Kate Bush Says 'Stranger Things' Chart Resurgence Is "Very Special"

June 26, 2022 1:00 AM ‐ Television • Stranger Things • Netflix

This article is more than two years old and was last updated in February 2024.

Kate Bush has spoken about the chart revival of her 1985 song, 'Running Up That Hill' after it featured prominently in the fourth season of Netflix's supernatural series, 'Stranger Things'.

The song went to No. 1 in the UK Singles chart on Friday after being propelled back into the spotlight by the Duffer brothers' series.

Set in the 1980s, 'Stranger Things' is known for its pop culture reference and use of iconic tracks, and the most recent season has plenty of retro musical throwbacks including 80s favourites from Dead Or Alive, Falco and The Surfaris.

But the reason Kate Bush's track has seen such a huge revival is because it features in the first episode and throughout the fourth season, plus it is very significant to one of the show's main characters, Max Mayfield, played by Sadie Sink.

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In a rare interview with BBC Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour', Kate said, "it's just extraordinary, it's such a great series. I thought that the track would get some attention, but I just never imagined that it would be anything like this."

The 63-year-old English singer-songwriter told presenter Emma Barnett, "it's so exciting. But it's quite shocking really, isn't it? I mean, the whole world's gone mad."

The song, along with other 80s hits, features in a total of four of the seven new episodes of the show, which make up volume one of the season. Two further episodes that serve as volume two will drop on Netflix this week. A trailer recently released for the epic two-part season finale is even set to the haunting sound of 'Running Up That Hill', suggesting that it will continue to be significant through to the feature-length season finale.

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'Running Up That Hill' was the first single from Kate's 1985 album 'Hounds Of Love' and was released in the UK on August 5 of the same year. The song originally entered the UK chart at No. 9 and eventually peaked at No. 3. The single also reached the top 30 in the United States.

Now the song has out performed its previous chart position after topping the singles chart. The resurgence has also seen 'Running Up That Hill' go to No. 1 around the world, including in Australia, Belgium and Sweden, and gave Kate her first ever top five hit on the US Billboard chart at No. 4.

Speaking on Radio 4, Kate said that it felt "wonderful" that her music had "got to a whole new audience." She added, "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."

Kate said, "the Duffer brothers created the series and actually we watched it from the first series onwards, so I was already familiar with the series. And I thought, what a lovely way for the song to be used in such a positive way." She added, "you know, as a kind of talisman almost for Max. And yeah, I think it's very touching, actually."

The song made it to No. 1 on Friday in the UK after fighting off fierce competition from Harry Styles, whose new single 'As It Was' has held the coveted top spot for the last eight weeks.

'Stranger Things' returned to Netflix on May 27 with seven new episodes, which made up volume one of the season, but there's more to come. The fourth season concludes with its two final episodes this week, including a feature-length season finale. The two new episodes, entitled 'Papa' and 'The Piggyback', will both drop on Friday, July 1.

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