Wuthering Heights (song)
| "Wuthering Heights" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Kite" |
"Wuthering Heights" is a song by Kate Bush released as her debut single. It appears on her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside, and was also re-recorded with new vocals for her 1986 "best-of" album The Whole Story. The B-side of the original 1978 single was another song by Bush named "Kite" - hence the kite imagery on the record sleeve.
Release
Record company, EMI had originally chosen another track, "James and the Cold Gun" as the lead single, but Bush was determined that "Wuthering Heights" would be the first release from the album.[1] She won out eventually in a surprising show of determination for a young female vocalist against a major record company, but this was not the only time she took a stand against them in a bid to take control of her career.
The release date for the single was initially scheduled to be 4 November 1977. However, Bush was unhappy with the picture being used for the single's cover and insisted it be replaced. Some copies of the single had already been sent out to radio stations, but EMI relented and put back the single's launch until the New Year.[2] This proved to be a wise choice ultimately, as the release would have clashed with Wings' latest release, "Mull of Kintyre", which became the biggest selling single in UK history up to this point in December 1977.[3] "Wuthering Heights" was finally released on 20 January 1978 and eventually crept into the charts on (week ending) 11 February at No.42.[4] In 1986, her first compilation album erroneously stated the release date for this single as 4 November 1977.[5]
Chart performance
It quickly reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, staying there for four weeks, and propelled the singer to fame. Its release unwittingly pitted Bush against another female vocalist, also charting with her first hit: Debbie Harry with her band Blondie, and their single "Denis." Amid much public discussion about the two singers' merits, Bush came out on top, while Blondie stalled at number two.
"Wuthering Heights" eventually lost its crown to Brian and Michael's celebration in song of the then-recently deceased artist L. S. Lowry, "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs," thus having the number-one slot feature a classic of English literature followed by a tribute to a renowned painter. In reaching number one, Bush became the first woman to write and perform a UK chart-topper.[6]
Charts Worldwide
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[4] | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[7] | 17 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40[8] | 4 |
| German Singles Chart[9] | 11 |
| Irish Singles Chart[10] | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[11] | 7 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[12] | 6 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[13] | 8 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Chart | 108 |
Music video
Two music videos were created to accompany "Wuthering Heights." In one version, Bush can be seen performing the song in a dark room filled with white mist while wearing a white dress; in the other, the singer dances in an outdoor environment while wearing a red dress.
Lyrics
Written by Bush when she was 18, the song's lyrics are based on the story of the novel of the same name. Kate Bush was inspired to write the song by the last ten minutes of the 1970 film version of Wuthering Heights.[1] She then read the book and discovered that she shares her birthday (July 30) 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, looking to the moon through her open bedroom window for inspiration.
Lyrically, "Wuthering Heights" borrows liberally from the novel's utterances of its protagonist Catherine Earnshaw, most notably in its chorus, with Bush utilizing the famous ghostly phrasing "Let me in! I'm so cold!", as well as in the verses, which reference Catherine's confession to her servant of having "bad dreams in the night."
In an August 2008 survey taken by hearing aid firm Amplifon the song came out tenth in the all time most hilariously misheard pop lyrics. Listeners misheard "It's me; I'm a tree, I'm a wombat. Oh, so cold at the end of your winter" when the actual lyrics are "Heathcliff! It's me, Cathy and I've come home oh, so cold, let me in-a your window".[14]
Guitar Solo
The guitar solo at the end of the song is played by Ian Bairnson, best known for his work with Alan Parsons. It is often mistakenly said that David Gilmour played the solo. It is placed rather unobtrusively in the mix, something engineer Jon Kelly now regrets.[15]
Covers
"Wuthering Heights" has been recorded by a number of other artists, including Brazilian power metal band Angra, Pat Benatar, Hayley Westenra, Josh Pyke, China Drum, Albert Niland, The Decemberists, Jer Ber Jones, Susan Egan, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Australian band Mr. Floppy, Italian singer Cristina Donà, Dutch rock singer Birgit Schuurman, Placebo and The Puppini Sisters in 2006. It is also performed a cappella by the title character in the British TV series I'm Alan Partridge, played by Steve Coogan. The Icelandic singer Margrét Eir recorded an Icelandic version called "Heiðin há". Irish singer-songwriter Albert Niland did a cover of the song in 2004 which was praised by critics.
References
- ^ Soundonsound.com - Scaling the Heights
- ^ BBC.co.uk - Kate Bush biography
- ^ Every hit.com - "Mull of Kintyre" sales information
- ^ a b "Chart Stats - Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights". Retrieved 2009-2-1.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ The Whole Story sleeve notes
- ^ "Pop on trial". BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
- ^ "Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights - austriancharts.at". Retrieved 1 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 14, 1978". Retrieved 1 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "charts-surfer.de search results". Retrieved 1 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 1 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights". Retrieved 1 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "swedishcharts.com - Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights". Retrieved 1 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights - hitparade.ch". Retrieved 1 February 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Chris Irvine (14 September 2008). "Sting is top of the misheard pop charts". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-2-1.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|dateformat=ignored (help) - ^ CLASSIC TRACKS: 'Wuthering Heights'