News

Kate Bush is “very keen” to start working on a new album

Watch Kate’s new animation ‘Little Shrew (Snowflake)’

By Paul Sinclair

Comments

52

Watch Kate Bush's new animation Little Shrew (Snowflake)

Kate Bush has told broadcaster Emma Barnett that she plans to get to work on a new album.

Bush was talking to Barnett in an interview broadcast this morning on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme to promote a new animation called Little Shrew (Snowflake) that Kate has written and directed. The film, just over 4 minutes long, depicts a little shrew searching for hope as she makes her way across a bombed-out city. The music is a 2024 radio edit of ‘Snowflake’ a song that originally appeared on Kate’s last studio album, 2011’s 50 Words For Snow. The film ends with the message: “You could be hope for a child caught up in war. Please donate to War Child”.

Fans are likely to be both delighted with the news that Kate has firm plans to work on a new record but also somewhat dismayed that when asked by Barnett directly if she’s working on anything now, her answer was “not at the moment”. Kate cited recent endeavours on her archive, redoing her website and her lyrics book – along with this new animation – as things that have kept her busy.

Emma Barnett also asked about Kate returning to the stage (David Gilmour was asked recently if he could persuade Bush to get back on stage) and Kate said she was “not there yet”.

SuperDeluxeEdition.com helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.

Related Content

52 Comments

52 thoughts on “Kate Bush is “very keen” to start working on a new album”

  2. No two people get discussed more on this website than Kate Bush and Paul McCartney. I don’t really care for either artist but I did get sucked into buying Macca’s box sets, Japanese mini cd reissues, colored vinyl and singles box set. Whether you like Macca as an artist or not, his contribution to music history is obviously immense. The same cannot be said about Kate Bush. Each time people have a fit here about how little she puts out, I raise my eyebrows. What’s the fuss all about? She hasn’t been that influential. She put out a few decent albums but nothing historical in my book. I think it must be an English thing. She seems to lead sort of a mysterious life and that probably intrigues the English? In The Netherlands and US, where I spend my life, no one cares much for Kate Bush. Of course there are fans but nothing more than the average artist whose hay day was in the late 70’s and 80’s.

    1. I’m in total agreement with you about Kate Bush. Her first three albums were fine, my sister used to play them to death. I actually find her high pitched squealing really unrelaxing to listen to now. Of course it’s such a personal thing but when I hear people saying The Hounds Of Love is just the best album ever, I think maybe they didn’t listen to enough diversity of music at the time or since.

    2. Paul McCartney’s contribution to music history is immense, but the years that matters were 1962-70 with The Beatles. Kate Bush records that matters to me were her first single Wuthering Heights and first album. I own several other records from both of them, but hardly listen those and could live my life easy without them.

      1. And tracks from ‘Ram’ to ‘Band On The Run’ still showed how superb a talent Macca was.
        ‘Back Seat Of My Car’ and ‘Let Me Roll It’ being two examples of the man’s genius.

    3. I’d somewhat liken Kate Bush to Nightwish in terms of their fans: both have an unusually passionate fanbase that could be considered a very large “cult” audience. As far as influence Nightwish might be more influential in symphonic metal than Kate Bush has been in her genre.

    4. ‘What’s all the fuss about?’ If you have to ask there’s no hope for you. As for ‘a few decent albums’? Crikey, that’s an understatement.
      I’d put Kate up there as the greatest female artist in the history of popular music. No question about it. There’s no one like her. Never has been and never will be.
      Just because the Americans didn’t get her at the time means nothing. Any country that rates old tosh like The J Geils Band, John Cougar Mellancamp and The Cars can’t claim to have much artistic taste.
      Yes she is unequivocally English, and that is one of her most endearing traits when it is channelled through her music.
      It’s also the fact that the work she put out from 1978-2011 is so special that her fans understandably crave more. That there is so little is frustrating but we’ve learned to live with it.
      If she only had written This Woman’s Work she would still be a legend to me.
      As for McCartney, why buy so much of his stuff if you don’t care for him? Makes no sense.
      You wouldn’t get me buying J Geils Band box sets.

      2. The J. Geils Band was one of the greatest groups in the 70’s. I own both of their Original Album series-boxes. Live Full House from 1972 is one of the all time greatest live albums. There was a talk of deluxe-version of it but for some unkown reason it still hasn’t seen the light of day. Original is only 36 minutes long and much too short. And several the Cars albums are classics. Same goes with John Cougar Mellencamp. I own all of them. And if someday i see the J. Geils Band-boxset it would be instant buy for me!

        1. In the words of the great Ray Stokes, “Are you having a laugh? Is he having a laugh?”.
          ‘Centrefold’ should have resulted in life imprisonment for all concerned.

          1. I was talking about their records from the 70’s. Centrefold is from 1981 and their best days were over. Not commercially, but musically. If you haven’t heard they 70’s records, you don’t know what the real J. Geils Band sounds!

      3. I, on the other hand, would buy all the J Geils Band box sets, if only they’d make some. Still salty that they canceled the Full House Live deluxe (super old news).

    5. Wow. Your comments hurt me. Anyone who loves music as an art, not just a product, knows that artists like her elevate things into the stratosphere. She is the top tier of her craft, and needs to make no further comments musically at all, but something new would be welcomed by many with open arms. I grew up as a teenager in the 80’s and she was a mysterious cult artist who got covered by Pat Benatar, but who would go on to steal everyone’s heart with a little song in a movie called She’s Having A Baby, that may be the moment when the USA finally “got” what she had to offer. That AMAZING a track would later be covered by Maxwell during his MTV Unplugged session! She also dropped a little bit of Prince into The Red Shoes, showing the circles she runs in: Genius level. My favorite though is Ariel. That album is just amazing. And this is just a guy growing up in the heartland…Nebraska, USA.

    6. I think that Kate Bush’s ‘contribution to musical history’ can be best judged by the artists who claim to be influenced by her, ranging from Coil to Prince via, of course, a large number of prominent female vocalists. Should this prove insufficient, she was also the first performer to employ a wireless headset microphone in order to execute complicated dance moves whilst still singing.

    7. I could make the same argument about Joni Mitchell in the UK. She had one top 20 hit over 50 Years ago and had a couple of popular albums in the 70’s. I personally think she’s a bit overrated but even i can see the huge influence she’s had even if her audience in the UK isn’t as big as in other countries.

    9. A lot of female artists have been influenced by Kate (or — quite simply – ripped her off). Any lady singer who wants to be seen as a bit ‘eccentric’ or ‘out there’ has something ‘borrowed’ off Kate.

      And although her influence isn’t at Beatles or Zeppelin levels, it’s still evident and out there.

      1. Not getting at you, Albert, as it happens all the time, but why is the metric of great music always without fail, measured in the word ‘influence’? It’s become the default term of how good an act is regarded. Can the music not be wonderful in itself and not necessarily have to be all that influential? After all, if a band produces a great work very early in their career, then it’s not likely that they will have had the time to influence others. The Sex Pistols are an obvious exception. And even then I would argue that they were more an inspiration for others to get up, get out and form a band. I do think though that Kate has been an inspiration to many artists, particularly female, down through the years. But even if she wasn’t that still wouldn’t deflect from the greatness of her work.

  3. If Kate is ‘very keen’ on making a new record, then I’m ‘very keen’ on buying it.

    Just make it a ten disc album please!

    The next time I dedicate
    My life’s work to the friends I make
    I give them what they want to hear
    They think I’m up to something weird
    And up rears the head of fear in me
    So now when they ring
    I get my machine to let them in

  4. Matt Pop did a great remix of ‘Running up that hill’, wish she would put out more commercial mixes of her music or a collaboration with Gaga or Hazel Dean, that would make my year!!

  7. Very nice animation. I love “Snowflake” – such a beautiful song – and it fits very well to the animation.

    As far as new music – if she has the ideas and motivation, good for her. Go for it. If not? Ok. Of course I’d love a new album, but I don’t understand folks who slag off artists for not releasing new stuff as though we are entitled to it – must we always have “more?” I’d rather an artist release music when they are motivated, rather than continuously pump out pablum as many do. Some artists are prolific, some are not. Kate Bush is not a prolific artist – if you didn’t figure that out in the 12 years between Red Shoes and Aerial you weren’t paying attention.

    1. I know you didn’t use those words but the whole “she [or any act] owes us nothing” argument wears a bit thin. It’s usually used to shame those that think otherwise to feel guilty for wanting more. Yeah, I get it, we’ve merely exchanged money for a piece of plastic and card, we aren’t buying into the person, but that also means we don’t owe her [or any other act] anything either, and that includes our undying loyalty and defence of everything they do or don’t do.

  8. There was a time when an announcement of new music from Kate would have been truly newsworthy. When Aerial came out in 2005 I was delighted, even more so that it was such a great album. But that took her years to put together. Kate is 20 years older now, and she’s only announcing that she ‘plans to get to work’. Even if we take her at her word, when will a new album be ready, given her glacial pace of working over the last three decades? She’d most likely be pushing 70. If it happens, great; but I won’t be spending any time wondering and hoping.
    Next year will obviously be the 40th anniversary of Hounds of Love. There won’t be an SDE. After all, how does she top the ‘Baskerville’ edition? (heavy dose of sarcasm to be implied).
    She does have the honour though of being my 1000th SDE post. If anyone knows her, perhaps they can pass this on.

