In a rare interview, Kate Bush—queen of the moors and my dreams—was asked about how much influence current politics, in both the U.K. and the U.S., has had on her songwriting. Her answer, thank Goddess, is none at all.
In 2014, Bush put on Before the Dawn at the Hammersmith Apollo in London—her first concert series (and first concert, full stop) since 1979. Now, in 2016, she’s released a live album, recorded during the concert series. (Shamefully, there’s been no announcement of an accompanying visual component.)
Sitting down with Matt Everitt of BBC 6 Music, Bush discussed her highly anticipated return to the stage, calling it “terrifying” but also immensely rewarding and a good change of pace from her years spent cooped up in a studio.
“I was really nervous every night,” she said, adding:
“The most difficult thing was to be continually in the now. Because I naturally tend to race ahead in my mind. I’m always thinking about situations and running them through. Maybe it’s that primeval thing, where you’re trying to think, ‘Can I get to that tree before the tiger gets me? Will I be able to get up high enough?’ So my head is always moving ahead to try to get to the conclusion of whatever this journey is. And once we started running the show, I had to be absolutely in that moment. And I was so terrified that if my mind wandered off, that when I came back, I wouldn’t remember where I was in the song.”
Sadly for those of us unable to make it to the Hammersmith Apollo two years ago, Bush is undecided about taking the stage again.
“The thing about that show was most of the material was already written and to start something like that from scratch is another whole world of work, isn’t it,” she told Everitt.
“I don’t know. It was an extraordinary thing to be involved in—especially to have gotten the response that we did. It was wonderful for everybody in the show—that kind of positive feeling every night. It was really magical, but I don’t know! I don’t know what I want to do next. I definitely want to do something new.”
Well, Kate, if that “something new” happens to include a few concerts stateside, know that we could really use you right now.