interviews

German Radio Station SWF3

Phone-in Interview with Kate Bush on the German Radio Station SWF3, on Kate's 10th Anniversary. Recorded on March 9th 1988.

Introduction: Wuthering heights, the mystic story about the tragic love of Cathy and Heathcliff, written by Emily Bronte originally, is still a milestone in the history of music, I believe. It's been 10 years now since a girl name Kate Bush appeared on the music horizon with this song, and it was impossible to ignore her. The music paper "Audio" once described her as the "World star with a chirpy voice", well, not totally wrong, "World star is correct, but "Chirpy voice"? Well, what this is able to do we could enjoy over the past 10 years.

Kate was just 19 then, on July 30th, the doctor's daughter will 30. At that time she was a young girl full of imagination, now she's a determined, sometimes obsessed perfectionist, who's still making masterpieces that stand far above all those one-hit-wonders.

Kate Bush lives and works at the countryside outside of London, where she also writes and produces her songs in her own studio.

Kate Bush, the reticent woman - since two-and-a-half years she refused any interviews strictly, her stereotyped reply: "I'm out of time, I'm busy with my work". This reluctance only changed when SWF3 asked for an interview, there the star said spontaneously "Yes". Nevertheless it took quite a while until the interview really happened, the first appointment in London came and went, the second, too; then a phone interview was arranged, but when the time arrived, Kate Bush was not there. At last the fourth trial succeeded, "It's all a matter of time", said Kate Bush. Time, that's her favourite problem.

How does a typical day without time look like for Kate Bush?

K.B. Well definitely most of my time is spent with working in the studio, and in the evenings I listen to what I have written before and improve words and music. It's a kind of experimental process and I'm more or less working on it al the time.

All the time, how often exactly?

K.B. Well, we tend to work at the weekends, which is nice, that gives me a chance to think other things. I can clean the house for an hour or two and things like that. But vice versa it can happen that I work throughout the whole week and relax at the weekends. Well, relax; I'm always thinking about my work, that's something you're subconsciously doing all the time. To put the ideas into life you have to go back to the studio. It's a bit of a drag, you have to keep the ideas in your mind and not forget them, because they tend to go away and come back at a later point.

Well, I suppose you don't work 365 days a year, do you go out sometimes, to the cinema, theatre or perhaps disco?

K.B. I have very little in the way of hobbies, dancing is one, but it's a professional hobby, but I haven't done much of it recently. No, I don't go out very often, only when I'm at other places and meet other people, then yes. I have a few friends who I meet. When I make videos, I meet many people, usually I'm in the studio just with my sound engineer, and at a video location we're about 40 people. In some way it's a cultural shock, going from one business to the other.

When I hear that, it sounds for me rather like living in a golden cage.

K.B. Well, what's that? Well, I have contact with the real world, after all I have to go shopping, too, and there I meet people. Surely, I live in a much more isolated way than most other people. Other people have contact with their colleagues at the office or elsewhere - I haven't, except when my musicians come or I work with other people.

I would suggest a tour could help this loneliness, or is there no chance, because you still do fear flying?

K.B. Yes, I do. It has stopped me of performing abroad, but it doesn't stop me of being creative. A tour, that's something I'd love to do since the last tour, and this is now since 9 years. I'd love to, but then - somehow it never comes to it. And beside - I need my time to make my albums, and make them the way that I'm satisfied with them and the videos, etc.

Well, no tour, but at least an optical contact with the audience through the visual medium. Do you think, video is the ideal way of communication?

K.B. Yes, I do, particularly in terms of myself. I can't travel to most of the countries where people are interested in my music. The video is at least something to represent me. But I think, the video-technics are at a critical point at the moment, everything is so stereotyped, if someone makes an outstanding video, that's rare and then stands out a mile.

SWF3 here, 10 years Kate Bush, that means also 10 years after "Wuthering heights", and one thing that definitely hasn't changed with Kate Bush is, that she still writes darker and more mystic songs than anybody else. Kate, How does that come?

K.B. I think, it's fascinating, a lot of people live rather on the darker side, at least in their minds. To write such songs is fascinating, on the other hand, of course, it's more difficult to write happy songs, much more difficult. I've written happy songs, as well, but in my terms people think just of the dark songs.

Maybe, but even a song like "Hounds of love", that is supposed to be a love song, sounds rather dark. Do you perhaps have problems with love?

K.B. Well, I wouldn't say that's a happy song, no, I don't think I have problems, not at all. It was that way, that I wrote it basing on an autobiographical experience and added some imagination. The idea of someone who's scared of love and the hounds that chase them, I thought that was a nice imagery.

Do you write just for yourself, or would you write songs for other artists? Have you ever done that?

K.B. I don't think I will, it just never cropped up, I've never had this situation, when I write songs I write them for an album.

Would you write a song for me?

K.B. It depends; I wouldn't do it at the moment. Could you sing at all?

Yes, I could probably, but we better leave it here. You've worked with Peter Gabriel, how was that, had he written the song completely and you just added vocals?

K.B. Yes he did ask me if I'd sing on this song and I did it, I was just there as a singer.

Will he sing with you once or sing a song written by you?

K.B. I don't know, I'd like to think so, but so far there was no opportunity, I think if there was a song he'd like to sing, he would come and tell me. I'd like to work with David Byrne from the Talking Heads, he's very interesting, but it's always a matter of the songs. Sometimes you have a song that is just complete and doesn't need anyone to contribute, then there are others of which you think it would be nice to have a guest vocal, and it would so easy to do. But with most of the songs they just don't need it.

