With “Wow,” the standout single from her 1978 album “Lionheart”, Kate Bush delivered one of her earliest and most incisive dissections of the entertainment world. Released as a single in March 1979, the track climbed to No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart and lingered there for ten weeks. It also found success across Europe, including a No. 17 peak in Ireland.
“Wow” emerged from Bush’s fascination with the ethereal soundscapes of Pink Floyd. Determined to write something spacey, she drew on the influence of the very band whose David Gilmour had helped launch her career by funding her early demos. The result is a lush, slow-burning ballad anchored by soaring strings and Bush’s expressive, theatrical vocals—a sound world that feels simultaneously glamorous and melancholic.
Lyrically, “Wow” is a sharp, satirical portrait of show business. Bush slips into the character of a glamorous actress or sex symbol, navigating a world of superficial praise, backstage politics, and fragile egos. In a 1979 fan club newsletter, she described the track as a send-up of the entertainment industry in all its contradictions: the “ripoffs, the rat race, competition,” but also the undeniable magic of performance. That tension—between disillusionment and wonder—forms the heart of the song.
One of its most controversial lines, “He’s too busy hitting the Vaseline,” sparked conversation and a BBC censorship moment. Bush later clarified the lyric as a simple observation about the prevalence of homosexuality in show business, not a critique. But her cheeky on-screen gesture during the line—playfully patting her backside in the song’s original music video—was enough for the BBC to pull the clip from airplay.
The video itself captures Bush in her element: emerging from darkness, spiraling into light at the chorus, embodying both the theatricality and vulnerability conveyed in the song. A second video, released in 1986 for her compilation “The Whole Story”, abandoned the controversy in favor of a montage of live performances.
The momentum around “Wow” coincided with Bush’s first—and for decades, only—major concert tour. Her appearance performing the song on ABBA in Switzerland in April 1979 further boosted its visibility, helping to push “Lionheart” back into the UK Top 20.
KATE BUSH - DECEMBER WILL BE MAGIC AGAIN
Released: November 17, 1980
Charts: UK: #29
Released in November 1980, “December Will Be Magic Again” finds Kate Bush bringing her singular imagination to the festive season, crafting a Christmas song that feels intimate, dreamlike, and unmistakably her own. Reaching No. 29 on the UK charts, the single remains one of Bush’s most beloved non-album releases—an atmospheric ode to winter nostalgia and childhood wonder.
The song was first unveiled on Kate, her BBC Christmas special broadcast on 28 December 1979. Sitting at the piano, Bush painted her wintry tableau: snow settling on soot-stained rooftops, lovers beneath mistletoe, and Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas.” Delivered with her characteristic theatricality, the performance captured an idealised, almost enchanted vision of the holiday season. Just days later, Bush offered a strikingly different interpretation on the BBC Christmas Snowtime Special. This version featured percussionist Preston Heyman on bongos, with Bush performing an expressive, interpretive dance instead of playing piano.
The studio recording—without bongos—had been completed earlier at Abbey Road’s Studio 2, with Heyman on drums, Alan Murphy on guitar, and Kuma Harada on bass. Released nearly a year later, it arrived as a standalone single following “Never For Ever”’s “Army Dreamers”.
Bush’s literary leanings surface in the second verse with a nod to Oscar Wilde, whose writing profoundly influenced her. Though not known for Christmas stories, Wilde’s winter-themed children’s tales—particularly “The Happy Prince”—left a lasting impression on the young Bush. Fittingly, the single appeared near the 80th anniversary of Wilde’s death.
“December Will Be Magic Again” was chosen by Elton John for the 2005 compilation of his favorite Christmas songs “Elton John’s Christmas Party”.
KATE BUSH - THE SENSUAL WORLD
Released: September 18, 1989
Charts: UK: #12
Released in September 1989, “The Sensual World” served as the title track and lead single from Kate Bush’s sixth studio album. Blending Celtic tones with Middle Eastern–influenced instrumentation, the song reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and marked a shift toward warmer, more feminine production following the bold, muscular sound of “Hounds of Love”.
The song was originally conceived as Molly Bloom’s final soliloquy from James Joyce’s “Ulysses” set to music. Bush was captivated by a recording of actress Siobhán McKenna reading the passage years earlier and had imagined using Joyce’s exact text. When she was unable to obtain the rights from the Joyce estate, she reframed the idea: instead of quoting Molly Bloom directly, she wrote from the perspective of the character stepping out of the book—leaving her “black-and-white, two-dimensional world” and entering the vivid physicality of reality. The song expresses Molly’s astonishment at the sensuality of the natural world: touching grass, feeling the ground, seeing color, and experiencing the richness of being fully alive.