    1. I know Kate, so I passed on your news of your 1,000 post. Kate said Wow! Unbelievable! Ooh, yeah Stan, you’re amazing, I think you’re incredible. Kate added, Stan, I’ve always been a coward, And I don’t know what SDE is good for me; Oh help me, Stan, Help me please.

      So you never for ever know, dreamtime can come true!

    1. I have the CD box set Volume 1. It’s on a bookcase shelf in the bedroom. The missus makes me place a little soft toy bear in front of the spine to hide it, so much is her dislike for the fish people picture. I hate it too.

    2. My God I’m so glad the controversial Fish People logo didn’t stop me from enjoying the reissues. I cannot believe the fuss people have made about it. Fancy some artwork you disapprove of stopping you from enjoying a brand new Kate album. I have every finger crossed the muse called her, and it would be the same if she finally released the long overdue singles collection. I guess I’m a real fan.

  10. I’m glad she’s alive and enjoying life. I think she found other priorities in life besides music, and being famous, it’s a healthy approach, she managed to have one of the biggest #1 hits of 2022, so her work speaks for itself. Perhaps she and David Gilmour should reunite in the garden and make a few songs together.

  11. Yawn. IF she decides to record new music. Two years to record. Think about releasing it – one year. Vinyl delays. One year. Bingo. New music just before the end of the decade – maybe. If The Beatles were as prolific we would still be waiting on the release of Sgt Pepper.

  12. The way she talks about not being able to start on a new album because she’s updating her website, sounds like she’s too busy to write songs because she’s currently doing a javascript coding course or something! Does she not have people for this?

  13. I don’t believe her anymore. She has an amazing body of work, but her output of the last 30+ years has done nothing to me but tarnish her legacy and her credibility as an artist. In a sense, I wish she had properly stopped in the early 1990s and simply had gone her own way. Now she occasionally hangs around as an under-performer whose enormous level of adulation received is completely out of proportion with her achievements beyond those golden 15 years decades ago.

    1. A little harsh!!, I’m sure she’s got some great stuff in her still. Never underestimate a genius!. I doubt she would even consider doing anything at her age if it wasn’t going to be special, look at Peter Gabriel he still cuts the mustard after a long break!.

      1. i/o has been the best “new” thing I have heard in a long time.

        It’s obvious that happy, mature artists take longer to find their muse if they are after quality over quantity. The inspiration of sex, drink, drugs and adventure doesn’t really hold the same for a 66 year old, I am sure, as it did for any 19 year old. Pain, loneliness and fear were quite the motivators for many in their pomp.

  14. New Music vs. A proper exploration of her back catalogue.

    I’d take either because I adore 50 Words for Snow. The “something new” won’t be a Hounds of Love rehash, it’ll be inventive, it’ll be different, it might take a while but it will work it’s way in.

    BUT, who wouldn’t want an SDE revisit of her first 5 albums, multi-disc with book type of thing. The “reasons” that nothing has happened are not that valid. A book of lyrics, rapackaging single disc versions of her back catalogue with no bonus material just remastering. In 10 years, since Before the Dawn.

    It’s nice that she is comfortable enough to not need to pump out disappointing new album after disappointing new album in a series of ever reducing rewards. That has been done with arty re-issues that offer nothing by way of musical reward.

    Craig is right, below. Expect nothing and if something turns up it will be a bonus.

    1. I assume Steven Wilson would drop everything if she asked him to remix her albums in multichannel. Album plus b-sides + Demos + hi-res stereo, 5.1, and Atmos Blu-ray sets – wouldn’t that be glorious!

  15. That’s rather a nice animation, with echoes of both the ascetics from Kate’s recent reissue campaign, and also the Gerald Scarfe animations done for Pink Floyd’s “The wall”.

    It is exciting that we might be getting some new material from her, but I also support Craig’s comment – she’s given her fans so much joy over the decades that if she just wants to potter around her garden, I think she’s earned that.

    On a more sobering note, Warchild is an excellent foundation. Another campaign to be considered is the Disasters Emergency Committee. At the moment, the UK government is matching funds raised by it up to a total of £10 million.

  17. Thanks for letting us know about this.
    If she does, she does but the best thing to do (same with ABBA) is just assume that she won’t, then you won’t be disappointed.
    She won’t make another’Hounds of Love’ or ‘The Dreaming’ she isn’t that person anymore. I like the thought of her pottering around her garden, humming to herself and being content.
    She doesn’t owe us anything, I just hope that she is healthy and happy and if one day she should decide to give us new music it would be a bonus.

Leave a Reply