Blog | Kate Bush – Unexpected Gem

Lilo's Blog

THE UNEXPECTED ON AN ORDINARY DAY

Not long ago I was snooping around at a relatively small curiosa flee market. There was a lot of junk to be found but there were some nice things too. Things that are not a must to buy perse, but things that are nice to look at, because they warp you back in time for a second, like to your childhood or wild teens for instance. Those are the things that you might totally forgot about and give that nostalgic feeling instantly. I always feel some kind of excitement when looking around, hoping to find something rare. Something that collectors are desperately looking for so I am always on a treasure hunt. But you have to be patient and take your time to check everything, to navigate through the mass, the grabbing hands…. You really need to take a good look in those piles of stuff unconditionally. Especially when it comes to music; those dusty boxes with vinyl, singles, EP’s and cd’s, you have to go through every single one of them, to make sure you don’t miss that particular one you were looking for. [UUUUUUh ….. right after I always desperately want to wash my hands a.s.a.p. LOL]

IS THAT….???

So here I was strolling, passing by various stalls and then suddenly something caught my eye from a slight distance. This old fellow had a few boxes with vinyl and a mini pile of music books and some thin magazines. And something was half sticking out. Something different looking, different almost carton paper with the A4 shape of a comic item. From what I could see was part of an alien-like drawing, a head in the clouds and there were those black eyes luring me to that little pile. That creature looked very familiar to me. Could it be …. ???? Is that …??? Yes, yes, yes……

No time to waste before anyone else has that same lightbulb. I put my legs in speed modus then reached my arm and pulled that enchanting object out of the mini pile…. WELL HELLO KATE!!!

KATE BUSH – UK/EUROPEAN TOUR APRIL/MAY 1979

WOW! I got my hands on an original Kate Bush tour program, right here on a silly, small flee market somewhere in The Netherlands. How big is the chance, right? This program is of the first and only concert tour Kate Bush has ever done back in the day: The Tour of Life [a.k.a. the `Lionheart Tour’]. Unfortunately, I was barely 12 years old when Kate played in Carré Theatre in Amsterdam, just 45 minutes away by car from my hometown. Tickets were sold out even before the sale started. I absolutely regret that I missed that once in a lifetime experience in 1979. Because the year before Kate Bush released her first two albums; `The Kick Inside’ and `Lionheart’ and I played them nonstop the moment I got them. Thanks to my sweet parents I got the official 12” live EP `On Stage’ [recorded during the Hammersmith Odeon shows] that was released several months later. I was over the moon. 

There were only four songs, ,,Them Heavy People’’, ,,Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake’’, ,,James and the Cold Gun’’ and ,,L’Amour Looks Something Like You’’, but they rocked my world and I could only imagine how it must have been like, sitting there in the audience, mesmerized by Kate’s unique vocal performance, her out of this world music, the theatrics, choreography and extraordinaire dance and magical show elements. Even better, in 1981 the entire show at Hammersmith Odeon was released on VHS and I made sure I got it. Halleluiah! Now I could see it all with my own eyes and the entire show was even better than I could have ever imagined. Remember, these were times without the Internet, mobile phones and social media. 🙂

THE TOUR PROGRAM

The front and back of the tour program folder is the same actually: this alien-like drawing of Kate. When opening on the left side are the tour dates and on the right side features a beautiful portrait of Kate from the `Lionheart’ album photo sessions. But it also reveals a 6-page full color booklet, that starts with a personal handwritten letter from Kate. And how lovely is this phrase of that young artist:

“I’ve graved for my own troupe of gypsies, my own show, the chance to take a trip with you.  And now it’s here – the best and bad times rock ‘n rolled into one. The fear and sparkle in my stomach. ……”

The booklet shows that the concert is divided in Act 1, 2 and 3. There are more gorgeous photos of Kate, also the band, backing singers and the dancers are introduced and there is some general info about the entire production and of course the personal thank you and sponsors. 

As an extra there is an application form for the Kate Bush Club, 5 tour flyers and a photo card with a surrealistic image and on the back: Lots of Love Kate xxxx.

Unfortunately, this photo card is actually part of a triptych photo card series. Two are missing here. But never the less I am extremely happy I found this little gem so unexpected. The condition of it is very good and the whole presentation is of course very old school and Do It You Self, which makes it such a timestamp.

BEFORE THE DAWN AND STRANGER THINGS

This tour program breaths the early days of Kate Bush, when her musical journey had just begun. In her long-lasting career, she has done such amazing, original and inventive music and with that Kate Bush left a unique footprint in music history. In 2014, Kate unexpectedly returned to the stage with `Before the Dawn’ – 22 shows at the Hammersmith Apollo London. I couldn’t believe the news, but the tickets were sold out in less than 15 minutes. You can guess….. I wasn’t there either…. It sucks, for sure! So for those who have seen Kate Bush ever live, consider yourself extremely lucky!

The live recordings `Before the Dawn’ were released in 2016 on cd and vinyl and it sounds excellent. Definitely worth getting your hands on. And now, amazingly, Kate suddenly has reached an entire new generation because her song ,,Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’’ features in Season 4 of the Netflix series Stranger Things [2022]. A new generation that is demanding. So, who knows? Maybe Kate will tour again one day? Well, I can keep at least dreaming about it. And they say three times is a charm…..

WATCH HERE KATE BUSH – THE TOUR OF LIFE HD LPR REMASTERING (Live at Hammersmith Odeon ’79)

All photos are taken by myself, all items are from my personal collection.