Kate Bush - Live at the Apollo (full concert video)
October 19, 2021 11:00 PM Subscribe
My god it's like bad cabaret
So you're new to Kate Bush then?
posted by gusottertrout at 12:08 AM on October 20, 2021 [42 favorites]
So you're new to Kate Bush then?
posted by gusottertrout at 12:08 AM on October 20, 2021 [42 favorites]
This is peak Kate Bush. So far it's everything I could have dreamed of from a newly discovered 1979 Kate Bush performance.
posted by vverse23 at 12:12 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by vverse23 at 12:12 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Kate Bush's 1st & only tour
True, if strictly speaking about tours - - but there was also Before The Dawn, her 22 night concert residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014.
...for which I am still kicking myself for not ponying up the $$$ for a plane ticket and a concert ticket. :(
posted by fairmettle at 12:34 AM on October 20, 2021 [9 favorites]
True, if strictly speaking about tours - - but there was also Before The Dawn, her 22 night concert residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014.
...for which I am still kicking myself for not ponying up the $$$ for a plane ticket and a concert ticket. :(
posted by fairmettle at 12:34 AM on October 20, 2021 [9 favorites]
fairmettle, the money was the easy part. The hard part was the spending the best part of two or three hours continually hitting the booking website to finally get tickets.
posted by daveje at 12:54 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by daveje at 12:54 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ooh, thank you so much for for posting. I've seen the edited Hammersmith Odeon concert (recorded off the telly by my Dad, on betamax!), and the tour documentary, but hearing all the backstage chatter is a special treat!
"Oh dear, some things are going so wrong" (said straight after delivering a rollicking performance), is a classic moment of Kate Bush perfectionist thinking :-D
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 3:06 AM on October 20, 2021
"Oh dear, some things are going so wrong" (said straight after delivering a rollicking performance), is a classic moment of Kate Bush perfectionist thinking :-D
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 3:06 AM on October 20, 2021
This is also a fabulous record of the history of stagecraft - 'Kate Bush is regarded as the first artist to have had a headset with a wireless microphone built for use in music. For her Tour of Life in 1979 she had a compact microphone combined with a self-made construction of wire clothes hangers, to free her hands for expressionist dance performances' (source).
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 3:12 AM on October 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 3:12 AM on October 20, 2021 [8 favorites]
A Kate Bush found film horror film would be awesome - geoff, have you seen this?
'On 10 May 1978, [Dutch amusement park] Efteling was ready to open the Haunted Castle, the most expensive attraction it had ever constructed, and they wanted to promote it [...] Kate, who just had a big hit with Wuthering Heights, was approached for a television special that would promote both Efteling and her songs'.
Hammer horror, indeed!
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 3:28 AM on October 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
'On 10 May 1978, [Dutch amusement park] Efteling was ready to open the Haunted Castle, the most expensive attraction it had ever constructed, and they wanted to promote it [...] Kate, who just had a big hit with Wuthering Heights, was approached for a television special that would promote both Efteling and her songs'.
Hammer horror, indeed!
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 3:28 AM on October 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
My god it's like bad cabaret
Ooh, he's here again, the man with the tired old cynic in his eyes.
posted by flabdablet at 4:22 AM on October 20, 2021 [24 favorites]
Ooh, he's here again, the man with the tired old cynic in his eyes.
posted by flabdablet at 4:22 AM on October 20, 2021 [24 favorites]
This is great - however required viewing is to compare her performance of Them Heavy People with Pamela Stephenson's parody "My Leotard" - (Lyrics) which was recorded a year later on Not The Nine O Clock News.
posted by rongorongo at 4:57 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 4:57 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Noticing some further details:
1. shots of the audience in the run-up to the encore are interesting.
2. Its quite unusual, for me anyway, to hear a mix taken directly from the mixing desk like this - for example hearing (I think) the synth player completely screw up Kate's performance of 'Feel It' - for example.
3. Some amazing microphone usage for the time. For example what looks like a cordless headset for Wuthering Heights. Don't imagine many performers were using those in the late 70s.
posted by rongorongo at 5:42 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
1. shots of the audience in the run-up to the encore are interesting.
2. Its quite unusual, for me anyway, to hear a mix taken directly from the mixing desk like this - for example hearing (I think) the synth player completely screw up Kate's performance of 'Feel It' - for example.
3. Some amazing microphone usage for the time. For example what looks like a cordless headset for Wuthering Heights. Don't imagine many performers were using those in the late 70s.
posted by rongorongo at 5:42 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
It might be up there somewhere, but here's a Nationwide documentary about the tour. (Nationwide was an early evening current affairs programme). She was twenty-one years old at this point.
posted by Grangousier at 5:54 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Grangousier at 5:54 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
There were aspects of being 17 in 1979 that were very, very good.
Thanks for the post, CarrotAdventure.
posted by flabdablet at 6:09 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Thanks for the post, CarrotAdventure.
posted by flabdablet at 6:09 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: here again, the man with the tired old cynic in his eyes.
posted by Catblack at 6:38 AM on October 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Catblack at 6:38 AM on October 20, 2021 [4 favorites]
I promised myself decades ago that if Kate Bush was performing again I would fly to wherever she was and see the show. When I heard about Before The Dawn, I prepared myself the day tickets went on sale with several different computers on different high-speed connections, and spent about an hour getting the best tickets I could.
