THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

866-Kate Bush-Wuthering Heights.

1978-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 0.46. Whilst most teenage girls were reading ‘Jackie,’ Catherine Bush was reading Emily Bronte’s novel.

Kate Bush was born Catherine Bush on July 30th, 1958, in Bexleyheath, Kent, London, England, at the age of 19 in 1978 she became the first ever female artist to have a UK Number 1 on the singles chart with a self written composition, when ‘Wuthering Heights’ topped the chart for four weeks. Bush was also the first female artist in Pop Music history to have written every track on a million selling debut Album (‘The Kick Inside.’) The discography of Kate Bush includes 10 studio Albums released between 1978-2011, and 36 singles issued, or re-issued between 1978-2022, there are also five EP’s released between 1978-2011, which include the ‘Kate Bush On Stage’ EP, from 1979, which included the track ‘Them Heavy People,’ which reached Number 10 on the UK singles chart. Kate Bush has also released four box sets, two compilation Albums, and two live Albums. In the UK, all 10 of her studio Albums have reached the top 10, with two of them making Number 1, while 25 of her singles have reached the UK top 40, with ‘Wuthering Heights,’ and the 2022 re-issue of ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God’) both making Number 1. In America, two of her studio Albums have reached the Billboard top 40, with ‘Hounds of Love’ from 1985, peaking the highest at Number 12, while on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, her only song to chart within the top 40 remains ”Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God’) which reached Number 30 in 1985, and Number 3 on re-issue in 2022.

‘Wuthering Heights’ was the first of five singles released from ‘The Kick Inside,’ the debut studio Album by Kate Bush, from February 1978, ‘Wuthering Heights’ was written by Kate Bush, and produced by Andrew Powell (see also best songs 130-81 and 2.) Kate Bush had been inspired to write ‘Wuthering Heights’ after watching the 1967 BBC television adaption of the 1847 novel ‘Wuthering Heights,’ she then read the book, and after learning that she shared the same birthday of July 30th, with the author Emily Bronte, (1818-1848) she felt an even closer affiliation. ‘Wuthering Heights’ is sung from the perspective of the books character Catherine Earnshaw, who is pleading at Heathcliff’s window to be allowed in to his room, those who have read the novel will know that Catherine is actually a ghost. The songs lyrics include dialogue from the novel such as, ‘Let me in,’ ‘I’m cold,’ and ‘Bad dreams in the night.’ Kate Bush has said,’The name Cathy helped, and made it easier to project my own feelings of want for someone so much that you hate them. I could understand how Cathy felt.’ Kate has also said that she felt such a connection with the text, that she even found lines in the book after she’d already written them in the lyrics.

‘Wuthering Heights’ which has sold in excess of 600,000 copies in the UK, was re-recorded in 1986 with new vocals, for Kate Bush’s first compilation Album ‘The Whole Story,’ that version of the song also appears as the ‘B’ side to her 1986 single ‘Experiment IV’ (UK-Number 23.) As well as producing the original 1978 version of ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Andrew Powell also arranged the song, and played bass guitar, and celeste (keyboard instrument.) Other artists who played on the track include Duncan Mackay, (Hammond organ) and Stuart Elliott, (drums) both had been former members of the English Rock group ‘Cockney Rebel’ (see also best songs 410 and 2.) There were also two members of the Scottish band ‘Pilot,’ who had had a UK Number 1 hit with ‘January,’ in 1975, playing on ‘Wuthering Heights, they were David Paton, who had written ‘January, (acoustic guitar) and Ian Bairnson, (1953-2023) (electric guitar.) Ian Bairnson, who it is said, played the guitar solo with a broken arm, has admitted that he initially disliked the ‘tone’ for many years, due to ‘purely guitarist reasons.’

‘Out on the wiley, windy moors we’d roll and fall in green. You had a temper like my jealousy, too hot, too greedy. How could you leave me, when I needed to possess you? I hated you, I loved you, too.’