I don't really know why - well it probably was a lack of funds - but I never bought the 12" single of Ferry Aid's 'Let it be' despite being a fan of several artists on this record. 23 years later, I finally managed it and what a pleasant surprise this disc holds...
The remixed version of 'Let it be' starts with the part of Kate Bush, so basically it starts on a high. It's very interesting to hear a different sequence of artists in the 12" mix.
My collection: 12" single no. 545 Found: discogs.com, received May 18, 2010 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Let it be [12" remix]' / 'Let it be (Mega message mix)'
Kate Bush recorded 'This woman's work' for the movie 'She's having a baby', directed by John Hughes. The song is played during the dramatic climax, when Jake (Kevin Bacon) learns that the lives of his wife (Elizabeth McGovern) and their unborn child are in danger. As the song plays, we see a montage sequence of flashbacks showing the couple in happier times, intercut with shots of him waiting for news of Elizabeth and their baby's condition. Bush wrote the song specifically for the sequence, writing from a man's viewpoint and matching the words to the visuals which had already been filmed.
Kate included the song in her 1989 album 'The sensual world'. The song was re-edited from the original version featured on the film soundtrack. When the song was chosen as the second single from the album, the song was mixed differently for another time.
The single was released in two different formats: a 'regular' 7" single and a picture disc. While failing to chart in most territories, it reached number 25 in the UK singles chart and number 20 in Ireland. The song should be considered one of Kate Bush's signature songs.
My collection: 7" single no. 1123 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, December 19, 1989 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'This woman's work' / 'Be kind to my mistakes'
When Kate Bush created 'The sensual world', she originally wanted it to be the speech by Molly Bloom from James Joyce's book 'Ulysses' set to music. However, she was unable to get permission from Joyce's estate to do this. And so she decided to alter the lyric. In the new version, Molly Bloom steps out of the black and white, two-dimensional pages of the book into the real world, and is immediately struck by the sensuality of it all.
Upon its release, the single reached number 12 in the UK singles chart and number 17 in the Dutch Top 40. The single was Bush's first release in three years, an eternity in those days. Little did people know that she would take much more time in between albums later on in her career...
My collection: 7" single no. 989 Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1989 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'The sensual world' / 'Walk straight down the middle'
In 1986, Kate Bush was involved in the creation of her first - and so far, only - compilation album. She recorded two new tracks for the album, both of which were released on this 7" single. The new track 'Experiment IV' was about the army experimenting with sound to 'kill someone from a distance'. The other track was an old one: 'Wuthering heights', Kate's debut single, in a new version. According to her, the original sounded too much like a young woman.
Both tracks showcase a woman who is definately a perfectionist. But in the case of the B-side, it doesn't always work out well. Fortunately, the A-side compensates a lot for it. The guest appearance of Nigel Kennedy on violin adds much to the spooky atmosphere of the track.
My collection: 7" single no. 473 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Experiment IV' / 'Wuthering heights (new vocal)'
When Kate Bush returned to the pop scene with her landmark album 'Hounds of love', everybody wanted to make money with it. There were quite a few bootleggers who released interview cd's, lp's and singles at the time.
This white vinyl 7" single was made in the UK and contains an interview of unknown origins. Not much surprises in the answers, because even at the time the information given was quite wellknown.
My collection: 7" single no. 1223 Found: Record fair, April 22, 1990 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'Interview (part 1)' / 'Interview (part 2)'
There isn't a lot of information about this picture disc: the disc itself gives no information other than 'Made in England' and 'Kate Bush Interview 1985', and when you listen to the interview without any factual knowledge, it could have been recorded pretty much anywhere.
In actual fact, I do know it's the soundtrack of an interview on Music Box, the European version of MTV in 1985, when Kate Bush was promoting her album 'Hounds of love'. Martin Buchanan was the lucky fella who got to speak with her, and this is a large portion of what they were talking about. And of course, it is a bootleg release.
