Six years ago today, British singer-songwriter Kate Bush wrapped a legendary 22-night residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. Kind of a big deal since she hadn’t toured since 1979!
The three-act multi-media performance had kicked off August 26th, 2014 and because of the intricate production, the setlist remained the same throughout. Not just a rock show, the performance involved "dancers, puppets, shadows, maskwork, conceptual staging, 3D animation and an illusionist. Bush spent three days in a flotation tank for filmed scenes that were played during the performance and featured dialogue written by novelist David Mitchell.” (h/t Kate Bush Encyclopedia)
Act One opened with “Lily” a song Bush wrote about her friend, a prominent healer in London. Between the 26 songs played, ten were from her 2005 double album Aerial, ten from her 1985 art pop album Hounds of Love. All songs from Act One were live debuted on the residency’s opening night with the exception of “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” which was debuted at a one-off gig in Germany a few weeks after the release of HoL.
Act Two was dedicated to Kate’s concept suite of seven songs, called the Ninth Wave. She performed the songs, which were about a woman adrift at sea, true to the album, with one new song, “A Little Light” wedged in the middle.
Act Three unleashed “Sky of Honey,” disc two of Aerial, a sprawling ode to outdoor adventures.
The two-song encore opened with “Among Angels” from 50 Words for Snow and the denouement was “Cloudbusting.”
See the full setlist:
In 2016, Kate put out a live album documenting the show. Listen to that here:
