Top singles from the past
5 August 2020
Highly influential icon KATE BUSH (67 now) released her delirious hit single
RUNNING UP THAT HILL today 40 years ago, on 5 August 1980. It featured
on her 5th LP Hounds Of Love .
It hit #3 in the UK,, it went top-10 in several
European countries and stranded at #30 in
the US.
Stuart Elliott (the drummer on the single): “The tension in that track is just remarkable. Every step of the way, there’s a little twist and turn that’s different from the previous verse,
an extra line or one line less, or a repeat just in the perfect places. There’s absolutely no dead space. It’s just so deceptively simple.”
Bush said the lyrics address the inability of men and women to understand each other. She imagined that by making “a deal with God”, they could exchange places and reach a greater understanding. The song was actually originally titled “A Deal with God“.
Her record label, EMI Records, felt this was sensitive and could limit its radio play. Bush agreed to change it as she had not had a hit song in some time and wanted to “give the album a chance“. But on the album, it was named “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)”.
Run, Kate.
