Kate Bush Biography

She was born as Catherine Bush in Welling, Kent, England to Robert Bush, a physician, and Hannah Daly on July 30, 1958. She grew up in the family farmhouse in East Wickham, where she had a Roman Catholic upbringing.

Her mother was an Irish folk dancer and her father, apart from being a physician, also played the piano. Her older brothers, John and Paddy had musical interests and were part of the local folk music scene.

She learned karate at Goldsmiths College along with her brother John. At the age of eleven, she started playing the piano, studied the violin, and also wrote her own tunes.

She went to the St Joseph's Convent Grammar School and later attended the Catholic girls' school, in London. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd at this time received one of the family recordings and helped her to create a more professional one.

The tape she recorded with the help of David Gilmour was sent to Terry Slater, an executive at the EMI record label, who went on to sign her. She was, however, put on a two-year hold and she left school and joined dance classes.

In February 1978, she came out with her debut album, ‘The Kick Inside', which featured the hit single, ‘Wuthering Heights'. In November of that year, she released another album titled, 'Lionheart.'

In 1979, she came out with the extended play, ‘On Stage’, which included live recordings. The following year, her album titled, ‘Never for Ever' was released. The album topped the charts.

Around 1979, she made numerous appearances on television, all over the world. She appeared in ' Top of the Pops' in the U.K., 'Bios Bahnhof' in Germany, and '‘Saturday Night Live' in the U.S.

From April 2, 1979, to May 13, 1979, she went on the ‘The Tour of Life', which was a concert tour that included twenty-four performances from her earlier albums, ' ‘The Kick Inside' and 'Lionheart'.

In November 1980, she came out with her one-off single titled, ‘December Will Be Magic Again’. The following year, she came out with the video album, ‘Live at the Hammersmith Odeon'.

Released in 1982, her studio album, ‘The Dreaming‘, received mixed reviews from music critics. The following year, she came out with the extended play, ‘Kate Bush', which was released in the U.S. and Canada only.

In 1983, she came out with her video album titled, ‘The Single File'. Some of her other music videos include, ‘Running Up that Hill’, ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘The Man with the Child in His Eyes’ and ‘Cloudbusting’.

In 1985, she came out with the studio album, ‘Hounds of Love', which is one of her most successful albums. The next year, her compilation album titled, ‘The Whole Story' was released.

In 1986, she came out with the video album, 'The Hair of the Hound'. The same year, she came out with the video version of the album, ‘The Whole Story, which peaked on the music charts.

In 1989, her studio album, ‘The Sensual World' was released. The following year, she released a video version titled, ‘The Sensual World - The Videos' and came out with the EP, ‘Aspects of the Sensual World'.

In 1990, she starred in the TV film, ‘Les Dogs', a black comedy. This project was produced by The Comic Strip and was aired on BBC television in March of that year.

In 1993, she directed and also starred in the musical short film, ‘The Line, the Cross & the Curve’. The film was screened at the London Film Festival and featured songs from her album, ‘The Red Shoes', released the same year.

In 1994, she provided music for the commercial for the soft drink, ‘Fruitopia’. In later years, her song 'The Sensual World' was featured in the Canadian film ‘Felicia's Journey'.

In 2005, she came out with her studio album titled, ‘Aerial'. The following year, a documentary on her titled, ‘Kate Bush Under Review’ was released. The documentary had excerpts from her interviews.

In 2007, she wrote the song 'Lyra' for the soundtrack of the film, ‘The Golden Compass'. The following year, a DVD collection of her Saturday Night Live performances was released.

In 2011, she came out with the studio albums, ‘Director's Cut’ and '50 Words for Snow'. The following year, she released her music video titled, ‘Lake Tahoe'.

In March 2014, she announced her concert residency ‘Before the Dawn.’ This was her first concert tour since 1979 and comprised 22 shows. The concert tour was later translated into Kate’s 2016 live album of the same name. The album turned out to be a major success and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry.

In late 2018, she released her first book titled ‘How to Be Invisible.’ That same year, she also put out remastered versions of her studio albums.

In September 2020, she became a part of The Ivors Academy. In 2022, her 1985 single “Running Up That Hill" became a viral hit after it was featured in the popular television series ‘Stranger Things.’ The song re-entered the US Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at number 3. The principal album ‘Hounds of Love’ also ranked number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In January 2023, she was named among the 200 Best Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone.

Her 1980 album titled, ‘Never for Ever' was one of the first female solo albums to peak at the number one position on the UK Albums Chart. The album also became the ‘20th best-selling single of the year’.

Her album ‘Hounds of Love' was one of her best-selling albums that peaked at the number one position on the UK Albums Chart. ‘Q Magazine’ listed the album as ‘the third Greatest Album of All-Time by a Female Artist’.

In 1987, she received the BRIT Award for the category of 'Best British Female Solo Artist’.

In 2002, she became the recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for the category of 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music'.

In 2013, New Year Honours for services to music she was appointed as the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

She is married to guitarist Dan McIntosh, with whom she has a son named Albert.