While
introspective female
singer-songwriters have received
widespread attention since the
1960s, in recent years few have
received the critical and
commercial attention bestowed on
British prodigy Kate Bush. Born in
England on July 30, 1958, the
acclaimed singer-songwriter began
composing original music while
still in her early teens, cutting
her first demo in the mid-1970s;
when Pink Floyd guitarist David
Gilmour heard the tape he arranged
a deal for Bush with his label,
EMI Records. In 1977 the young
talent recorded her debut album, Kick
Inside. Thanks to the U.K. No.
1 single "Wuthering
Heights," the album was a
huge critical and commercial
success in Britain, selling over a
million copies; Bush, not yet 18,
was a superstar. Her 1979
follow-up Lionheart was
supported by what turned out to be
Bush's only live tour - though she
has since made rare public
appearances, mostly for charity,
Kate Bush has not toured in nearly
20 years, making her one of the
more iconoclastic musicians of
recent decades.
Bush
returned to the British charts in
1980 with Never For Ever
and its Top 5 spin-off single
"Babooshka." Following
1982's The Dreaming (a U.K.
No. 3 album), Bush built a home
studio and began producing her own
albums, marking her independence
with 1985's Hounds Of Love.
The single "Running Up That
Hill" reached the Top 5 in
Britain and broke Bush in the
U.S., where it entered the Top 40.
In 1989 she returned with The
Sensual World, followed by
1993's Red Shoes, her first
album to reach the U.S. Top 30.
With a fiercely loyal cult
following on both sides of the
Atlantic, Kate Bush continues to
pursue her music, ignoring trends
and industry pressures and all the
while inspiring other artists,
such as Tori Amos. Her most recent
release was a 1994 live album
recorded during the late 1970s.
