Kate Bush’s remarkable revival of the ’80s classic Running Up That Hill has culminated in the song going to number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Originally released in 1985, the song has enjoyed a new lease of life after appearing on Netflix’s sci-fi show Stranger Things.
After reaching number two last week, it has now replaced Harry Styles in the top slot as ‘As It Was’. Bush said she was “overwhelmed by the scale of affection” for her song.
“It’s all happening very fast as if it’s being driven by some kind of primal force,” Starr said in a statement. “I have to admit that I’ve been really affected by all of this.”
The feat marks 44 years since Bush last reached number one with his debut single, Wuthering Heights.
This gap of four decades is the longest in chart history, beating Tom Jones, who had to wait 42 years between reaching the top of Green Green Grass Off Home in 1966 and his next number one, charity single (Barry’s Islands in the Stream). ..
Running Up That Hill originally appeared on Bush’s celebrated fifth album Hounds Of Love, which she self-produced and composed largely with a Fairlight CMI – a ground-breaking digital sampling synthesizer.
“When it came out all those years ago it sounded brand new,” says BBC 6 Music’s Matt Everitt, “and all these years later, it still sounds like nothing that anybody else has ever done.
“I think that’s why she’s able to resonate with so many people who are hearing it for the first time.”
Many of them were introduced to Running Up the Hill through Stranger Things’ latest series, which premiered in late May. The song is a recurring motif, played obsessively by a teenage protagonist, Max Mayfield, as she struggles to come to terms with her brother’s death.
“At the beginning of the series, Max is in a very despondent isolated place,” explains Jamie Campbell-Bower, who plays this series’ main antagonist, Vecna, a supernatural creature who preys on the vulnerable.
“Music is a safe place, the place she goes to feel like she’s OK, and I think we can all relate to that. And Kate Bush is her favourite song.”
In one pivotal scene, Vecna tries to invade Max’s mind, but Kate Bush comes to the rescue.
“Her friends realise the best way to get her out of this state is to play music, to remind her of reality,” says Campbell-Bowe.
“All of a sudden, the song starts playing and it gives her the strength and the power to overcome that moment, which I think is absolutely beautiful.”
The series introduced Running Up the Hill to a new generation, but the scale of its success has taken everyone by surprise.
It is currently the most streamed song in the world, with over 57 million global plays in the past week. The video with the #RunningUpThatHill hashtag has been viewed more than 530 million times on TikTok.