My collection: 7" single no. 2283 Found: Record fair, March 6, 1995 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: Interview (part 1) / Interview (part 2)
'The big sky' was one of the tracks on Kate Bush's 1985 album 'Hounds of love'. The song is about remembering some of the simple pleasures enjoyed as children that most no longer find the time for, such as spending the afternoon looking at the sky, watching the clouds take on shapes. It's probably the most uplifting, poppy song on the album.
When the song was released as a single in April 1986, a special single remix was made with an alternate intro. It reached number 15 in the Irish singles chart and number 37 in the UK singles chart.
'The big sky' was also the first Kate Bush single to be released as a picture disc. I wasn't aware of the release of this picture disc until years later. Such special items are notoriously expensive when the name Kate Bush is on it, but just when I had given up hope of finding this for a reasonable price, I found it. Needless to say, I was ecstatic.
My collection: 7" single no. 396 / no. 2948 Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1986 / Record fair, Leiden, January 31, 1998 Cost: 6 guilders / 5 guilders Tracks: 'The big sky (special single mix)' / 'Not this time'
After Band Aid, Dance Aid, Ferry Aid and USA for Africa, the Gentlemen without weapons figured they had something to add to the growing amount of charity singles: a rainforest appeal. Together with the animal and rainforest noises which they'd already used for an album, they rounded up lots of famous artists to record 'Spirit of the forest'.
Somehow, the idea didn't quite work. The song sounded a bit naff and people were apparently not so concerned about the destruction of the rain forest as they were about starving children in Africa. The single was a commercial failure, but fans of Afrika Bambaataa, Jon Anderson, B52's, Michael de Barre, Big Country and the few dozen other artists mentioned on the sleeve of this single had another collector's item to get their hands on.
My collection: 7" single no. 900 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, June 23, 1989 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'Spirit of the forest' / 'Spirit of the forest'
On March 6, 1987, the Herald of Free Enterprise - a ferry between Zeebrugge in Belgium and Dover in England - capsized, which killed 193 passengers and crew. The Sun newspaper, which had sold cheap tickets for the ferry on that day, quickly organized a recording of a charity recording. The song 'Let it be' was performed by an impressive array of artists, recorded on March 14, 15 and 16 at PWL studios. The recording was produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman.
Contributing artists were, in order of appearance: Paul McCartney, Boy George, Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward, Nick Kamen, Paul King, Mark King, Taffy, Andy Bell, Pepsi & Shirley, Mel & Kim, Jaki Graham, Mark Knopfler (guitar solo), Gary Moore (guitar solo), Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw, Edwin Starr, Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, Ruby Turner and Kate Bush. The closing choruses of the song feature an ensemble choir featuring many of the above performers as well other recording artists, including Bonnie Tyler, Errol Brown, Hazel O'Connor, The Nolans, Rick Astley, Jim Diamond, Doctor and the Medics, Alvin Stardust, Steve Strange, Mandy Smith, Su Pollard, Maxi Priest and members of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Go West, The Alarm and Bucks Fizz.
The single made number 1 in the UK singles chart and also topped the charts in Switzerland and Norway. In the Dutch Top 40, Ferry Aid reached number 3.
My collection: 7" single no. 575 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987 Cost: 4 guilders Tracks: 'Let it be' / 'Let it be (Gospel Jam mix)'
I've got very strong principles when it comes to my record collection: I never buy a single twice, unless it's from my favourite artists. Kate Bush is one of them, and so when I saw this American pressing of 'Hounds of love', I had to have it. Of course, there's always the small matter of the price: I never bought her Japanese singles because they are way too expensive.
But I happened on this American pressing for a reasonable price, and so I could get my hands on it. Not only the sleeve is different: the B-side is 'Burning bridge', which in Europe was the B-side to 'Cloudbusting'.
