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| artist = [[Kate Bush]]
| artist = [[Kate Bush]]
| album = [[The Whole Story]]
| album = [[The Whole Story]]
| B-side = {{ubl|"[[Wuthering Heights (song)|Wuthering Heights]] (New Vocal)||""December Will Be Magic Again""|}}
| B-side =
* "[[Wuthering Heights (song)|Wuthering Heights]]" (new vocal)
* "[[December Will Be Magic Again]]"
| released = {{Start date|1986|10|27|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Robin|date=25 October 1986|title=Index|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=4}}</ref>
| released = {{Start date|1986|10|27|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Robin|date=25 October 1986|title=Index|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|page=4}}</ref>
| recorded =
| recorded =
| studio =
| studio =
| venue =
| venue =
| genre =
| genre =
*[[Art rock]]
* [[Art rock]]
*[[progressive pop]]
* [[progressive pop]]
| length = 4:19
| length = 4:19
| label = [[EMI]]
| label = [[EMI Records|EMI]]
| writer = Kate Bush
| writer = Kate Bush
| producer = Kate Bush
| producer = Kate Bush
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| next_title = [[The Sensual World (song)|The Sensual World]]
| next_title = [[The Sensual World (song)|The Sensual World]]
| next_year = 1989
| next_year = 1989
| misc = {{External music video|type=single|header=Music video|1={{YouTube|NTUcoR8_pyE|"Experiment IV"}}}}{{Audio sample
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|NTUcoR8_pyE|"Experiment IV"}}}}
| type = single
| file = Kate Bush - Experiment IV sample.ogg
| description = Experiment IV
}}
}}
}}


"'''Experiment IV'''" is a song by English singer and songwriter [[Kate Bush]] from her first [[compilation album]], ''[[The Whole Story]]'' (1986). It was released as a single on 27 October 1986, in order to promote Bush's greatest hits album ''[[The Whole Story]]''. The single peaked at 23 in the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name=uk>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/27937/kate-bush/|title=Official Charts > Kate Bush|publisher=[[Official Charts Company|The Official UK Charts Company]]|access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref> simultaneously with "[[Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush song)|Don't Give Up]]", Bush's duet with [[Peter Gabriel]], which reached number 9.<ref name=uk/>
"'''Experiment IV'''" is a song by the English singer [[Kate Bush]]. It was released as a single on 27 October 1986 to promote Bush's greatest hits album ''[[The Whole Story]]''. The single peaked at No. 23 and spent 4 weeks in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1986-11-08 |title=EXPERIMENT IV |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/kate-bush-experiment-iv/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Official Charts |language=en}}</ref>

The single charted simultaneously with "[[Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush song)|Don't Give Up]]", Bush's duet with [[Peter Gabriel]], which peaked at No. 9 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1986-11-01 |title=DON'T GIVE UP |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/peter-gabriel-and-kate-bush-dont-give-up/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Official Charts |language=en}}</ref>


== Overview ==
== Overview ==
The song tells a story about a secret military plan to create a sound that is sly and horrific enough to kill people. The ending of the story is unclear, but in the [[music video]] nearly every person working on the project is killed by the horrific sound, which is personified by Bush herself as she changed from an angelic apparition into an horrific flying monster.
The song tells a story about a secret military plan to create a sound that is horrific enough to kill people. The story's ending is unclear, but in the [[music video]] nearly every person working on the project is killed by the horrific sound, which is personified by Bush herself as she changes from an angelic apparition into a horrific flying monster.


The song features [[Nigel Kennedy]] on [[violin]], who at one point replicates the screeching violins from [[Bernard Herrmann]]'s famous scoring of the shower scene in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s 1960 film ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''.
The song features [[Nigel Kennedy]] on [[violin]], who at one point replicates the screeching violins from [[Bernard Herrmann]]'s famous scoring of the shower scene in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s 1960 film ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''.


The B-sides of both the 7" and 12" singles included a re-working of "[[Wuthering Heights (song)|Wuthering Heights]]", the single which catapulted her to stardom in 1978. On the 12" single, the 1980 song "[[December Will Be Magic Again]]" was included as an additional B-side.
The B-sides of both the 7" and 12" singles included a reworking of Bush's 1978 hit "[[Wuthering Heights (song)|Wuthering Heights]]. "The 12" single included the 1980 song "[[December Will Be Magic Again]]" as an additional B-side track.