Bush told NME that the first element she had was Molly’s famous “Mmh yes,” which helped her shape the impressionistic, hushed quality of the vocals. After the Joyce estate initially denied permission, it took a year to rewrite the lyrics while keeping the emotional essence of the material. (In 2011, the estate finally granted rights, and Bush rerecorded the song with the original text as “Flower of the Mountain” for Director’s Cut.)
The track begins with chiming bells—an image tied to Molly Bloom’s memory of a marriage proposal in Joyce’s text. Bush chose bells for their celebratory resonance, noting that they mark major transitions in life: births, weddings, and deaths. She also felt they set a warm, open atmosphere for the album as a whole.
Irish uilleann piper Davey Spillane features prominently, performing a Macedonian melody called “Nevestinsko Oro.” Bush included it on instinct, saying it was one of the album’s many “Oh, what the hell—let’s try it” decisions that ended up working unexpectedly well.
Bush co-directed the music video with Peter Richardson of The Comic Strip. She appears as a timeless, almost medieval figure in a woodland setting, surrounded by elemental imagery—wind, leaves, textures, and movement. She wanted the video to remain simple and rooted in nature.
“The Sensual World” marked Bush’s third consecutive album as sole producer. She described its creation as an attempt to explore her femininity in a direct, unapologetic way—something she felt she hadn’t fully embraced during the powerful, more male-energy production aesthetic of “Hounds of Love”. She viewed Molly Bloom’s speech as a deeply positive expression of female interiority, and the title track was her way of channeling that voice through music.
28.11.25
HAIRCUT ONE HUNDRED – LOVE PLUS ONE
Publicada: gener de 1982
Llistes: Regne Unit: #3 | EUA: #37
“Love Plus One” va ser la segona publicació de Haircut One Hundred, el sextet amb jaqueta de punt que ja havia cridat l’atenció amb l’encant nerviós de “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)”. Però aquesta vegada van tocar la tecla d’or: “Love Plus One” va pujar fins al número 3 a les llistes del Regne Unit, convertint-se en el seu èxit més gran al país i en l’únic èxit dins del Top 40 als Estats Units.
Guiats pel querubínic Nick Heyward, Haircut One Hundred ocupaven un racó peculiar i entranyable del pop de principis dels anys vuitanta — una mena de “funk preppy” que barrejaven guitarres àgils amb esquitxos de percussió i vents que sonaven com si haguessin estat importats directament del Carib. Les seves cançons rarament tenien sentit líric, però no els calia. Les paraules de Heyward — “Ring, ring, ring, ring / When I call love / Love plus one” — tenien més a veure amb el so i el ritme que no pas amb la narrativa. S’assemblaven a les converses sentides d’un jove enamorat, reunint emocions en un disbarat enganxós. Era, com va dir un crític, “la poesia d’un noi educat que acaba de descobrir el romanticisme però que encara no sap ben bé què fer-ne.”
La textura irresistible de la cançó es deu molt al productor Bob Sargeant, ja admirat pel seu treball amb The Beat. Sargeant va animar la banda a inclinar-se cap al ritme i l’espai, superposant marimbes, bongos i timbales d’acer al costat del saxòfon soprano de Phil Smith. El resultat va ser un groove alegre, amb tocs tropicals, que d’alguna manera aconseguia sonar alhora sofisticat i innocent — un tast primerenc del que més tard es coneixeria com a “jazz-pop”. Heyward recordaria més tard: “Pots sentir-ho tot a ‘Love Plus One’, però és contundent. Bob Sargeant era el nostre George Martin — va donar sentit al caos i el va convertir en una cosa bonica.”
Si “Love Plus One” tenia un arma secreta, era el seu videoclip, dirigit pel sempre visionari David Mallet, que havia treballat amb David Bowie i Queen. L’MTV acabava de llançar-se uns mesos abans als Estats Units, i la cadena tenia desesperadament gana d’importacions britàniques visualment atractives. Mallet va oferir espectacle: una fantasia tropical plena de palmeres, tapalls, i perill trapella, on Nick Heyward es balancejava amb cordes com un Tarzan juvenil entre donzelles de l’illa i salvatges còmics. Era escapisme pur, i s’emetia sense parar a l’MTV — on la imatge neta de la banda i el seu romanticisme suau destacaven al costat de la vora més dura del rock americà.