My collection: 7" single no. 2864 Found: Record fair, 1995 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Hounds of love' / 'Burning bridge'
'Hounds of love' is the title track of Kate Bush's 1985 album. The track starts with a sample from the British 1957 horror film 'Night of the demon'. The words 'It's in the trees! It's coming!' are spoken by an actor from the film, Maurice Denham. The song is about being afraid to fall in love; in the song this feeling is compared to being chased by a pack of hounds.
Released as the third single from the album in February 1986, 'Hounds of love' reached number 18 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 392 Found: Den Haag, 1986 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Hounds of love' / 'The handsome cabin boy'
Kate Bush wrote the song 'Cloudbusting' after she read the book 'A book of dreams', published in 1973. The book was written by Peter Reich, son of psychologist Wilhelm Reich, about his father's arrest and imprisonment through the eyes of himself as a young boy. Wilhelm Reich is the inventor of the 'cloudbuster', a rain machine that looks very much like the machine that is pictured on the cover of this single. It's an extraordinary book, which was re-released as a result of the success of this song. I bought it, and I still recommend it to everyone who loves this song.
The music video, in which Kate plays Peter and Donald Sutherland plays Wilhelm, retells the story in short and made quite an impression at the time. The single fared pretty well as a result: it reached number 20 in the UK singles chart and number 11 in the Dutch Top 40. The American single, released in 1986 in conjunction with the greatest hits compilation 'The whole story', has a different B-side. I bought it four years after its release.
My collection: 7" single no. 370 / no. 1344 Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1985 / London, October 18, 1990 Cost: 6 guilders / 2 pounds Tracks (no. 370): 'Cloudbusting' / 'Burning bridge' Tracks (no. 1344): 'Cloudbusting' / 'The man with the child in his eyes'
During many televised interviews and in dozens of magazine articles, Kate Bush has had to explain the meaning behind her 1985 single 'Running up that hill' while she was promoting her album 'Hounds of love'. I'm sure this is one of the reasons why she did so little promotion ever since. She commented: 'I was trying to say that, really, a man and a woman, can't understand each other because we are a man and a woman. And if we could actually swap each other's roles, if we could actually be in each other's place for a while, I think we'd both be very surprised!'
The single was released in August 1985 and was basically Kate's comeback single after an absence of over two years from the pop scene. Many people thought this was an extremely long time. (Little did they know about what Kate would do later on in her career...). She was welcomed back in many countries with one of the biggest hits of her career. 'Running up that hill' reached number 3 in the UK, number 6 in the Netherlands and number 30 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 316 Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, August 1985 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Running up that hill' / 'Under the ivy'
'The dreaming' was released in July 1982 as the second single from Kate Bush's fourth album of the same name. The first single, 'Sat in your lap', had been released thirteen months earlier, but was still included on the album as well. The song is about the destruction of Aboriginal homelands by white Australians in their quest for weapons-grade uranium. Musical guest Rolf Harris plays the didgeridoo on the recording. Bird impersonator Percy Edwards provided sheep noises.
The single reached number 48 in the UK singles chart, which was quite disappointing in a way, as all of Kate's single up to that point had reached the UK top 40 (with the exception of 'Hammer horror', which peaked at number 44). The single was not released in Europe, where the track 'Suspended in gaffa' was preferred.
My collection: 7" single no. 548 Found: HMV, London, October 1987 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'The dreaming' / 'Dreamtime'
I ordered Kate Bush's 1983 single 'Ne t'enfuis pas' some 10 years after its release, as described in this post. However, the disc never arrived in one piece and for years I only had the sleeve. When I wrote about this unlucky adventure a few days ago, I realised suddenly that the age of internet would have made this single readily available. I don't know why I didn't think of this before!
And so, I ordered another copy of this single, again from France, but this time at a much lower price. It's incredible: within days it was delivered - and in one piece, too. Long live the internet.
My collection: 7" single no. 4625 Found: Priceminister.com, received March 6, 2010 Cost: 4 euro Tracks: 'Ne t'enfuis pas' / 'Un baiser d'enfant'
The fact that collecting records is not always fun, is proved with this particular item. I ordered 'Ne t'enfuis pas' by Kate Bush from France, as it was possible to get a copy from there some 20 years ago. I sent my money, waited for a few weeks, and then received the package. The problem was: it was delivered by a particularly stupid and lazy postman, who decided to shove it through the letterbox. As a result, the single snapped and I found two halves in the sleeve.
