Kate Bush had not listened to her hit Running Up That Hill for years before revisiting it when she was approached by the creators of Stranger Things.
The song shot to the top of the U.K. charts last week, 37 years after its initial release, following its recurring use in the fourth season of the hit Netflix show – bringing her a host of new young fans.
However, in a rare interview with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Kate, who last performed live in 2014, admitted she hadn’t heard it for a while before she was approached by Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers.
“I never listen to my old stuff. But then you know, when things like this come along, I’m normally involved in something like you know, maybe doing an edit or revisiting the track for some kind of other reason, I’m working on it,” she explained. “So yeah, I hadn’t heard it for a really long time.”
Kate expected some renewed interest but “never imagined” an explosion in her popularity, adding, “The whole world’s gone mad”.
The star was already a fan of Stranger Things, however, which made it an easy decision to allow her song to be used in a “positive way”. She is also very happy to have found a legion of new young admirers.
“The thought of all these really young people hearing the song for the first time and discovering it is, well, I think it’s very special,” the 63-year-old explained.