Kate Bush is one of this country’s most revered songwriters, a true artist in every sense of the word. She’s always retained her passion for music, continually platforming those around her, whether they’re a mainstream voice, or an outlier.
Part of her ongoing magic is the English artist’s ability to reach to the environs, and connect this with the mainstream. It’s resulted in some of the wildest hit records the UK Top 40 has ever seen, and it’s one of her many singular gifts.
Back in 1980 the songwriter sat down with Paul Gambaccini for a lengthy radio interview, split over two programmes. Broadcast on December 31st, it found Kate Bush waxing lyrical about some of her own favourite records, citing numerous points of inspiration.
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Raving about the impact of cult folk-adjacent songwriter Roy Harper on her work, she also picked out a record from Captain Beefheart – for a Radio 1 audience, no less.
Spinning ‘Tropical Hot Dog Night’ – from the 1978 album ‘Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)’ – she then urged the host to start a party; “Let’s play it again right now and get up on the table!”
Kate Bush explained: “He’s such an obvious person to be big here. When you look at a lot of the new wave groups and the punk groups, they’re really nothing compared to Beefheart. He’s the original. And for me he’s a natural poet. I mean, he’s incredible.”
She added: “I’ve heard a beautiful quote of his. When he was backstage one day, there was someone hanging around who he didn’t want to be there; and he told them to get out. And when the someone said why didn’t you want me here? He said he’s had too much to think.”
Discussing Captain Beefheart’s lyrics, Kate Bush singled out some then-contemporary releases. “If I may just quote a couple of lines from one of his songs called ‘Bat Chain Puller’. It’s about a Voodoo train. His poetry’s incredible. It says: ‘A chain with yellow lights that glisten like oil-beads;’ and another line: ‘It whistles like a root snatched from the dry earth / Sod-busting rakes with grey-dust claws announces it’s coming in the morning.’ He is a poet.”
Find a full transcript of the interview online.
Captain Beefheart fan? The biggest retrospective exhibition of Don Van Vliet’s art in a decade is currently on display in London – find out some full details over at the Michael Werner Gallery.
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