Speaking in a rare interview to discuss the new stratospheric success of her 1985 track Running Up That Hill, the naturally reclusive Kate Bush has revealed that unlike the rest of us, she doesn’t actually spend any time listening to her old music.
In conversation with Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour today (June 22), Bush comments on the song’s “extraordinary” popularity after it was featured in the sci-fi/horror hit series Stranger Things.
With the world currently obsessing over her music, Bush is questioned as to whether she also spends time listening to her own material, and responds: “I never listen to my old stuff. But then you know, when things like this come along, I’m normally involved in something like you know, maybe doing an edit or revisiting the track for some kind of other reason, I’m working on it. So yeah, I hadn’t heard it for a really long time.”
Speaking of Running Up That Hill’s inclusion in Stranger Things, which she describes as “such a great series”, Bush adds: “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.”
Of the track’s “wonderful” comeback 37 years after its initial release, she muses on the fact that thanks to the show, it’s been able to reach “a whole new audience who, in a lot of cases, they’ve never heard of me”.
She continues, “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.”
Based on its mid-week sales, Running Up That Hill looks set to spend a second week at the number one spot of the UK singles chart.