I brought the single to the postoffice for a complaint, and had to leave the item with them, so they could decide what to do. One week later, I got my money back, and the record as well: they broke it up into twenty pieces, presumably to try out what it would take to break a record. Needless to say, I was fuming. And I never found another copy - at least, not for a reasonable price. Until today, that is... (to be continued!)
My collection: sleeve Found: France, ca. 1990 Cost: 20 guilders Tracks: 'Ne t'enfuis pas' / 'Un baiser d'enfant'
'I'm scared of the changes' says a little voice in this track, 'Suspended in gaffa' by Kate Bush. It's a minor detail in the enormous soundscape created by Kate Bush in this track, but one that caused me to listen to this track over and over again from 1982 until today. The song lyric is about seeing something one really wants, then not being able to see or experience it ever again. The 'gaffa' of the title and chorus refers to gaffer tape, the tough black tape used by technicians in film and concert industries.
Released as the third single from her fourth album 'The dreaming' - with the exception of the UK where 'There goes a tenner' was released instead - it was not a commercial success for Kate Bush. I actually own two versions of this single: I bought the first one, a German pressing, as soon as it came out. Just four months ago, I found the Dutch edition with a slightly different sleeve.
My collection: 7" single no. 172 / no. 4116 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982 Cost: 3,5 guilders Tracks: 'Suspended in gaffa' / 'Ne t'en fuis pas'
'Sat in your lap' was a track on Kate Bush's 1982 album 'The dreaming', but released as a single 15 months before the release of that album. The track was later remixed and slightly altered to fit it better with the overall feel of the album. About the lyric, Kate commented: ''Sat inyour lap' is very much a search for knowledge. And about the kind of people who really want to have knowledge but can't be bothered to do the things that they should in order to get it. So they're sitting there saying how nice it would be to have this or to do that without really desiring to do the things it takes you to get it. And also the more you learn the more ignorant you realize you are and that you get over one wall to find an even bigger one.'
The single reached number 11 in the UK singles chart and number 18 in Ireland. In other territories, 'Sat in your lap' failed to become a hit.
My collection: 7" single no. 427 Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 29, 1986 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Sat in your lap' / 'The lord of the reedy river'
Released in September 1980, Kate Bush's 'Army dreamers' can actually be described as an EP, as it contained not one, but two B-side tracks: an old demo recording from 1973 called 'Passing through air' and the album version of 'Delius', though without the outro of Babooshka through the first few seconds of the tracks as on the album 'Never for ever'.
The lyric of 'Army dreamers' was about the effects of war and about a mother who grieves for her young son, who was killed on military maneuvers. Saddened by his unnecessary death, she wrestles with her guilt over what she could have done to prevent it. The single reached number 16 in the UK singles chart and number 36 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 76 Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Army dreamers' / 'Delius', 'Passing through air'
Kate Bush released 'Babooshka' in June 1980 as a single from her third album 'Never for ever'. The lyric of the song describes a wife's desire to test her husband's loyalty. She takes on the nom de plume of Babooshka and sends notes to her husband in the guise of a younger woman. The trap is set when, in her bitterness and paranoia, she arranges to meet her husband, who is attracted to the character that reminds him of his wife in earlier times.
When Bush wrote the song, she didn't know that 'Babooshka' actually means 'grandmother' in Russian. The single reached number 15 in the Dutch Top 40, number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in Australia.
My collection: 7" single no. 63 Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Babooshka' / 'Ran tan waltz'
I don't really know why - well it probably was a lack of funds - but I never bought the 12" single of Ferry Aid's 'Let it be' despite being a fan of several artists on this record. 23 years later, I finally managed it and what a pleasant surprise this disc holds...