An extended version of "Experiment IV" appeared on the [[12-inch single|12" vinyl]] release of the single. Both versions of the song were included on the second CD, second cassette or second LP of rarities on the [[box set]] ''[[This Woman's Work (box set)|This Woman's Work]]'', released in 1990. A slightly longer version, know as the 'Video Mix' appears on 2019's ''[[The Other Sides]]''.
An extended version of "Experiment IV" appeared on the [[12-inch single|12" vinyl]] release of the single. Both versions of the song were included in the second volume of rarities in the [[box set]] ''[[This Woman's Work (box set)|This Woman's Work]]'', released in 1990. A slightly longer version, known as the 'Video Mix' appears on 2019's ''[[The Other Sides]]''.


==Music video==
==Music video==
The music video for the song adapts the "storyline", and chronicles the destruction of a secret military installation by a creature made of sound. The science fiction film-in-miniature includes appearances from [[Dawn French]], [[Hugh Laurie]], [[Richard Vernon]], [[Peter Vaughan]], [[Paddy Bush]] and [[Del Palmer]]. Bush appears on screen as an orderly officer serving tea, as the sound creature and at the end entering a van. The video was banned from ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' because it was considered "too violent"<ref>[http://gaffa.org/cloud/music/the_whole_story_album.html Cloudbusting / Music / The Whole Story Album (Compilation)]</ref> for a pre-watershed slot. In the UK, the music video was shown at some cinemas as an accompaniment to the main feature.
The music video adapts the song's "storyline" by chronicling the destruction of a secret military installation by a creature made of sound. The science fiction film-in-miniature was directed by Bush and features appearances from [[Dawn French]], [[Hugh Laurie]], [[Richard Vernon]], [[Peter Vaughan]], [[Paddy Bush]] and [[Del Palmer]]. Bush appears on screen as an orderly officer serving tea, as the sound creature and at the end entering a van. British costume designer [[Charles Knode]] made the masks of the sound creature and most of the video was shot in a disused military hospital in southeast London.<ref name="Kate Bush Club">{{cite magazine |last=Finkle |first=Zwort |title=Cousin Kate |magazine=The Kate Bush Club |publisher=Novercia Ltd |date=1987 |issue=21 |pages=4–5}}</ref>


In a 1987 interview for ''The Kate Bush Club'', Bush recounted her experience of directing the video, "I had such strong visual ideas while I was writing the song that I wanted to give directing another go. It's the first time the video and song have come together. Although this was the most complicated of my directions, it was so much easier for me because I appeared in it only briefly, so I could concentrate on being behind the camera which I really enjoy. It was wonderful to work with people who I admire so much and was a very exciting experience."<ref name="Kate Bush Club"/>
The music video, directed by Bush herself, was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Best Concept Music Video|Best Concept Music Video]] at the [[30th Annual Grammy Awards|1988 Grammy Awards]].

Before the editing of the full video could be completed, a minute-long segment was created for ''[[Top of the Pops]]'', but the show refused to play it as they considered it to be "too violent". [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[The Tube (1982 TV series)|The Tube]]'' aired the video in its entirety and it was also shown in cinemas as an accompaniment to a feature film.<ref name="Kate Bush Club"/>

==Critical reception==
Upon its release, William Leith of ''[[NME]]'' described "Experiment IV" as a "slow, creeping song" and a "mood piece" which is "more reserved and wintry" than "[[Hounds of Love (song)|Hounds of Love]]".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Leith |first=William |title=45 |magazine=[[New Musical Express]] |date=1 November 1986 |page=28 |issn=0028-6362}}</ref> Mark Putterford of ''[[Kerrang!]]'' wrote, "Chilling, moody, beautiful... you know the kind of magical musical spell our Kate can weave, and even if you haven't been mesmerised by her yet there's every chance that this one will do the trick."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Putterford |first=Mark |title=Short Kutz |magazine=[[Kerrang!]] |date=13 November 1986 |issue=133 |page=39 |issn=0262-6624}}</ref> Jerry Smith of ''[[Music Week]]'' called it "dramatic" and "excellently produced".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Jerry |title=A&R: Singles |magazine=[[Music Week]] |date=8 November 1986 |page=24 |issn=0265-1548}}</ref> Roger Morton of ''[[Record Mirror]]'' noted that Bush "sets [her] vision of a future where music is used as a weapon of destruction to another one of those nudging, understated melodies". He added, "This one's all gliding guitars and whispered warbling, fading into throbbing ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'' chopper blades."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Morton |first=Roger |title=Singles |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=1 November 1986 |page=15 |issn=0144-5804}}</ref>


