Running Up That Hill

I'm kind of blanking, kind of not. Kind of lazy. Kind of real lazy. 

But, since there are dozens of articles out there anyway, I may as well pile on. 

If you've been reading me for any length of time, you not only know that I adore Kate Bush, but that she was the co-first CD I ever purchased back in 1985*. 

On our every Sunday drinking call, my friend Jon mentioned how he got into Kate Bush's Hounds of Love disk because of me.

Au contraire mon frère. 

It was Jon who played it for me over at his house. I went out and bought the disk ($18.99!!! in 1985!) that day. And a few days later, actually bought the CD player, so I could play the damn thing.  That was another $149!

But what a disk. 

Fast Forward 37 years and Kate Bush has a verified hit in the U.S. ........with a song from 37 years ago. 

"Running Up That Hill" was apparently on the show Stranger Things, and in whatever context it was used, resonated with the music buying public who weren't around 37 years ago. It has been #1 on iTunes songs chart since. This isn't like Billboard that is updated weekly, this is a several times per day update - and the single remains there. 

Bush's entire catalog is up like 1,160%, but honestly, that doesn't mean a lot. It's doubtful someone who records so infrequently and isn't that well knowing stateside (she has been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice - not getting the nod. Pat Benatar is getting in and had covered Bush's "Wuthering Heights on her first album!) moves that much product on a weekly basis anyway, so that percentage might only be a low four digit surge. 

Still, a win is a win. 

Perhaps my news feeds are a bit too targeted, but NPR, Billboard, American Songwriter and various other outlets are writing about Bush on a daily basis.  I hope it pays off for her. 

Fun fact: the original title for the song is the parenthetical - "Deal with G-d".  But UK radio didn't (maybe still don't?) play songs with 'g-d' in the title, so the title changed. I thought the Victorian era was a while back, not 1985!

I know it's not My Music Monday, and I know I already used "Running Up That Hill" in that segment eons ago, but what the hell.  Let's send Kate $0.0000072.

 

*Laurie Anderson's Home of the Brave was the other co-disk. 

Song by: Kate Bush