El grup va fer gira pels Estats Units gràcies al single, però l’impuls no va durar. Quan el seu primer èxit al Regne Unit, “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl),” va ser reeditat a l’altra banda de l’Atlàntic, va quedar-se al número 101 — potser massa peculiar, massa britànic, o simplement massa ple de jerseis de punt per a un públic americà que desitjava drama neó. Tot i així, al Regne Unit, Haircut One Hundred estaven en plena forma. Van seguir “Love Plus One” amb dos senzills més dins del Top 10 — “Fantastic Day” i “Nobody’s Fool” — abans que Heyward abandonés de sobte el grup, incòmode amb la fama i amb ganes d’evolucionar. Haircut One Hundred potser es van apagar ràpidament, però durant una breu i gloriosa temporada del 1982, van regalar al pop el seu somriure més contagiós.
HAIRCUT ONE HUNDRED - LOVE PLUS ONE
Released: January 1982
Charts: UK: #3 US: #37
“Love Plus One” was the second release from Haircut One Hundred, the cardigan-clad sextet who had already turned heads with the jittery charm of “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl).” But this time, they struck gold: “Love Plus One” rose to No. 3 on the UK charts, becoming the band’s biggest hit at home and their only Top 40 success in the United States.
Led by the cherubic Nick Heyward, Haircut One Hundred occupied a peculiar and endearing corner of early-’80s pop — a kind of “preppy funk” that blended nimble guitars, splashy percussion, and horns that sounded like they’d been imported straight from the Caribbean. Their songs rarely made sense lyrically, but they didn’t need to. Heyward’s words — “Ring, ring, ring, ring / When I call love / Love plus one” — were more about sound and rhythm than narrative. They felt like the overheard chatter of a love-struck youth, piecing together emotions into catchy nonsense. It was, as one critic quipped, “the poetry of a polite boy who’s just discovered romance but hasn’t yet figured out what to do with it.”
The song’s irresistible texture owes much to producer Bob Sargeant, already admired for his work with The Beat. Sargeant encouraged the band to lean into rhythm and space, layering marimbas, bongos, and steel drums alongside Phil Smith’s soprano saxophone. The result was a buoyant, island-tinged groove that somehow managed to sound both sophisticated and innocent — an early taste of what would later be dubbed “jazz-pop.” Heyward later recalled, “You can hear everything on ‘Love Plus One,’ but it’s punchy. Bob Sargeant was our George Martin — he made sense of the chaos and turned it into something beautiful.”
If “Love Plus One” had a secret weapon, it was its music video, directed by the ever-visionary David Mallet, who had worked with David Bowie and Queen. MTV had launched just a few months earlier in America, and the network was desperate for visually engaging British imports. Mallet delivered spectacle: a tropical fantasy filled with palm trees, loincloths, and playful danger, where Nick Heyward swung on ropes like a boyish Tarzan amid island maidens and comic savages. It was pure escapism, and it played endlessly on MTV — where the band’s clean-cut image and soft romanticism stood out against the harder edge of American rock.
The group toured the US on the back of the single, but the momentum didn’t last. When their first UK hit, “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl),” was reissued stateside, it faltered at No. 101 — perhaps too quirky, too British, or simply too cardigan-clad for American audiences craving neon drama. Still, in Britain, Haircut One Hundred were on fire. They followed “Love Plus One” with two more Top 10 singles — “Fantastic Day” and “Nobody’s Fool” — before Heyward abruptly departed the band, uncomfortable with fame and eager to evolve. Haircut One Hundred might have burned out quickly, but for a brief, glorious season in 1982, they gave pop its most infectious smile.
26.11.25
THE HOUSEMARTINS – HAPPY HOUR
Publicada: juny de 1986
Llistes: Regne Unit: #3
Publicada com el tercer single del disc de debut de la banda “London 0 Hull 4”, “Happy Hour” va ascendir fins al número 3 de la llista de senzills del Regne Unit — el seu primer Top 10 i un èxit impressionant per a una banda indie d’un segell petit. Quan The Housemartins la van publicar el 1986, pocs esperaven que un senzill indie-pop enganyosament alegre es convertís en un dels comentaris més memorables sobre la cultura laboral britànica de l’època.
A la superfície, la peça sona com una celebració fresca, plena de guitarres brillants i harmonies animades. Però, sota aquesta aparença, la lletra de Paul Heaton s’esmola fins a convertir-se en alguna cosa molt més punyent. La cançó es burla de les obligacions socials dels treballadors d’oficina, especialment de l’expectativa no escrita de reunir-se al pub després de la feina, empassar pintes i representar un tipus concret de companyonia “masculina”. Heaton havia estat treballant la lletra durant un temps — el títol provisional havia estat “French England” — abans d’enllestir-la el 22 de gener de 1986, el mateix dia que va escriure “Me and the Farmer”.