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
All songs were written by Kate Bush.
All songs written by Kate Bush.


;7" single (UK)
;7" single (UK)
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}}
}}


==Charts==
==Chart performance==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
!align="left"|Chart (1986)
! scope="col"| Chart (1986)
!align="center"|Peak<br />position
! scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
! scope="row"| Europe ([[European Hot 100 Singles|European Top 100 Singles]])<ref name="Eurochart">{{cite journal |title=European Top 100 Singles |journal=[[Music & Media|Eurotipsheet]] |date=November 22, 1986 |volume=3 |issue=46 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1986/M&M-1986-11-22.pdf |access-date=28 July 2022}}</ref>
| 66
|-
! scope="row"| Finland ([[Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>{{cite book|url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=40|first=Timo|last=Pennanen|year=2021|title=Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021|section=Kate Bush|page=40|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|language=fi}}</ref>
| 21
|-
|-
! scope="row"| [[German Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-13559|title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Kate Bush – Experiment IV (single)|language=de|publisher=GfK Entertainment|access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref>
|align="left"|[[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name=uk/>
| 50
|align="center"|23
|-
|-
|align="left"|[[German Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-13559|title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Kate Bush – Experiment IV (single)|language=de|publisher=GfK Entertainment|access-date=17 July 2016}}</ref>
! scope="row"| [[Irish Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishcharts.ie |title=irishcharts.ie search results |access-date=15 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110721124745/http://www.irishcharts.ie/ |archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>
| 12
|align="center"|50
|-
|-
|align="left"|[[Irish Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishcharts.ie |title=irishcharts.ie search results |access-date=15 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5nE7hmwjG?url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/ |archive-date=1 February 2010}}</ref>
! scope="row"| [[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name="uk">{{cite web |title=Official Charts > Kate Bush |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/27937/kate-bush/ |access-date=17 July 2016 |publisher=[[Official Charts Company|The Official UK Charts Company]]}}</ref>
| 23
|align="center"|12
|-
|-
|}
|}
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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Kate Bush}}
{{Kate Bush songs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:1986 singles]]
[[Category:1986 singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Kate Bush]]
[[Category:Songs written by Kate Bush]]
[[Category:1986 songs]]

Latest revision as of 00:44, 1 December 2024

"Experiment IV"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album The Whole Story
B-side
Released27 October 1986 (1986-10-27)[1]
Genre
Length4:19
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Kate Bush
Producer(s)Kate Bush
Kate Bush singles chronology
"Don't Give Up"
(1986) 		"Experiment IV"
(1986) 		"The Sensual World"
(1989)
Music video
"Experiment IV" on YouTube

"Experiment IV" is a song by the English singer Kate Bush. It was released as a single on 27 October 1986 to promote Bush's greatest hits album The Whole Story. The single peaked at No. 23 and spent 4 weeks in the UK Singles Chart.[2]

The single charted simultaneously with "Don't Give Up", Bush's duet with Peter Gabriel, which peaked at No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart.[3]

Overview

[edit]

The song tells a story about a secret military plan to create a sound that is horrific enough to kill people. The story's ending is unclear, but in the music video nearly every person working on the project is killed by the horrific sound, which is personified by Bush herself as she changes from an angelic apparition into a horrific flying monster.

The song features Nigel Kennedy on violin, who at one point replicates the screeching violins from Bernard Herrmann's famous scoring of the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho.

The B-sides of both the 7" and 12" singles included a reworking of Bush's 1978 hit "Wuthering Heights. "The 12" single included the 1980 song "December Will Be Magic Again" as an additional B-side track.

An extended version of "Experiment IV" appeared on the 12" vinyl release of the single. Both versions of the song were included in the second volume of rarities in the box set This Woman's Work, released in 1990. A slightly longer version, known as the 'Video Mix' appears on 2019's The Other Sides.

Music video

[edit]

The music video adapts the song's "storyline" by chronicling the destruction of a secret military installation by a creature made of sound. The science fiction film-in-miniature was directed by Bush and features appearances from Dawn French, Hugh Laurie, Richard Vernon, Peter Vaughan, Paddy Bush and Del Palmer. Bush appears on screen as an orderly officer serving tea, as the sound creature and at the end entering a van. British costume designer Charles Knode made the masks of the sound creature and most of the video was shot in a disused military hospital in southeast London.[4]

In a 1987 interview for The Kate Bush Club, Bush recounted her experience of directing the video, "I had such strong visual ideas while I was writing the song that I wanted to give directing another go. It's the first time the video and song have come together. Although this was the most complicated of my directions, it was so much easier for me because I appeared in it only briefly, so I could concentrate on being behind the camera which I really enjoy. It was wonderful to work with people who I admire so much and was a very exciting experience."[4]

Before the editing of the full video could be completed, a minute-long segment was created for Top of the Pops, but the show refused to play it as they considered it to be "too violent". Channel 4's The Tube aired the video in its entirety and it was also shown in cinemas as an accompaniment to a feature film.[4]

Critical reception

[edit]

Upon its release, William Leith of NME described "Experiment IV" as a "slow, creeping song" and a "mood piece" which is "more reserved and wintry" than "Hounds of Love".[5] Mark Putterford of Kerrang! wrote, "Chilling, moody, beautiful... you know the kind of magical musical spell our Kate can weave, and even if you haven't been mesmerised by her yet there's every chance that this one will do the trick."[6] Jerry Smith of Music Week called it "dramatic" and "excellently produced".[7] Roger Morton of Record Mirror noted that Bush "sets [her] vision of a future where music is used as a weapon of destruction to another one of those nudging, understated melodies". He added, "This one's all gliding guitars and whispered warbling, fading into throbbing Apocalypse Now chopper blades."[8]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Kate Bush.

7" single (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Experiment IV"4:21
2."Wuthering Heights" (new vocal)4:56
12" single (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Experiment IV" (12" mix)6:38
2."Wuthering Heights" (new vocal)4:56
3."December Will Be Magic Again"4:50

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1986) Peak
position
Europe (European Top 100 Singles)[9] 66
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 21
German Singles Chart[11] 50
Irish Singles Chart[12] 12
UK Singles Chart[13] 23

In Australia, "Experiment IV" narrowly missed the Kent Music Report top 100 singles chart in December 1986.[14]

Further reading

[edit]

An article about the video for Experiment IV and its horror influences

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Smith, Robin (25 October 1986). "Index". Record Mirror. p. 4.
  2. ^ "EXPERIMENT IV". Official Charts. 8 November 1986. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  3. ^ "DON'T GIVE UP". Official Charts. 1 November 1986. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Finkle, Zwort (1987). "Cousin Kate". The Kate Bush Club. No. 21. Novercia Ltd. pp. 4–5.
  5. ^ Leith, William (1 November 1986). "45". New Musical Express. p. 28. ISSN 0028-6362.
  6. ^ Putterford, Mark (13 November 1986). "Short Kutz". Kerrang!. No. 133. p. 39. ISSN 0262-6624.
  7. ^ Smith, Jerry (8 November 1986). "A&R: Singles". Music Week. p. 24. ISSN 0265-1548.
  8. ^ Morton, Roger (1 November 1986). "Singles". Record Mirror. p. 15. ISSN 0144-5804.
  9. ^ "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. 3 (46). 22 November 1986. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Kate Bush". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 40.
  11. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Kate Bush – Experiment IV (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  12. ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  13. ^ "Official Charts > Kate Bush". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Kent Music Report No 648 - 15 December 1986 > National Top 100 Singles (66–100) > Singles receiving significant sales reports beyond the top 100". Imgur.com (original document published by Kent Music Report). Retrieved 17 July 2016.
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