Kate Bush debut single “Wuthering Heights” peaks to No.1 on this day in 1978
She became the first female artist to have a self-penned number one hit in the UK
Kate Bush debut single “Wuthering Heights” peaks to No.1 on this day in 1978
“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë and was released as the debut single of Kate Bush in January 1978. It became a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart on March 11, 1978. Written by Bush when she was 18, the song is based on the novel of the same name. Bush was inspired to write the song by the last ten minutes of a 1967 BBC mini-series based on “Wuthering Heights”. She then read the book and discovered that she shared her birthday (30 July) with Emily Brontë. Bush reportedly wrote the song for her album, “The Kick Inside”, within the space of just a few hours late at night. Record company EMI had originally chosen another track, “James and the Cold Gun”, as the lead single, but Bush was determined that “Wuthering Heights” should be the first release from the album. She won out eventually in an unusual show of determination for a young musician against a major record company, and this would not be the only time she took a stand against them to control her career. After being delayed for two months, “Wuthering Heights” was officially released in early 1978 and entered the top forty in the official singles chart in the United Kingdom at number twenty-seven on 18 February, and quickly rose to number one three weeks later dethroning ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me” from the top spot. Bush became the first female artist to have a self-penned number one hit in the UK. The song became very popular across Europe and kicked start Kate Bush’s string of hit singles during the 1980’s with songs such as “Babooshka”, “Running Up That Hill” and “Cloudbusting”. She also scored a hit with her Peter Gabriel 1986 duet “Don’t Give Up”.
Look back at the 1978 music video “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush
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