Today it is officially 45 year ago since Kate Bush released her first single; Wuthering Heights. Personally I believe it is the best debut single of all time, and it is also a very strong contender for my favorite song of all time. There is not a single part of me that remembers a time where I did not know this song, it's awfully important to me. Every single time I listen to it I am transported somewhere else. And even know it's difficult to believe that this was the first piece of art that she publicly presented to the world. She was only twenty years old when this was released as well!
There were two official music videos released for the song and while both of them are perfect my favorite one has to be the original with the white dress. There is something magical about the music video. It's so haunting, it's perfect. It's complicated to really say what it does with me when I see it but I am still amazed every time that I see it.
The video clings perfectly to the haunting sound of the song. Her expressive face, the unruly brown hair, the beautiful white dress, the fluid movements, the actual choreography and the video effects really make it a spectacular video that I cannot tire from. It had such a profound and lasting effect on the way I do everything in life, the aesthetics that I love, the way I want to dress, the way I'd like to move and just so many more things.
In those early first two years she performed the song a few times on television and she also performed it as the final encore of her wildly successful Tour of Life. However my favorite performance is the following one;
Her dramatic performance in the Haunted Castle (Het Spookslot) in the Efteling amusement park can really only be described as one of the best ideas in music promotion history. The haunted castle had opened that year and as her debut was a great success they wanted to have her perform for promotional reasons. The full special is really something to behold, I would strongly recommend to view it. She performs a variety of other songs as well like Movnig, Them Heavy People, The Man With The Child in His Eyes, Strange Phenomena and The Kick Inside.
However that performance of Wuthering Heights is the true pinnacle. In my opinion it is ready to go into a museum dedicated to music history.
Obviously as you can understand my feelings on the song are very casual. Kate Bush obviously does not need any promotion at this point (Or really at any point, her music speaks for her) but I hope that sharing some of my enthusiasm can have an effect on other people as well! Her full discography is astounding, full of little jewels and a lifetime of new sounds just waiting to be discovered. But for me it all begins and ends with this song.
Happy Birthday to Wuthering Heights!
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