Love ‘Running Up That Hill’? Try these 10 great Bush songs
Though they had no idea as they were experiencing it, legions of “Stranger Things” viewers recently have been indoctrinated into a secular belief system that has already transformed millions of lives. The text that led them there? Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).”
Its use throughout the show’s fourth season — most prominently in a climactic episode four scene involving a Sony Walkman, a Bush “Hounds of Love” cassette and a demon — has pushed “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” to the top of music streaming charts.
A national treasure in England, Bush, 63, is less known in the United States. Only one of her studio albums, 1989’s “The Sensual World,” has been certified gold in the U.S.
Her followers couldn’t care less about sales, though. Among those who have cited Bush’s work as inspiration include Grimes, Solange, St. Vincent and Stevie Nicks. Perhaps most famously, Outkast’s Big
Boi has long preached the gospel of Kate. “Her songs tell stories,” Big Boi told Pitchfork in a video about his love of “Running Up That Hill.”
Big Boi called her discography “one cohesive body of work that took you on an adventure.”
Ready to further your adventure? Here are 10 more Bush songs to try.
‘Wuthering Heights’ (1978):
Named for an Emily Bronte novel, “Wuthering Heights” — from Bush’s first album, 1978’s “The Kick Inside” — knocked ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me” from the No. 1 spot.
‘Babooshka’ (1980):
Across the past few years, #KateBushTok has become a thing, with “Babooshka” in particular generating popular memes. Recorded for her 1980 album “Never for Ever,” “Babooshka” opens with her singing the song’s premise, about a suspicious wife who starts sending love letters under the name “Babooshka” to her husband in order to gauge his faithfulness.
‘The Dreaming’ (1982):
Bush’s fourth album, “The Dreaming,” was her first self-produced album. The title track features the late Percy Edwards, a British animal impersonator.
‘Cloudbusting’ (1985):
William Reich was a psychoanalyst and inventor who claimed to have built a rain-making machine called the Cloudbuster. Bush wrote the song, from her album “Hounds of Love,” from the perspective of Reich’s son.
‘Hounds of Love’ (1985):
The title track from “Hounds of Love” is sequenced to follow “Running Up That Hill.” A song about wanting to fall in love, she harnesses spooky nighttime dog packs as a metaphor for her fear. ‘Don’t Give Up’ (1986): Asked about his favorite Kate Bush moment, none other than former teen idol Donny Osmond admitted to being a member of the Bush tribe — through Peter Gabriel’s 1986 song from “So.” “The title of ‘Don’t Give Up,’ Kate Bush’s duet with Peter Gabriel, let alone the lyrics, could be the mantra for every person with the desire to make it in show business,” Osmond told the British newspaper The Independent.
‘The Sensual World’ (1989):
The title track to Bush’s exquisite 1989 album is as alluring as you might hope, with references to peaches, flesh, flowers and “arrows of desire.”
‘Why Should I Love You?’ (1993):
Bush invited avowed admirer Prince to sing background on “Why Should I Love
You?” for her 1993 album “The Red Shoes,” and she sent him the track. What he returned, somewhat presumptuously, was a totally remixed, reworked version. Bush then sprinkled her equally skilled production magic into Prince’s take, and the result is a brilliant union.
‘Deeper Understanding’ (2011):
For her 2011 album “Director’s Cut,” Bush returned to earlier work to re-imagine and re-record 11 songs. “Deeper Understanding” was first recorded for “The Sensual World” and concerns a love affair between a man and his computer.
‘And Dream of Sheep (Live)’ (2016):
In 2014, the notably reclusive Bush returned to the stage with “Before the Dawn,” a live production in London. “And Dream of Sheep” is about someone lost at sea.