It is well known that Kate Bush has always been someone who likes to live out of the celebrity spotlight. While her music has been some of the most influential of all time, the singer has very rarely appeared in public or put out opinions of her thoughts on TV and movies in the past. However, that has changed thanks to her song Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) hitting #8 in the U.K. charts and making it to the top of the iTunes download chart since it appeared in the fourth season of Stranger Things. In a rare statement, Bush put her thoughts on her website, addressing the new lease of life that song has been given, and how she is looking forward to the reason of the new season. She wrote:
"You might've heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of Stranger Things has recently been released on Netflix. It features the song, 'Running Up That Hill' which is being given a whole new lease on 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."
Kate Bush is Protective About Her Songs
Bush’s acknowledgment of the song’s use in Stranger Things is something that will be really appreciated by the show’s team, as it is rare for the amazing songstress to make such comments, but other than occasional use in some advertisements, it is not often that her work is featured as prominently in movies and TV shows. Unlike many music stars, who sell off the licenses to their music, Bush has always been protective of where her songs are used, and as Sony Music Publishing senior vice president of creative marketing, film and TV Wendy Crowley explained to Variety, Bush was allowed to see footage and scripts from the show before deciding whether to allow the song to be used. Crowley said:
"Nora Felder came to us pre-pandemic to discuss the idea of using it as Max's 'song' for this season. She wanted to make sure it was within the realm of possibility before she got the Duffer Brothers on board with the idea, since the song was going to be such a focal point to Max's storyline. Kate Bush is selective when it comes to licensing her music and because of that, we made sure to get script pages and footage for her to review so she could see exactly how the song would be used."
Running Up That Hill has now reached a whole new audience thanks to the show and its subsequent use in TikTok and social media videos. With the track likely to appear in the final two episodes, released on Netflix on July 1, there is no doubt that we will be hearing it for some time to come.