights" and the album The Kick Inside when she was just 19. Bush is from an artistic background: her mother was an amateur traditional Irish dancer, her father an amateur pianist, and two elder brothers, Paddy worked as a musical instrument maker, and John was a poet and photographer. Both brothers were involved in the local folk music scene. The family grew up in a 350-year-old farmhouse at East Wickham near Welling. Bush trained at Goldsmiths College karate club where her brother John was a karate instructor, where she became known as "Ee-ee" because of her squeaky kiai (shout). Her family's musical influence inspired Bush to teach herself piano at the age of 11 and play the organ and violin. At age 11 she began composing songs, eventually adding her own lyrics. She was signed to EMI Records after Pink Floyd's David Gilmour helped produce a professional demo tape, having received a crude demo from the Bush family. EMI gave Bush a large advance which she used to enroll in interpretive dance classes taught by Lindsay Kemp, a former teacher of David Bowie. For the first two years of her contract, Bush spent more time on schoolwork than recording. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song. Her debut album The Kick Inside was released when Bush was still 19, with some songs written when she was as young as 13. EMI originally wanted a more rock-oriented song as her debut single, but Bush, who already was assertive in decisions about her work, insisted that it should be "Wuthering Heights." In the UK alone, The Kick Inside sold over a million copies, and "Wuthering Heights" topped the UK charts and became an international hit. Bush became the first British woman to reach number one on the UK charts with a self-written song. According to Guinness World Records, she was the first female artist in pop history to have written every track on a million-selling debut album. Kate Bush has gone on to release 10 studio albums of astonishingly high standard, and achieve international recognition. Standout albums include The Kick Inside (1978), Never For Ever (1980), The Dreaming (1982), Hounds of Love (1985), The Sensual World (1989), Aeriel (2005), and 50 Words for Snow (2011). Also highlY recommended are two superb live albums, Live at Hammersmith Odeon (1994), and Before the Dawn (2016). Determined to prevent music industry interference, Bush set up her own publishing company, Kate Bush Music, and management company, Novercia, to maintain control of her work. Musically, Bush has a soprano vocal range which containS elements of British, Anglo-Irish and English accents, and musical instrumention from various periods and cultures. Reviewers have used the term "surreal" to describe her music. Her lyrics employ historical or literary references, as embodied in her first single "Wuthering Heights", which is based on Emily Brontë's novel of the same name. She has described herself as a storyteller who embodies the character singing the song. In 2023 Bush was named # 60 in the list of 200 Best Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone, and was being described as "the queen of art pop".
Artist Website: katebush.com
Featured Albums: Kate Bush
Related Artists: David Gilmour
Collections: Women of Note, Music Visionaries
