My Facebook feed is filled with people saying they’ll die, kill someone or break into the Hammersmith Apollo if they don’t get tickets to Kate Bush’s live shows later this year. The reaction seems to be even more extreme and emotionally-charged than the impact of Prince’s surprise tour earlier this year, or even David Bowie’s comeback in 2013. To be fair, it is a Very Big Deal. Perhaps the biggest event in music in 2014, even this decade so far. Kate Bush hasn’t toured since 1979 – and that was her only time on the road. She’s appeared very occasionally since then: at a benefit concert in 1982, duetting with Peter Gabriel and Dave Gilmour in 1982 and 2002, and then on a couple of random TV stations. Over the last 35 years she’s released consistently excellent and critically-acclaimed albums but a tour always seemed out of the question. Until now.
The singer said she will play 15 shows at London’s Hammersmith Apollo in August and September. The run of shows will be called Before The Dawn and will begin on August 26.
She announced the news on her official website, writing:
I am delighted to announce that we will be performing some live shows this coming August and September.
I hope you will be able to join us and I look forward to seeing you there.
We’ll keep you updated with further news on the web site.
Meanwhile, all details of concert dates and tickets are in the note below.
Very best wishes,
Kate
Oh frabjous day. As we catch our breaths and cortisol levels fall, let’s think about a dream setlist. The ’79 tour obviously only included songs from ‘Lionheart’ and ‘The Kick Inside’ – the two albums out of her 10 she’d released by that point – but I think we can assume she’ll play songs from them over the 15-night run. During that tour ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Symphony In Blue’ and ‘Moving’ were the most played songs (you can check out the full setlists here).
My dream setlist? ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ would kick things off before a couple of tracks from the very beginning: ‘The Saxophone Song’ and ‘Kite’ from debut album ‘The Kick Inside’, songs written WHEN SHE WAS 19. Keeping things upbeat, a segue into ‘How To Be Invisible’ and ‘Sat In Your Lap’ before calming things down with a chillingly beautiful ‘This Woman’s Work’, ‘Cloudbusting’ and ‘Symphony In Blue’. Eric Clapton can come on stage for ‘And So Is Love’ at this point before a massive climax with ‘Hounds Of Love. At this point Big Boi’s dreams would come true with that fabled collaboration before Bush’s amazing 1991 cover of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’. Now back to pure Bush with ‘Nocturn’ and ‘Aerial’ the final tracks of her 2005 album that sit together to make one long masterpiece suite. ‘Army Dreamers’, ‘Oh To Be In Love’, ‘Them Heavy People’, ‘Wow’ and ‘The Red Shoes’ would lead to final song before encore, ‘Wild Man’ from ’50 Words for Snow’. And the encore? ‘Wuthering Heights’ elongated Purple Rain style to 20 minutes with Dave Gilmour on the guitar solo.
Oh, but it’s hard. I’d take anything. It’s all good. Over to you.