Kate Bush-special, 10 years K.B. Question to the artist who lives mostly isolated from the public eye: Do you listen to the current chats occasionally?

K.B. Yes, sometimes I listen to the radio a fair bit, but I don't care much about it.

But surely you noticed that recently many of the old rock veterans re-appeared, like George Harrison, do you think that's good?

K.B. I think it's fantastic, I love his song, and it's great that one of the greatest songwriters and artists ever come back again. But that's natural, it's a good song and if it's presented in the right way, it sells well.

Before "Hounds of love" release you had disappeared for a long time, too. So, it was a bit of a comeback for you, as well.

K.B. Well, there have been always long breaks, and particularly now. It's just, you can't work always on a piece of music and make it the best, you have to do other things in between and get new stimulus. Then you get back to work with new ideas. Sometimes we just sit together, relax a bit and work on the house or whatever and then get back and work on an album.

How long does it take, until you have completed a song from writing to producing?

K.B. It really does depend, some songs are just so quick, you just sit at the fairlight, write a bit and it's finished, it's just a matter of building on the fundament. Other songs need more work, they are like a puzzle, where you put the ideas together and reconstruct them until they're ready. My songs all have completely different histories, before I see them right before my eyes. It's impossible to give you a generalization.

Well, let's take two examples, "Wuthering heights" and "Running up that hill", how was it with them?

K.B. That was very quick, I sat at the piano and wrote it in an hour or two, or something like that, and in the evening I did more of the words and then I had it completely.

And "Running up that hill"?

K.B. Again, that was initially very quick, I put the fairlight and drum machine for it and worked out the rhythm, then came the melody. But after that I needed much time for the lyrics, and other instruments were added.

Do you like working with computers and machines?

K.B. I love them, for writing they're just fantastic. Sometimes it gets a bit tricky, but generally they offer so much more opportunities, sometimes I wouldn't know what to do without then, especially when I'm writing. On the other hand you have to be careful with how, when and where to use them, there should always be the thought behind that a song should have an own soul, otherwise it sounds too artificial and cold, you have to be careful.

But in the studio you rather prefer using real strings instead of synthesizer-strings then?

K.B. Well, I really like the combination of the two. For me it's exciting to have men and machine working together, that's really good - when it works!

K.B. - Special here, 10 years of the Bush-company. Question to the British artist: is it difficult to make a song from writing to producing it?

K.B. Yes, sometimes it's very tricky and it's where a lot of time goes into it. Suddenly you realize that this and that don't fit together that way, that you can't put this and that instrument together, because it doesn't sound well. That all still belongs to the writing process, really, but not everything you have in your mind sounds good when you put it into action. And sometimes you know, it gets tricky to be able to put things together so that you're happy with it.

You're well known as being a perfectionist, is that perhaps the reason why you never produced another artist? Could you do that at all?

K.B. What would worry me about producing someone else, would be, could I do what this artist wants me to do? Or vice versa, would the artist be ready to experiment with me, until we've found the right sound, or even start again completely? I would be scared of taking the responsibility; it would be easier if I had a personal link with the song. And even then, I'd just have not the time, really.

The word "time" appears again and again in our conversation, now I take this to ask: How much time will it take to finish your new album, and how will it sound like?

K.B. Oh, that's one of the worst questions ever, you can't talk about music or an album, when it's still not finished. It will be completely different than the last album, that's all I can say.

How far are you with the album?

K.B. Well, I wouldn't want to commit myself in any way. I'm glad the way it progresses at the moment, that's all I can say. You know, even f it was finished, there'd be so many things to do before a release, like putting it into a marketing situation, so I wouldn't want to say. I hope that when it's out that people want to hear it, and then everything will be O.K.

What has changed most for you in these 10 years, apart from fame and money?

K.B. it's that so much of my time is taken up with certain things, that hardly leave me any space. I spend so much time with planning my albums as I said before; it takes me so much time, because I put so much engagement into the whole process. Of course, I love doing it, it's art of my activities, so I'm not complaining at all.

When we met 10 years ago, you were riding on the tube to the lace we met (She was 15 minutes too late, 'Coz she missed a train) Are you still going on the tube in London?

K.B. Well. I never used to enjoy going on the tube, I like riding on a train, but usually I drive my car, that's the easiest way for me.

Which meaning do money and fame have for you?

K.B. It's important and to a certain extent I need money to realize my projects: making albums and videos is quite an expensive thing. Fame? Well, that's something very useful, you can meet and work with people you'd normally never meet, so that's a good thing, but sometimes fame can exclude you. But nevertheless, it's extremely useful, I think.

Isn't fame sometimes nerving, as well, I mean, can you go to the supermarket without getting stopped and people saying "Ooh, that's Kate Bush, I'm getting me an autograph"?

K.B. Some people do, but all in a nice way, that's not a problem.

You have much money, wouldn't it be useful to support suffering, unemployed young people to help them getting a good job education? (A question of what he knew the answer before, as he'd heard of her social support for the youth).

K.B. I think, many famous people give money to charities and don't talk about. It's just something you don't talk about.

Kate, on the 30th July, you'll be 30. Don't you sometimes think it's now time to get married and have some babies? (I'm sure, she loved that question most, Ha Ha Ha!)

K.B.......No, no, I'm happy and we're happy as we are.

So, that's it the 10th anniversary of Kate Bush, on the air was Womi Schmitt.