Kate Bush

For other uses, see Kate Bush (disambiguation).

Kate Bush
CBE
Bush in 1985
Born
Catherine Bush

(1958-07-30) 30 July 1958 (age 66)
Bexleyheath, Kent, England
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • dancer
  • record producer
Years active1975–present
Spouse
Danny McIntosh
​
(m. 1992)​
Children1
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
DiscographyKate Bush discography
Labels
Websitekatebush.com

Catherine Bush CBE (born 30 July 1958), publicly known as Kate Bush, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK singles chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a fully self-written song.[1][2] Her debut album The Kick Inside was released that year, reaching number three on the UK Albums Chart.

Bush has released 25 UK Top 40 singles, including the Top 10 hits "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" (1978), "Babooshka" (1980), "Running Up That Hill" (1985), "Don't Give Up" (a 1986 duet with Peter Gabriel), and "King of the Mountain" (2005). All nine of her studio albums reached the UK Top 10, with all but one reaching the top five, including the number one albums Never for Ever (1980), Hounds of Love (1985) and the greatest hits compilation The Whole Story (1986). Since The Dreaming (1982), she has produced all of her studio albums. She took a hiatus between her seventh and eighth albums, The Red Shoes (1993) and Aerial (2005). In 2011, Bush released the albums Director's Cut and 50 Words for Snow. She drew attention again in 2014 with her concert residency Before the Dawn, her first shows since the Tour of Life in 1979.

Bush was the first British solo female artist to top the UK Albums Chart and the first female artist to enter it at number one.[3] Her eclectic musical style, unconventional lyrics, performances and literary themes have influenced a diverse range of artists. In 2022, "Running Up That Hill" received renewed attention after it appeared in the Netflix series Stranger Things, becoming Bush's second UK number one and reaching the top of several other charts. It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, and its parent album, Hounds of Love, became Bush's first album to reach the top of a Billboard albums chart.

Bush has received numerous accolades and honours, including 14 Brit Awards nominations and a win for British Female Solo Artist in 1987, as well as seven nominations for Grammy Awards.[4][5] In 2002, she received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to music.[6][7] She became a Fellow of the Ivors Academy in the UK in 2020,[8] and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.[9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference officialcharts.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference brits was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The BRITs 1987". Brit Awards. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  6. ^ "BBC News – New Year Honours 2013: At a glance". BBC. 29 December 2012. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  7. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 7.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ivors was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2023 Inductees". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 3 May 2023.