5 "kaleidoscopic, respectful, admiring" stars !!

Warm thanx to Netgalley, the author and Rowman & Littlefield. This edition was released July 2023.
I am providing an honest review sending Kate Bush the biggest cosmic hug.

Wow that was fucking terrific long form journalism !

The past few years I have been so into Lana Del Rey and Sufjan Stevens that you would think that they are on top of my musical mountain. They are on the mountain for sure but the pinnacle has space only for three goddesses. They are the beehived blue eyed soul of Dusty Springfield, the most exquisite opera diva Montserrat Caballe and yes my beautiful elven Kate Bush.

Taking his cue from Kate's song 50 Words for Snow...the author has collated and compiled the most fascinating collection of interviews, descriptions and articles around the artistry, creative processes and musical trajectory of our most revered Kate Bush. This is done in 50 short to medium length chapters.

This is not a deep dive into Kate Bush's life story or intrapsychic psychodynamics but a wonderful tribute and narrative of her career and musical life. All of the information comes firsthand from Kate herself, her life partners, her musical collaborators, her fans and the record companies. An amazingly complex and accomplished feat for our author journalist.

We go through her musical early life, to playing at the pubs, to precocious adolescent songwriting, learning the piano and other instruments and the development of her most beautiful voice. We have the process for each album, videos and descriptions and meanings of the songs. We experience Kate's perfectionism and tenaciousness. Her long processes for getting things just write, discomfort around her beauty and her sheer determination to always do her best. We learn about her forays into comedy and acting and her more mystical side as well as deep love of being a mother. On and on and on it goes....all equally interesting and charming and fabulous !!

If you are a diehard or casual fan of Kate...this is a must read.

PS...my beloved Dusty Springfield sang a cover of Kate's the Man with the child in his eyes at a 1979
concert...I think I would pass out if I heard that...yes passed out and gone to heaven folks....

My one lament is that the arc did not have photographs. I need to get a hard copy now.

I am a fan of Kate Bush from when I was a college student in the 1980's. I hadn't heard much about her until I heard that the TV show "Stranger Things" used one of her songs so she became popular with the younger generation. Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush by Tom Doyle is not a typical biography, but rather a montage of different moments in her life and career with current interviews from those who knew her or transcripts from interviews with her on television shows or magazines at the time. What was really great is Tom Boyle tracks her down in her home (she is notoriously private) and interviews her. This book for me was like a walk down memory lane. I loved the parts about David Bowie and other famous musicians. I also liked hearing about her in the studio. An enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rowman & Littlefield for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.

Such a brilliant piece about a fantastic artist.

I was drawn to this because I adore Kate Bush so very much. I am glad Stranger Things has brought a renaissance to her career.

So glad the biographer interviewed Kate for this work. It definitely breathed new light into it.

I think the book could have colored outside the lines a bit more. Kate is notoriously private, but I would have enjoyed a bit more cheeky stories.. more behind the scene if you will.

Great read for Bush fans!

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush by Tom Doyle from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers via NetGalley.

Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush by Tom Doyle is the biography that Kate Bush fans should be reading. I have long been a fan of Kate Bush. I remember the first time hearing her. I was in college. The song was Love and Anger. I am thrilled that Stranger Things introduced a whole new generation to Kate Bush. Media has not always been kind to Kate Bush because of her propensity to avoid the spotlight and not seek fame the way many other artists do. She takes a long time to release new music. She doesn't tour or promote her music like others. This book is split up into 50 segments focused on songs or periods in her life that give you a really in-depth idea of what was going on or how the song came to be. I learned that Kate is a serious perfectionist. That's really why the delay between albums, not a lack of inspiration. I also loved learning about her fusing of theatre and music, the way she develops her videos or live performances. Actually, everything about her process is fascinating. And to think it started when she was just a girl is even more incredible. She has also helped pave the way for artists to maintain creative control over their work in an industry that doesn't really support such a thing. She's pretty amazing. Now, excuse me while I go listen to her entire catalog of songs again.

Phenomenal read! I would classify myself as a casual Kate Bush fan (know the hits, like pretty much everything I’ve heard) and this book can appeal to everyone no matter where they fall on the fan spectrum. I was so impressed with how he captured her artistry and gave so much insight into her creative process. It was a unique and very smart organization to structure within an old interview and various facets of her life and career.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Rowman & Littlefield for an advanced copy of this biography about one of the most important and misunderstood singers whose music is still as vibrant as they were when they were recorded.

Kate Bush was someone I knew of but really didn't. I was big into the Pink Floyd and Kate Bush came up a few times as someone that David Gilmour, gutiarist and singer for Floyd had discovered or premoted. Actually in this book he give a full account, but that is for later. Somehow, probably tag sale or flea market I was able to get a whole bunch of albums for a really good price. And one of them was an import Hounds of Love, Ms. Bush's fifth album. And I was hooked. Yes the big songs were on this one, but I loved Cloudbursting and Under Ice were the ones that made me a fan. Even now I still love this album, something I rediscovered while reading this book and playing songs as they came up. The lyrics, the music, the ambience and mood the music enstills, and the nostalgia of being young and hearing this perfect little sonic poems. Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush by respected music journalist and historian Tom Doyle is a look at the life of Ms. Bush, the music, and her legacy, told though her own words, friends, and fans.

In 2005 Kate Bush announced a new album, almost twelve years after her last one, The Red Shoes, which sadly did not do as well as expected. The album Aerial was a double album, and as it had been a while, the record label was asking Ms. Bush to do interviews, something she was not keen on, as many music journailst prefer the the print the legend idea of writing about musicians. However Tom Doyle and Ms. Bush seem to hit it off, and the interview went well. This allowed him a rare view of the musician, one that was not the spriightly elven character as portrayed by many, but of a a craftswoman who cared about her music, and wanted to take the time to make it right. From this humble beginnings a biography was born. The book is filled with insights, starting from Ms. Bush childhood, learning music, her brother's influence and the musicality that is present in the family. Doyle was able to talk to Ms. Bush, friends, family, and other research to put together one of the best studies of Kate Bush, her life, work and her continuing influence on music.

The book is very well written, with a lot of insights and a whole lot of new information. I'm sure gathering this was not easy, as Kate Bush is known to be reticence, but Doyle does a very excellent job. The interviews are all insightful, and when there is a question about what might have happened, Doyle gives all the sides, and lets the reader decide. Doyle looks at the recording, the times between albums when songs were worked on, new technology tested, videos thought of, and other collaborations. Doyle also examines the songs, pointing out what worked, what might not have, and why certain songs were so far ahead of what was being released.

A really great book not only for a fan, but for anyone interested in music in the last forty years, watching the industry change in so many different ways. Also, this is a great book for creative people looking for inspiration and how to make one's art.