When I first heard Wuthering Heights as a 16-year-old schoolboy, I was bowled over by the musicianship of Bush’s piano playing and singing, the melodic, metrical and harmonic complexity, the extraordinary emotional world, the literary allusions and the otherworldly sexual and musical allure that she exuded. It existed in a completely different world to what was in the charts at the time. Released in February 1978, when she was 19, the track was ethereal, sophisticated and displayed an unnervingly complete artistic vision. The impact of Kate Bush’s first single, Wuthering Heights, followed by the album The Kick Inside, was immediate and powerful. This involvement with movement and theatricality was to become a hallmark of her music videos and live shows. On the back of these demos Bush signed a record deal with EMI, aged 16, and used part of her advance money to fund training as a mime artist and dance classes with David Bowie’s teacher Lindsay Kemp. Through a friend of her family, Bush got in touch with Dave Gilmour, guitarist and singer with Pink Floyd, who helped her put together some demo recordings. She taught herself piano at the age of 11 and, supported by her family, soon started writing her own songs. The family were musical and Bush’s brothers were active in the local folk scene. With a Catholic upbringing, her father was a GP and her Irish mother was involved with the traditional Irish dance movement. Scaling the heightsīush grew up near Bexley, Kent in the south-east of England. With the Ivors Awards having existed for 64 years, the fellows represent the post-war generation of baby-boomers and the global success of the British popular music and entertainment industry, now under threat from the consequences of COVID-19. Me, myself, I: Joan Armatrading performing in Dublin in the 1980s. Membership of this elite club spans the musical theatre, pop and classical worlds – and the addition of Armatrading and Bush adds some welcome diversity.
The list of fellows is a who’s who of pop music’s great and good, including Paul McCartney, Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Annie Lennox, Elton John, Peter Maxwell Davies and David Arnold. The Ivors Academy Fellowship is regarded as the ultimate recognition for UK composers and songwriters as it is bestowed by fellow creatives. A common musical feature is a shared engagement with rhythmic complexities, which they both handle with great sophistication and subtlety. Both women have distinct artistic voices, with Armatrading’s often guitar-driven songs investigating the complexities of personal relationships and Bush’s focusing more on narrative, mood and ambient soundscapes. She also broke new ground by producing her own albums and taking control of her own management and music publishing.īush’s accolade follows hot on the heels of singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, who received the same honour at the beginning of September 2020. She had the first female self-penned number one single and was the first to write all the songs for a debut album selling over a million copies. It’s an appropriate honour – Bush is the artist who in many ways opened the door for women creators in the UK music industry.
KATE BUSH THE DUETS ALBUM PROFESSIONAL
“Wishing you a restful Christmas and hoping 2022 is a happier year for everyone.” We’ll be listening to 50 Words for Snow, which is Christmas music.Kate Bush, the grand dame of British pop, has just been awarded a prestigious fellowship of the Ivors Academy, the UK’s independent professional association for music creators. “Please stay safe,” Bush concluded her holiday dispatch. Here’s hoping that bird was bringing tidings of comfort and joy. In these strange times, I really hope you can get the chance to stop for a moment and feel nature around you. I’ve only ever seen one once before and very briefly. This gorgeous little ball of fluff flew away after ten minutes or so. I stood still, hoping not to frighten it away. Its colouring is beautiful - a peacock’s eye on each wing and a striking yellow streak on its tiny head. And then she wrote of the goldcrest, a tiny European bird, that she recently encountered on a walk. “It’s left everyone confused and uncertain of the future.” She went on to thank health-care workers in the U.K. “With nearly two years of COVID, are any of us the same people we were before?” Bush asked. The avant-pop musician wrote a rare message on her website, reflecting on the pandemic, the Christmas season, and the bird. And this Christmas, Kate Bush, a wise woman herself, saw a goldcrest. As the biblical Christmas story goes, the wise men saw a star and followed it to baby Jesus.
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