Kate Bush

Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs when she was 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK singles chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a fully self-written song. Her debut studio album, The Kick Inside (1978), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Bush was the first British solo female artist to top the UK Albums Chart and the first female artist to enter it at number one. Bush has released 25 UK top 40 singles, including the top-10 hits "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" (1978), "Babooshka" (1980), "Running Up That Hill" (1985), "Don't Give Up" (a 1986 duet with Peter Gabriel), and "King of the Mountain" (2005). All nine of her studio albums reached the UK top 10, with all but one reaching the top five, including the number-one albums Never for Ever (1980), Hounds of Love (1985), and the greatest-hits compilation The Whole Story (1986). Since The Dreaming (1982), she has produced all of her studio albums. She took a hiatus between her seventh and eighth albums, The Red Shoes (1993) and Aerial (2005). In 2011, Bush released the albums Director's Cut and 50 Words for Snow. She drew attention again in 2014 with her concert residency Before the Dawn, her first shows since the Tour of Life in 1979. In 2022, "Running Up That Hill" received renewed attention after it appeared in the Netflix series Stranger Things, becoming Bush's second UK number one and reaching the top of several other charts. It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, and its parent album, Hounds of Love, became Bush's first album to reach the top of a Billboard albums chart. Bush's eclectic musical style, unconventional lyrics, performances and literary themes have influenced a diverse range of artists. She has received numerous accolades and honours, including 14 Brit Awards nominations and a win for British Female Solo Artist in 1987, as well as seven nominations for Grammy Awards. In 2002, she received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to music. She became a Fellow of the Ivors Academy in the UK in 2020, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.