“Musical event of the year? Musical event of the 21st century so far wouldn’t be overstating it.” When Prog witnessed the attitude and energy of Kate Bush’s Before The Dawn show in 2014, we didn’t hold back the praise.
And why should we? They’d been building up unused since her one and only large-scale tour in 1979, waiting for the hardly-imagined moment that she’d bring her musical genius to another stage some day.
And she had – 35 years later, in the form of a 22-date residency at London’s Hammersmith Apollo from August 26 to October 1, containing 25 songs over two acts, and seen by over 80,000 fortunate people. “The spectacle embraces modern technology and stagecraft to raise Bush’s unique eclecticism – song, film, costume, lights, props, magic and high drama – to another dimension,” we said.
“More than a rock gig, it’s a sensual sound-and-vision extravaganza. It takes flight. Yet for all the razzle-dazzle, it proves intensely moving. At the centre of the whirlpool: that voice, richer than ever.”
We reflected: “It may be that Bush has brought mannerisms often reductively labelled as prog back to mainstream acceptance. Or it could just be that Britain’s most gifted female star can do anything she wants, such is the love and adoration displayed here. The young girl who once yelped ‘Wow’ is now a mature woman confirmed as the genius godmother of art rock – 35 years on, the moment is hers again.”
While the multimedia show was a triumph, no one should have been surprised. Bush gathered the best talent to multiply her own, including two former members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, an illusionist, a puppeteer and a video projection designer. This, along with seven musicians, 13 actors and countless crew, helped her deliver two stories, one based on The Ninth Wave from Hounds Of Love and the other on A Sky Of Honey from Aerial.
Those who didn’t see the show were treated to the release of a video for And Dream Of Sheep, part of The Ninth Wave. Bush is seen floating on an ocean, wearing a life jacket after her ship has sunk – and that attention to detail nearly delivered severe consequences after she spent three days in a water tank, singing live, to shoot the scenes as used in the show.
“This was to create a sense of realism, as the character in the song is lost at sea,” a press release explained. “She spent so long in the water during the first day of filming that she contracted mild hypothermia. She recovered after a day off and carried on filming.”
Once the run was over, Bush described it as “one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life.” She added: “I was really delighted that the shows were received so positively and so warmly – but the really unexpected part of it all was audiences you could only ever dream of.
“They took my breath away. Every single night they were so behind us. You could feel their support from the minute we walked on stage. I just never imagined it would be possible to connect with an audience on such a powerful and intimate level; to feel such – well, quite frankly – love. It was like this at every single show.”
Bush most recently made chart history with the second-wave impact of 1985 single Running Up That Hill after its appearance in Stranger Things in 2022. Before that – and after the success of 1978 debut hit Wuthering Heights – she entered the record books again when Before The Dawn led to eight of her albums entering the top 40 at the same time, and her entire catalogue made the top 50.
Looking back her residency’s success, she admitted in 2016 that the endeavour had terrified her. “The idea of putting the show together was something that I found really interesting and really exciting,” she said. “But to actually step into it was something that I had to really work hard on.
I was so terrified that if my mind wandered off, I wouldn’t remember where I was in the song
“I was really nervous every night as a performer, but I had complete faith in everybody on the stage, everybody in the team, all the sound guys. The most difficult thing for me was to be continually in the now because I naturally tend to race ahead in my mind.
“Once we started running the show I had to be absolutely in that moment. I was so terrified that if my mind wandered off, when I came back I wouldn’t remember where I was. I had to really fix myself, so that I would remember where I was in the song.”
Naturally, speculation circulated that Bush might stage another show – but to date that hasn’t happened. She also said she wasn’t writing new songs at that time, although of course she’d have an impressive pile of creations stored away.
Asked if she’d put a full stop on creating music, she replied: “Oh no, I don’t think so. I think it’s just a rather big comma.”
