Kate Bush Gives Rare Interview After Running Up That Hill Resurgence: 'The World's Gone Mad'

"I thought that the track would get some attention. But I just never imagined that it would be anything like this."
Kate Bush pictured in 2014
Kate Bush pictured in 2014
David M. Benett via Getty Images

She may be known for rarely speaking in public, but music legend Kate Bush gave a one-off interview to Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to commemorate her return the pop charts in June 2022.

Thanks to its prominent position in the new season of Stranger Things, Kate’s track Running Up That Hill topped the UK singles chart in June, giving the singer her first number one in 37 years. The song also ended up topping Spotify’s Songs Of Summer list in August, along with Harry Style’s As It Was.

In honour of the feat, she sat down with Woman’s Hour host Emma Barnett to discuss the accolade back in June.

“It’s just extraordinary,” Kate said. “I thought that the track would get some attention. But I just never imagined that it would be anything like this. It’s so exciting.

“But it’s quite shocking really, isn’t it? I mean, the whole world’s gone mad.”

She continued: “What’s really wonderful I think is this is a whole new audience who, in a lot of cases, they’ve never heard of me and I love that. The thought of all these really young people hearing the song for the first time and discovering it is, well, I think it’s very special.”

Kate also spoke about having to change the name of the song due to concerns from her record label, after it was originally known by its subtitle, A Deal With God.

“I think they were just worried that it wouldn’t get played on the radio,” she explained. “That people would feel it was a sensitive title… I think for me, this is still called A Deal With God.”

She concluded: “I just want to say, thank you very much. Thank you to everyone because it’s just extraordinary what’s happening. And it’s very exciting. And thank you Emma, thank you for giving me the time to say thank you to everyone. And you know – hooray!”

Sadie Sink as Max in the latest season of Stranger Things
Sadie Sink as Max in the latest season of Stranger Things
Netflix

Running Up That Hill was first introduced as the lead single from Kate Bush’s Hounds Of Love album in 1985, peaking at number three upon its original release.

In 2012, a re-recorded version of the track was included in the London Olympics Closing Ceremony, and later released as a single, which also reached number six in the UK charts.

Kate Bush famously keeps out of the spotlight, but did perform a string of concerts in London back in 2014, where Running Up That Hill was included on the setlist.

Celebrating her song peaking at number one, Kate wrote on her website last week: “I’m overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving and it’s all happening really fast, as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force. I have to admit I feel really moved by it all. Thank you so very much for making the song a number one in such an unexpected way.”

Kate Bush pictured in 1985, the year of Running Up That Hill's release
Kate Bush pictured in 1985, the year of Running Up That Hill's release
Dave Hogan via Getty Images

The acclaimed musician is often reluctant to allow her music to be featured in films or TV shows, but gave permission to Stranger Things as she was apparently already a fan.

Wende Crowley of Sony Music Publishing told Variety: “Kate Bush is selective when it comes to licensing her music and because of that, we made sure to get script pages and footage for her to review so she could see exactly how the song would be used.”

Woman’s Hour is on Radio 4 weekdays at 10am and on BBC Sounds.

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