Eclectic singer-songwriter Kate Bush had a career revival earlier this year when her 1985 song "Running Up That Hill" was prominently featured in the new season of Stranger Things. The song, which had only been a modest success at best during its original release, became a sensation, with the original 1985 recording topping the singles chart in her native UK and in several other European countries, and hitting #3 in the US. Her new legion of fans began bring other highlights of her career back to the forefront, including a concert special that aired on the BBC in late 1979.
Popularly known as The Kate Bush Christmas Special, but titled onscreen simply as Kate, the common title is a bit of a misnomer. It is not unusual for variety Christmas specials to feature surprisingly little Christmas content, as the host will happily spend most of the hour singing his or her non-holiday catalogue, only to throw in a few carols at the end. The then-21-year-old Bush didn't even do that much, including exactly one holiday-themed song, which came roughly halfway through the proceedings. Indeed, I think the reason it's labeled as a Christmas special is because it originally aired Christmas week. But I definitely don't regret watching it, because it is easily one of the most bizarre and fascinating variety specials I've ever seen.
The show doesn't waste any time letting you know what you're in for, as Bush performs the first number "Violin" wearing what can best be described as a glittery bat costume while her two backup dancers are dressed in oversized violin costumes. The song itself is rather odd too, full of sudden screechy high notes. It's easy to imagine newfound "Running Up That Hill" fans turning this on and immediately becoming weirded out. I certainly was. But I pressed on, and was rewarded.
The special seems at both very intimate (her, her two dancers, two backup singers, and a small band on a fairly small stage) and incredibly expansive (she and her dancers are in a new elaborate costume for every song, and she makes frequent use of video cutaways, including the then relatively-new medium of music videos). If you can say anything about it, this seems to represent exactly what she was going for--it's hard to imagine this being any sort of compromise.
She transitions from the weirdness of "Violin" to the far more conventional "Symphony in Blue", which she sings while sitting at a piano, wearing a far more conventional dress and jacket. Indeed, she will frequently go from a more traditional variety show performance (wearing relatively normal clothes) to something much more eccentric and back again. If the huge smile she frequently wears throughout the special is any indication, she's clearly having a great time.
After her first three songs, her special guest, Peter Gabriel comes onstage to do a solo number "Here Comes the Flood". After that, it's back to the wacky costumes, as she comes out to sing "Ran Tan Waltz" dressed like one of the male extras in Fiddler on the Roof, complete with beard, while her (male) dancers are dressed as a flapper and a baby, respectively. After that, comes the one holiday song, "December Will Be Magic Again", while again dressed conventionally and sitting at the piano.
She followed that sweet song with the murder-filled "The Wedding List", which is the first song to make use of video, showing the fatal wedding of the song's title. After that, Gabriel and Bush duet on the melancholy "Another Day", which also uses video. That's followed by "Egypt", a performance that will likely raise eyebrows today, as she is dressed in a red, stereotypical semi-hajib.
She performs "The Man With the Child in His Eyes" while sitting at the piano wearing a black jacket, while another version of her seems to sit on the piano in silverly tights dancing. Then the dancing version of her jumps into a trash can. She wraps it up with "Don't Put Your Foot On the Heartbreak", wearing an all-black outfit and leather jacket and dancing around fences.
As I said, this seems to represent the singular vision of Bush, in all its glory. In terms of Christmas content, there's almost none. But it terms of representing exactly who and what Kate Bush was in 1979, Kate is a fascinating time capsule. For her newfound fans, it is definitely something to be sought out and experienced, no matter what time of year it is.
Next time: Three specials from the denomination that brought you Davey & Goliath.
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