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Kate BushAn original singer and composer, a talented keyboard player.
Date of Birth: 30.07.1958
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Biography of Kate Bush
Kate Bush is a unique singer, composer, and talented keyboardist. With a deep admiration for David Bowie and the musical theater of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Kate places great importance on theatricality. Many of her songs are like dramatic miniatures. "Performance should be a musical poem in motion," Bush asserts. "Everything on stage is for communication."
Early Life
Born on July 30, 1958, in a London suburb, Kate Bush is the daughter of a doctor and a former nurse. By the age of 11, she had taught herself to play the piano, and by 13, she had started writing songs. A small inheritance from her aunt provided her with financial independence, allowing Kate to pursue music after leaving school at 16. She began singing with her brothers' band in local pubs and clubs, and her life took a turn when she was noticed by Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour. Impressed by her talent, Gilmour subsidized and recorded a demo cassette of her songs, based on which Kate signed a contract with A&M Records, receiving an advance of three thousand pounds. One of the songs on this cassette, "The Man with Child in His Eyes," later became a major hit for her. The record label was concerned that at 16, Kate would not withstand all the challenges of the music industry, so they gave her three years to train and prepare. Kate wisely used this time, writing songs and attending classes taught by mime actor Lindsay Kemp. However, the majority of her time was spent in the solitude of her ancestral 300-year-old home, where she converted the barn in the backyard into a home studio. Later, at the state-of-the-art AIR Studios on Oxford Street, George Martin's base, where albums by John McLaughlin, Jeff Beck, and Pink Floyd were made, Kate Bush sang and played piano with a full instrumental ensemble for her debut single "Wuthering Heights" and debut album. The success did not elude her this time, even though the record company wanted her to approach her debut song in a more traditional way. Kate, believing that to make an impression in the world of pop music, one must do something extraordinary, managed to convince the management. Her orchestral arranger reasoned that her, at first listen, comical voice (later compared by critics to the passionate cry of an exhausted cat) had a special charm, and he allowed her to showcase it. "Wuthering Heights" topped the charts in January 1978 and held that position for a whole month. The entire album (1) was a success, showcasing not only the originality of her voice but also her ability to convey lyrical depths far beyond her years. In songs like "Feel It" and "Room for the Life," she openly talks about love and women's issues - bitter pills sweetened by string arrangements. In "Strange Phenomena," she delves into the mysterious world and strange coincidences: Soon the phase of the moon will change, People will change their mood. Girls know the punctuality of sorrow, But no one knows what drives us. Strange and supernatural phenomena clearly interested Kate - in one of the songs on her debut album, she mentions the mystic teacher Gurdjieff, and the creation of "Wuthering Heights" was inspired by a chilling scene from a television adaptation of Emily Bronte's novel. "I caught only the very end," she recalled. "When Cathy's ghost appears to Heathcliff through the window. I have always been interested in ghosts and science fiction, and this scene struck a chord with that aspect of my mentality. It stayed with me for years until I wrote a song about it."
Music Career
The whirlwind Kate found herself in with her unexpected success was relentless. She had to record her second album and had not a single song ready, which needed to be prepared in less than three months. "In necessity, there is always something useful," she says. "It is a tremendous impulse, and when you take on a challenge and achieve results, you have proven something, even if you lose." And she learned to work at the pace of David Bowie, Elton John, or Queen. Over the course of three years, Kate achieved tremendous popularity. She was recognized as the best female British rock singer, winning several awards in the Netherlands, Italy, and Japan, where she represented the UK at the Tokyo Music Festival. Her songs reached number one in popularity in Brazil, Portugal, and South Africa.
