 |
|
30 听|听Top 100
'Wuthering Heights'
Kate Bush
When Kate Bush unleashed 鈥淲uthering Heights鈥 on the world in 1978 the public didn鈥檛 know quite what to make it of it. But they knew they liked it. One of the most daring, original singles ever 鈥 and a debut |
 Song facts |
| Composer |
Kate Bush |
|
| Genre |
Pop |
|
| Album |
The Kick Inside |
|
| Year of release |
1978 |
|
| UK Chart Position |
1 |
|
single at that 鈥 鈥淲uthering Heights鈥 was an instant success, staying at number one for a month.
Kate was a precocious child and wrote her first song aged 13. When a family friend played her demo tape to Pink Floyd鈥檚 David Gilmour he helped her win a deal with EMI. The label paid for her to learn dance, mime, songwrite and other useful skills in preparation for her debut album, The Kick Inside. The move paid off. By the time she came to record it she鈥檇 written some 30 tracks, of which 鈥淲uthering Heights鈥 was one.
Her melodramatic adaptation of Emily Bronte鈥檚 tale of doomed love on the windswept moors is like nothing before and very little since. In fact it鈥檚 pretty much timeless. Pushing her already operatic voice to the limits, she sounds something like an alien child as she sings: 鈥淗eathcliff, it鈥檚 meee, Cath-eeey, come home now鈥 over a swirling backing of piano and strings.
But slightly overblown or not, it remains a truly great song.
Kate Bush on fame at an early age |
|
Kate kept herself busy while waiting for the album to be recorded but, with a UK Number One on her hands, it was suddenly non-stop working. "I put up with 16 months of that and then I said, 'Look, I've just got to stop or I'm not going to be able to write any songs any more.'."
|
 听 |
|
Other versions |
|
听Arena rocker Pat Benatar covered Wuthering Heights on her 1980s album 'Crimes of Passion'. A surprising choice for what became one of her most aggressively rockin' outings of her career.
|
Songwriting tips Look for unusual words and phrases to make your song different
More in our guide to Writing A SongTry the stream of consciousness approach:
More in Writing Lyrics |
|
Test your knowledgeKate Bush had her first hit in 1978 - what can you remember of her other songs?TAKE THE CHALLENGE! |
|
|
|
| 听DON'T MISS |
|
|
|
 |
|
Doves
Special guests on Dermot's show this week
|
|
What's on
Find out more about current and forthcoming documentaries on Radio 2.
|
|
听Full Schedule
听Newsletter sign-up