SINGER-SONGWRITER KATE Bush has said it’s “quite shocking” but “so exciting” that her classic hit “Running Up That Hill” has returned to the top of the charts 37 years after its release, thanks to TV series Stranger Things.
In a rare interview with BBC Radio, the 63-year-old spoke warmly of her music being rediscovered by a new generation.
“It’s such a great series, I thought that the track would get some attention,” she said.
“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.”
“Running Up That Hill” currently sits atop the Irish singles charts, and reached number 1 on the UK singles chart last week. It also entered the US top ten for the first time since its release.
It has also become the most-streamed song on Spotify in the United States, the UK and globally.
“…it’s just extraordinary what’s happening.”@KateBushMusic on Woman’s Hour is ✨everything✨
Listen on BBC Sounds: https://t.co/xOXd1TAip7 pic.twitter.com/VMz4Cx0AxR— BBC Sounds (@BBCSounds)
The 1985 song now holds the record for longest time taken for a single to reach number one, and Bush now boasts the longest-ever gap between chart-toppers – 44 years after “Wuthering Heights” first revealed her talents to the world.
And, at 63, Bush has also become the oldest female artist ever to score a number one hit in the UK.
“What’s really wonderful, I think, is this a whole new audience who in a lot of cases had never heard of me and I love that …
it’s very special.
“There was some great music in the 80s, but I think it’s an incredibly exciting time we’re in now,” she said.
She said she has been a fan of Stranger Things since the beginning, and said its use in the series was “really special”.
“I thought, what a lovely way for the song to be used, in such a positive way … I think it’s very touching.”
Bush has largely spent recent decades out of the public eye, but performed a 22-night residency in London in 2014, with tickets selling out in 15 minutes.
“Gardening is my thing now,” she told the BBC, without going into whether she is working on any new music.
Bush’s last studio album was “50 Words for Snow” (2011), which featured aural trickery of the kind she pioneered in the 80s with the Fairlight digital synthesiser used on her 1985 masterpiece, “Hounds of Love”.
But Bush herself doesn’t have a smartphone.
“I have a really ancient phone. But I like that because I spend a lot of time on my laptop,” she said.
“And when I go out during the day, it means I don’t have to deal with emails and everyone knows that. So I just get texts and calls on my phone, and it means that I have a bit of peace.”
With reporting from AFP
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