Kate Bush

**Catherine "Kate" Bush** <small> CBE </small> (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer-songwriter. In 1978, her first single "Wuthering Heights" was Number 1 in the UK for a month, making her the first woman to have a No.1 in the UK with a song she had written by herself. She has released ten studio albums and 25 UK hit singles. She is also known for her 1985 single "Running Up That Hill".

## Early life

Bush was born in Bexleyheath, Kent and raised in nearby East Wickham. At the age of 11 she taught herself piano. At 13 she was writing songs, some of which featured on her first album.

## Career

In July 1976 Bush was signed to EMI. Bush's first album _The Kick Inside _was released on 17 February 1978 and reached number three in the UK album charts. The album had her brother Paddy playing harmonica and mandolin. She released her second album _Lionheart_ nine months afterwards. It reached number six in the UK album chart.
In 1979 she did The Tour of Life, her only tour until August 2014.

In 1980 she had her first UK No.1 album, _Never for Ever_. "Babooshka" was the best-selling single from the album. It reached number five in the UK and was the 20th best-selling single of the year in Australia.

In 1982 her fourth album, _The Dreaming_, was released. It was the first album she had produced. It was also her first album to enter the US _Billboard_ 200 chart. It went straight to number 3 in the UK chart but it is her lowest-selling album so far.

_Hounds of Love_s_ _1985 release gave Bush her second No.1 album. It is her best-selling studio album so far. Its first single, "Running Up That Hill", was her most successful 1980s release. It reached No.3 in the UK, her second highest chart place for a single ever. In 1986 it was used as the theme tune for the BBC children's drama _Running Scared_. In 2022, the song became popular again when it was used in the Netflix series _Stranger Things_ which resulted in the song reaching No.1 in many countries including the UK. _The Whole Story_, a collection of her "greatest hits" so far, was released and reached No.1 in the UK chart.
1989's _The Sensual World _reached number 2 in the UK album chart. It_ _is Bush's best-selling album in the US.

In 1990 she played a bride called Angela in a comedy film, _Les Dogs_.

In 1993 Bush released _The Red Shoes_, her last album for twelve years. Bush released a short film called _The Line, the Cross and the Curve_ in 1994.

Her eighth studio album and first double album, _Aerial_, was released on CD and vinyl in 2005. It took nine years to make.

In 2007 she was asked to write a song for The Golden Compass soundtrack. It was played in the credits at the end of the film.

In 2011 she released two albums, _Director's Cut_ and _50 Words for Snow _ on her own record label Fish People.

_Director's Cut_ is made of songs from _The Sensual World_ and _The Red Shoes_. They have been remixed and three have been re-recorded. It got mostly good reviews.

_50 Words for Snow_ got good responses from critics and won the 2012 Best Album at the South Bank Arts Awards.

On 26 August 2014 Bush performed her first concert in 35 years.

## Personal life

Bush lives in Devon with her husband Dan McIntosh and son Albert "Bertie" Jack, who was born in 1998.

### Studio albums

- _The Kick Inside_ (1978)
- _Lionheart_ (1978)
- _Never for Ever_ (1980)
- _The Dreaming_ (1982)
- _Hounds of Love_ (1985)
- _The Sensual World_ (1989)
- _The Red Shoes_ (1993)
- _Aerial_ (2005)
- _50 Words for Snow_ (2011)

### Remix albums

- _Director's Cut_ (2011)

### Live albums

- _Live at Hammersmith Odeon_ (1994)
- _Before the Dawn_ (2016)

### Compilation albums

- _Kate Bush_ (1984)
- _The Whole Story_ (1986)
- _The Other Sides_ (2019)

### Tour

- The Tour of Life (1979)

### Residency

- Before the Dawn (2014)

## Other websites

- Official website