Emphasis on Theatricality
With a deep admiration for David Bowie and the musical theater of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, Kate Bush places great importance on theatricality. Many of her songs are like dramatic miniatures. "Performance should be a musical poem in motion," Bush asserts. "Everything on stage is for communication." To achieve this, her concert program, which took two years to develop and another six months to rehearse, included two dancers, a magician, a seven-piece instrumental ensemble, and stunning set designs and costumes. To make use of her dancing and mimicking abilities, Bush began appearing on stage without laced radio microphones and earpieces. This performance, shown in 1980 at the London Palladium, was as successful as her albums.
Later Albums and Career
Her album (3) was released in October of the same year. Kate did everything herself - from songwriting to arranging and even production. Each composition had its unique flavor. There were new astonishing moments - for example, the single "Babooshka" (a nod to the Slavic origins of the singer), the expressive pacifist song "Army Dreamer," or the ballad "Delius," dedicated to the tragic fate of the English composer-expressionist who died in 1934. The song "Breathless" is a kind of response to Pink Floyd's album "The Wall." Two songs were inspired by works from other art genres: "The Wedding List" is composed under the influence of Francois Truffaut's film "The Bride Wore Black," and "The Infant Kiss" is inspired by Henry James' novella "The Turn of the Screw."
Kate spent a whole two years preparing her next album. This album, possibly too eclectic, contained the most diverse elements - from intimate lyrical songs following orthodox principles of the genre to fantastic images of feverish dreams and complex multi-layered associations. Some of the repertoire was inspired by historical sources, telling about the life and culture of Australian Aboriginals; Kate added the expressive beat of primitive drums to the sound in the style of Peter Gabriel. In the songs, one can find references to idol actors of the past as well as classic singers of her genre, such as Buddy Holly and Sandy Denny. This apparent imbalance had its roots in the artist's principles and way of thinking. Kate said, "I go from one extreme to another. I slave away for eternity, locked in a studio, isolated from the world - and then I want to compensate for it and use it in life. I go to the cinema, visit friends, practice archery, learn to dance. But, most importantly, what I dream about is finishing my own studio." This studio was not a luxury for Bush but a necessity. The discomfort and coldness of official studios and the astronomical sums for equipment depreciation prompted her to create a "nest" according to her own vision in the semi-wilderness of Kent, almost in nature. This endeavor caused another hiatus between albums, and only in 1985 did her album (5) triumphantly return to the market. Kate made her first attempt at a large-scale genre with "The Ninth Wave," a suite that occupies the entire second side of the album. It tells the story of a mysterious interstellar journey that ends with a return to Earth and the attainment of bliss in the feeling of love. "It was terribly difficult to maintain the dynamics in a series of seven songs; working out the concept took me a lot of time. I tried to make sure that each song did not dilute the impression of the previous one."
The entire story is filled with associations with the films of Herzog, Godard, Coppola, but also resembles her own unusually vivid fantastic dreams. The lyrics are very personal, and the production showcases a wealth of experience and professionalism. The songs touch on ideas of life and death, using symbolism, mysticism, and suggestiveness (for example, "The Morning Fog"). With extracts from her Irish roots and her penchant for folk themes, Kate Bush's magnificent "Jig of Life" features the rough sound of John Sheahan's violin and Dónal Lunny's pipes. The highlight of the album is the titular song, filled with a wealth of ideas and colorful sound. From the album, the hit single "Running Up that Hill" was taken.
Although Kate Bush's song lyrics are often interwoven with erotic motifs, she firmly rejects the idea of being used as a sex symbol. She says that an attractive appearance is an advantage for a singer as long as the audience perceives her only in this way. She behaves extremely naturally on stage, not emphasizing her charms. This is one of the reasons why Kate appeals to listeners of almost all age groups.
"I want to believe that there is no generational barrier for listeners and that my music carries a message for everyone. I have met people who have a completely different life experience, people of different ages who, nevertheless, understood me perfectly. The best reward for me is that I manage to bring people from different paths onto the same road."
In 2002, she received an award from the British Academy of Composers for her contribution to British music, and in 2012, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2023, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Today, Kate Bush continues her creative career - recording new songs, releasing albums, and working in television.