El guitarrista Stan Cullimore va abordar la peça amb prioritats lleugerament diferents. Tenia una progressió d’acords preparada per a les estrofes, però, ansiós d’acabar i sortir a comprar uns pastissos, simplement va reutilitzar els mateixos acords per a la tornada. La primera demo va trigar menys de deu minuts. Era exactament el tipus de creativitat sense pretensions i espontània que definia The Housemartins — sincera, melòdica i discretament subversiva.
The Housemartins sovint eren comparats amb The Smiths, encara que no sempre de manera favorable. Johnny Marr va afirmar que “Happy Hour” era “una còpia completa de ‘I Want the One I Can’t Have’”, afegint que la banda “n’havia pres d’altres també.” Però, fos homenatge, coincidència o simplement el producte d’un llinatge guitarrer compartit, The Housemartins van construir el seu propi espai distintiu: cançons pop vivament melòdiques amb consciència socialista i un sentit de l’humor esmolat.
La popularitat de la cançó va créixer encara més gràcies al seu videoclip de plastilina — una animació peculiar ambientada en un pub, amb versions de plastilina del grup, incloent-hi el còmic Phill Jupitus llegint un diari a la barra. Filmat a The Star, a St John’s Wood, el vídeo capturava la barreja de sàtira i ximpleria del tema.
“London 0 Hull 4”, l’àlbum del qual provenia “Happy Hour”, lluïa la seva política amb orgull. El títol està estilitzat com un marcador de futbol, amb Hull — la ciutat natal de la banda — derrotant simbòlicament la capital. Era un cop a la visió centrada en el Sud-est del govern conservador de Margaret Thatcher, i les cançons del disc sovint reflectien la insatisfacció de Heaton amb el clima social del moment.
Per a The Housemartins, “Happy Hour” va marcar l’inici d’una trajectòria breu però remarcable a les llistes. Aconseguirien cinc Top 20 més al Regne Unit, incloent-hi la seva versió a cappella número 1 de “Caravan of Love”, abans de separar-se el 1988. Heaton formaria després The Beautiful South, però el llegat de The Housemartins — encantador, àcid i políticament carregat — continua ancorat en cançons com “Happy Hour”.
THE HOUSEMARTINS - HAPPY HOUR
Released: June 1986
Charts: UK: #3
Released as the third single from the band’s debut album “London 0 Hull 4”, “Happy Hour” surged to No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart — their first Top 10 hit and an impressive success for an indie band on a small label. When The Housemartins released it in 1986, few expected that a jangly, deceptively cheerful indie-pop single would become one of the most memorable commentaries on Britain’s working culture of the era.
On the surface, the track sounds like a breezy celebration, all bright guitars and buoyant harmonies. Underneath, however, Paul Heaton’s lyrics sharpen into something far more pointed. The song skewers the social obligations of male office workers, especially the unspoken expectation to gather at the pub after work, down pints, and perform a particular brand of blokey camaraderie. Heaton had been shaping the lyrics for some time — the working title was once “French England” — before completing them on January 22, 1986, the same day he wrote “Me and the Farmer.”
Guitarist Stan Cullimore approached the track with slightly different priorities. He had a chord progression ready for the verses, but, eager to finish and head out to buy some cakes, he simply reused the same chords for the chorus. The first demo took less than ten minutes. It was exactly the sort of unpretentious, spur-of-the-moment creativity that defined The Housemartins — earnest, tuneful, and quietly subversive.
The Housemartins were often compared to The Smiths, though not always favorably. Johnny Marr claimed “Happy Hour” was “a complete rip-off of ‘I Want the One I Can’t Have,’” adding that the band had “nicked others too.” But whether homage, coincidence, or simply the product of a shared jangly guitar lineage, The Housemartins carved out their own distinct niche: briskly melodic pop songs with a socialist conscience and a wicked sense of humor.
The song’s popularity was boosted further by its claymation music video — a quirky, pub-set animation featuring plasticine versions of the band, complete with comedian Phill Jupitus reading a newspaper at the bar. Filmed at The Star in St John’s Wood, the video captured the track’s blend of satire and silliness.
“London 0 Hull 4”, the album from which “Happy Hour” originated, wore its politics proudly. The title is styled like a football scoreline, with Hull — the band’s hometown — symbolically defeating the capital. It was a jab at the South-East-centric worldview of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, and the album’s songs often reflected Heaton’s dissatisfaction with the social climate of the time.
For The Housemartins, “Happy Hour” marked the beginning of a brief but remarkable chart run. They would score five more UK Top 20 hits, including their No. 1 a cappella rendition of “Caravan of Love,” before splitting in 1988. Heaton would go on to form The Beautiful South, but the legacy of The Housemartins — charming, acerbic, and politically charged — remains anchored in songs like “Happy Hour.”
