Photo: See footnote.
Our Top 10 Kate Bush Songs list looks at one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the Twentieth Century. The beauty of Kate Bush on the inside and outside was undeniable. Kate Bush would become one of the most brilliant, innovative, and loved female artists to come out of the United Kingdom. Kate Bush began her career in her native home of England at the young age of eighteen. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd was influential in getting Kate Bush signed to a record deal.
In 1978, Kate Bush released her first album entitled The Kick Inside. The album’s first single, “Wuthering Heights,” became a number one hit in the U.K. The legend of Kate Bush had begun. “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” was the album’s follow-up single, becoming a top 10 hit in the U.K. The song reached the top 100 in the United States, peaking at number 85. Her number one hit, “Wuthering Heights,” had not even broken the United States Billboard Top 100. Kate Bush would become one of the biggest music stars in the world, except in the United States. She did have success in the U.S but it did not compare or come close to the popularity she enjoyed on a global basis outside the U.S.
After her debut album, The Kick Inside, in 1978, Kate Bush released nine more studio albums from 1978 to 2011. Kate Bush was extremely busy in the 1980s and ’90s releasing thirty-three singles. In the age of music videos, Kate Bush was a major participant, releasing close to forty videos.
Our Top 10 Kate Bush Songs list is a small snapshot of some of the most successful and exciting songs she recorded during her fabulous musical career. We will undoubtedly miss many of your favorites because we could only pick ten, but our choices define many different periods of her career.
# 10 – Wuthering Heights
We open our Top 10 Kate Bush songs appropriately with the songs that introduced the world to Kate Bush. The song “Wuthering Heights” was released on her debut album, The Kick Inside. It would become the first single release of her career. The song was a massive success in the United Kingdom as it hit number one on the UK Music charts. In the United States, it failed to break into the Top 100.
# 9 – The Sensual World
The Kate Bush song “The Sensual World” was the title track from her 1989 album The Sensual World. The song was released as the album’s first single. The song became a top 20 hit on the United Kingdom music charts, peaking at number 12.
# 8 – Symphony In Blue
The song “Symphony in Blue” was the opening track on Kate Bush’s sophomore album Lionheart. “Symphony in Blue” was the third single released from the album, but it has always been our favorite Kate Bush track from the record.
# 7 – Breathing
“Breathing” was the first single released from Kate Bush’s third album, Never For Ever. Music as mesmerizing as this is so rare. The album was released in 1980.
# 6 -Rubberband Girl
The Kate Bush song “Rubberband Girl” was a bit of a departure for Kate Bush, but it was still so brilliant. Anything Kate Bush composed, recorded, and performed was simply stunning. She was that rare of an artist. We should have done a top 100 Kate Bush songs list instead.
The song “Rubberband Girl” was released on the album The Red Shoes. The record was issued in 1993. The album featured an incredible lineup of guest musicians, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Prince.
# 5 – An Endless Sky Of Honey
After a 12-year hiatus from recording Kate Bush returned in 2005 with the double album Aerial. It was her first album since the release of The Red Shoes. If anyone ever wanted to argue that Kate Bush was not a progressive rock artist, play them this spectacular forty two minute suite entitled “An Endless Sky Of Honey.”
# 4 – Moments of Pleasure
The daunting track filled with such beauty entitled “Moments of Pleasure,” was another spectacular song from The Red Shoes album. When an artist such as Kate Bush released songs such as “Wuthering Heights,” that she wrote as a teenager, expectations had to be through the roof. Albums like The Red Shoes and Kate Bush songs like “Moments of Pleasure,” defined that she met those predictions on a level beyond anyone’s expectations.
# 3 – Babooshka
The Kate Bush song “Babooshka,” was the second single released from her 1980 album Never For Ever. The album Never for Ever became Kate Bush’s first number one album of her career in the United Kingdom.
# 2 – Running Up That Hill
As we come close to the end of our Top 10 Kate Bush songs list, we turn to the great Hounds Of Love album. The performance released in this video for “Running Up That Hill,” displays Kate Bush not only as the brilliant songwriter and singer she is, but also as the brilliant performance artist that made so many fans fall in love with her.
# 1 – Cloudbusting
The beauty of Kate Bush was never more defined than it was in the breathtaking song “Cloudbusting.” If you have never seen this incredible video, one view should make you forever be a fan of the impeccable music and spirit of the artist known as Kate Bush. The video also featured the legendary actor Donald Sutherland. The song “Cloudbusting,” was released on the album Hounds of Love. “Cloudbusting,” was the second single released from the album. The Hounds Of Love album was issued in 1985.
Top Photo: By Permission obtained from the creator here 30 April 2007 Philip Chappell aka squidney [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
Updated December 3, 2023
Top 10 Kate Bush Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
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