This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
And Finally Artist News Labels & Publishers
Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill is finally at number one
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 20 June 2022
So, Kate Bush is finally at number one in the UK singles chart with ‘Running Up That Hill’ thanks to [a] the kids still loving it and streaming it to fuck on the back of that big sync in Netflix show ‘Stranger Things’, and [b] the Official Charts Company removing a technicality that exists in its chart compiling systems to prioritise newer music.
Responding to the chart achievement on her website, Bush wrote: “The Duffer Brothers have created four extraordinary series of ‘Stranger Things’ in which the child actors have grown into young adults. In this latest series the characters are facing many of the same challenges that exist in reality right now. I believe the Duffer Brothers have touched people’s hearts in a special way, at a time that’s incredibly difficult for everyone, especially younger people”.
“By featuring ‘Running Up That Hill’ in such a positive light”, she continued, “as a talisman for Max, one of the main female characters, the song has been brought into the emotional arena of her story. Fear, conflict and the power of love are all around her and her friends. I salute the Duffer Brothers for their courage – taking this new series into a much more adult and darker place. I want to thank them so much for bringing the song into so many people’s lives”.
As for all the new love her 1985 track is now receiving, she added: “I’m overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving and it’s all happening really fast, as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force. I have to admit I feel really moved by it all. Thank you so very much for making the song a number one in such an unexpected way”.
Commenting on all this for the Official Charts Company, CEO Martin Talbot says: “It has been fantastic to see the iconic Kate Bush climbing up the Official Singles Chart with ‘Running Up That Hill’ – and to see her breaking a slew of records into the bargain. The way that a new generation of music fans have taken her classic track to their hearts really does cement Kate’s position as an all-time great, if that were at all necessary”.
Although originally released by EMI, the track is now distributed by Warner Music via its Rhino UK division – the mini major having acquired a chunk of the EMI UK catalogue as a result of a regulator intervention when Universal Music bought the wider EMI record company in 2012. Since then it seems Bush regained control of her recordings, which are now released by her own label Fish People, but which still works with Warner on distribution.
This is a long-winded way of explaining why there’s a quote here from Myn Jazeel, Senior Vice President at Rhino UK, who says: “It’s long overdue that ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ by the truly amazing Kate Bush should finally top the UK charts”.
“This phenomenal cultural moment came about after close collaboration between Kate and her team, Netflix and the Warner Music sync team”, he adds, “and without doubt we’ve seen that a cross-generational connection has been made, with a new audience in the UK and around the world joining Kate’s existing fanbase to discover and honour her timeless brilliance”.
“The success of ‘Stranger Things’, backed by Netflix, has been instrumental in creating this moment, so we must thank them”, he goes on. “But our congratulations go out first and foremost to Kate. ‘Running Up That Hill’ went to number three in the UK when first released in 1985, so we’re delighted that it’s reached number one almost 40 years later”.
“It’s also gratifying that Kate’s wider catalogue is now being discovered and enjoyed by a whole new audience”, he concludes. “This whole occasion feels incredible for all involved, and that’s why we work in catalogue music, for moments like this that have such broad cultural relevance and impact”.
Good times! And with the OCC now confirming that ‘Running Up That Hill’ is likely to still be at number one on Friday, let’s do all of the following…
1. Note how wonderful it is that a sync in a TV show can result in young people discovering a great pop song of old.
2. Note how depressing it is that it takes a sync in a TV show for young people to discover a great pop song of old.
3. Do some post-it note maths and remark how wonderful it is that – thanks the way the streaming business model works – a classic 1985 track is now generating tens of thousands in new royalties every day thanks to its millions and millions of streams.
4. Do some post-it note maths and remark how depressing it is that – thanks the way the streaming business model works – a classic 1985 track is now only generating tens of thousands in new royalties every day despite its millions and millions of streams.
5. Consider how, with all the music available all the time on streaming services, it’s wonderful that old tracks can become so popular so quickly with a whole new audience.
6. Consider how, with all the music available all the time on streaming services, it’s depressing that old tracks can suddenly become so popular with a whole new audience that they take away streams and therefore royalties from all those new artists trying to make a go if it.
Or maybe we could all just say “well done Kate and her crew” and get on with our lives. Stranger things have happened.
