Kate Bush thanks fans for ‘Running Up That Hill’ chart resurgence
"I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July"
Kate Bush has made a rare public statement thanking fans for supporting her song ‘Running Up That Hill’ after it was used in Stranger Things.
Streams of the singer’s classic 1985 track have soared after it was used in a scene in the first episode of Stranger Things season four, and currently sits at No. 8 in the UK charts. The song peaked at No. 3 when it was first released.
Since the release of the new season, Spotify reported that streams of the song have risen by 153 per cent, while the track has also gone to the top of the iTunes Chart.
Now, Bush has issued a rare statement on her website, in which she describes the renewed interest in the track “really exciting”.
“You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of ‘Stranger Things’ has recently been released on Netflix,” she said. “It features the song, ‘Running Up That Hill’ which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show – I love it too!”
“Because of this, ‘Running Up That Hill’ is charting around the world and has entered the UK chart at No. 8. It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song. I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July. Best wishes, Kate.”
In the first new Stranger Things episode, ‘The Hellfire Club’, Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) is walking along the corridor of Hawkins High School listening to ‘Running Up That Hill’ on her headphones, and is played a number of times later in the series in scenes involving Max.
Stranger Things music supervisor Nora Felder recently spoke to Variety about how she got Bush to agree to the use of her music.
“Consequently, each of the prospective song placements in the initial scripts was tagged with the placeholder, ‘TBD Max song.’ From there, I made an effort to internally align myself with what the Duffers felt were the most important elements needed, and my own intuitive grasp of Max’s complex feelings,” she said.
Felder also revealed why she thought ‘Running Up That Hill’ would be perfect for the show: “It immediately struck me with its deep chords of the possible connection to Max’s emotional struggles and took on more significance as Bush’s song marinated in my conscious awareness.”
She continued: Knowing the challenges, we proceeded to create elaborate scene descriptions that provided as much context as possible so that Kate and her camp would have a full understanding of the uses. … When we finished, we were on edge, but excited and hopeful.”
As it turned out, Bush is a big fan of the show and after understanding how her song would be used, granted permission.