The gods smiled on me, and I was rewarded with front-row centre tickets for myself and a lucky friend. We got some strange looks when we strolled in a few minutes before show time and took literally the best seats in the house. Needless to say, the show did not disappoint.
posted by SNACKeR at 6:38 AM on October 20, 2021 [16 favorites]
The gods smiled on me, and I was rewarded with front-row centre tickets for myself and a lucky friend. We got some strange looks when we strolled in a few minutes before show time and took literally the best seats in the house. Needless to say, the show did not disappoint.
posted by SNACKeR at 6:38 AM on October 20, 2021 [16 favorites]
Wow, that voice. Really nice to hear it live.
posted by widdershins at 7:15 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by widdershins at 7:15 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Wow - I am always stoked about vintage performances being made available, and I have a friend who will just love this.
Thank you so much for sharing this, CarrotAdventure!
posted by kristi at 8:31 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thank you so much for sharing this, CarrotAdventure!
posted by kristi at 8:31 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
I believe that, instead of it being some weird artifact of the video capturing technology, Kate Bush actually has a bright halo around her.
posted by JSilva at 12:19 PM on October 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by JSilva at 12:19 PM on October 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
Kate Bush interviewed from the same year as the performance. I like her description of an earlier gig that happened to be scheduled in a pub on the evening of a Scotland versus England football match. Its an interesting reminder that, despite a few already behind her in the music business - her outlook terms of reference were pretty much those of a schoolgirl at this point.
posted by rongorongo at 12:06 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 12:06 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
That interview is an absolute masterclass in refusing to be crushed by beige awfulness.
posted by flabdablet at 12:31 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 12:31 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is the Kate Bushiest thing that has ever been Kate Bushed.
She would have slayed The Muppet Show back in the day.
posted by archimago at 10:49 AM on October 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
She would have slayed The Muppet Show back in the day.
posted by archimago at 10:49 AM on October 21, 2021 [3 favorites]
That interview is an absolute masterclass in refusing to be crushed by beige awfulness.
I waded through some worse ones before posting it! By 1980 Kate Bush had released one album which sold over a million copies in the UK alone and another which fused music with poetry mime and dance. She had also become the first woman in the UK to top the charts with a self-written song - and the first women from anywhere to have gone straight to number one (with, a song about a character in a book from the 1840s). Yet somehow, she always seems to end up getting interviewed by some dude who treated her like a sixth former who was getting a prize for the best scrap book like the prettiest girl in the sixth form getting a prize for the best scrap book.
posted by rongorongo at 2:18 PM on October 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
I waded through some worse ones before posting it! By 1980 Kate Bush had released one album which sold over a million copies in the UK alone and another which fused music with poetry mime and dance. She had also become the first woman in the UK to top the charts with a self-written song - and the first women from anywhere to have gone straight to number one (with, a song about a character in a book from the 1840s). Yet somehow, she always seems to end up getting interviewed by some dude who treated her
posted by rongorongo at 2:18 PM on October 21, 2021 [6 favorites]
(Songs that Changed Music: Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights)
posted by rongorongo at 2:36 PM on October 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 2:36 PM on October 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
This helped me discover that one of my tolerances for weirdness is somewhere between listening to her music and watching her concerts.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:54 PM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:54 PM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
She's holding the night in her arms if only for a moment. I can't see the look in her eyes but I'm sure she must be laughing.
Sadly, it seems some see only a stick on fire.
posted by flabdablet at 1:16 AM on October 22, 2021
Sadly, it seems some see only a stick on fire.
posted by flabdablet at 1:16 AM on October 22, 2021
ah I should have moved faster to grab this:
Video unavailable
This video contains content from ITV_plc, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.
posted by thelonius at 6:08 AM on October 22, 2021
Video unavailable
This video contains content from ITV_plc, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.
posted by thelonius at 6:08 AM on October 22, 2021
This version was uploaded two years ago by Jeff Smith. Highest available resolution is 640x480, it doesn't have the explanatory text at the start, and it has a time code overlay near the top.
The now-blocked version that CarrotAdventure linked above was uploaded Aug 17 this year by David Cantello. Its highest available resolution was 1072x720, which is kind of a weird aspect ratio (TV in 1979 was all broadcast at 4:3, and at 1072 wide that would be 804 high, not 720). Also, 640x480 is about as good as 1979 video got so I strongly doubt that the source material was ever 720p; more likely it was cropped and upscaled from the same videotape source. I don't think it's derived directly from Smith's upload because even with the upscaling, Cantello's encode looks a bit cleaner.
For archive verification purposes, I calculated BitTorrent info hash values for MP4s of both. The Smith version's checksum is 046dbaa0c88f0a2e614e62bc67c9f17342e2e757 and the Cantello version's is 7e27d1d05e8ac77dd6fc78063e4f8e7fc44e1f44 in case you're interested in that kind of thing.
posted by flabdablet at 8:10 AM on October 22, 2021 [4 favorites]
The now-blocked version that CarrotAdventure linked above was uploaded Aug 17 this year by David Cantello. Its highest available resolution was 1072x720, which is kind of a weird aspect ratio (TV in 1979 was all broadcast at 4:3, and at 1072 wide that would be 804 high, not 720). Also, 640x480 is about as good as 1979 video got so I strongly doubt that the source material was ever 720p; more likely it was cropped and upscaled from the same videotape source. I don't think it's derived directly from Smith's upload because even with the upscaling, Cantello's encode looks a bit cleaner.
For archive verification purposes, I calculated BitTorrent info hash values for MP4s of both. The Smith version's checksum is 046dbaa0c88f0a2e614e62bc67c9f17342e2e757 and the Cantello version's is 7e27d1d05e8ac77dd6fc78063e4f8e7fc44e1f44 in case you're interested in that kind of thing.
posted by flabdablet at 8:10 AM on October 22, 2021 [4 favorites]
Currently very much enjoying Kate Bush - Egos and Icons interview 1993 (YouTube, 30m42s)
posted by flabdablet at 9:02 AM on October 22, 2021
posted by flabdablet at 9:02 AM on October 22, 2021
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