It’s Kate Bush’s birthday and in honour of this event, here is a collation of the iconic artist’s top five tracks. Kate Bush is one of the UK’s most unorthodox singer-songwriters of all time with her eclectic musical style. Her exclusivity and lack of live shows construct her enigmatic persona, only making the wait for her upcoming 22-night residency at Hammersmith Apollo the more agonising. Having released a total of ten albums and 33 singles, amongst which are number ones, to condense Bush’s discography to just a top five was challenging. But despite difficultly, the list was condensed, and so below are Kate Bush’s top five tracks of all time.
5. ‘Babooshka’
Taken from the album Never for Ever, ‘Babooshka’ was released back in 1980, peaking at number five in the charts. The song explores a paranoid wife who is attempting to test her husband’s loyalty. Under the pseudonym of Babooshka, the wife sends her husband letters, resulting in the husband becoming attracted to Babooshka as she reminded him of her wife ‘before the tears‘. Watch the video below.
4. ‘Hounds of Love’
The title track from Bush’s 1985 album, ‘Hounds of Love’ was the third single lifted from the album and entered the top 20 in the UK charts. The song is based on being scared of falling in love, and the video to accompany the track was heavily inspired by Hitchcock’s film, The 39 Steps. Watch it below.
3. ‘The Man with the Child in His Eyes’
Written when she was only 13, Kate Bush’s ‘The Man with the Child in His Eyes’ is the second single to be taken from her debut album, The Kick Inside, which was released back in 1978. It reached number six in the UK charts, and was the track Bush performed on Saturday Night Live; the only ever appearance she made on the hit US show.
2. ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’
The track was released back in 1985 and was the lead single taken from her Hounds of Love album. It peaked at number three in the UK charts, marking it as Bush’s second best commercial performance. The music video sees a lot of inspiration drawn from contemporary dance as well as the repetitive use of Bush with a bow an arrow, aligning this imagery with the single’s artwork. Watch it below.
1. ‘Wuthering Heights’
Her debut single as well as her only single that reached number one in the UK charts, ‘Wuthering Heights’ is the epochal track that rose Kate Bush to fame. The song is inspired by the novel of the same name and is told from the perspective of Catherine, using iconic quotes from the book in the lyrics. It tells the gothic romantic tale between Catherine and Heathcliff and was released in January 1978. Watch the classic UK music video below.
