Extended Essay Music

80’s Music: Kate Bush and Shade

Introduction:

The eighties was a period that had incredible music and even though it was a period from before my time, I have come to enjoy many songs that it provided, specifically pop music, electronic, funk, jazz and R&B. Singers like Michael Jackson, Bonnie Tyler, Madonna and Earth Wind and Fire, have all produced music that is inspiring and unique to me. In dedication to my fondness for this type of music, I have decided to write about two of my most loved eighties singers.

In this document I will be analysing the music of two great singers, Sade and Kate Bush. I will be specifically looking at the music they produced during the eighties and I will observe: how their music is reminiscent of eighties music, how their music affected the eighties, why they made their specific type of music. I will first write about these musicians’ personal lives and eighties music in general to get a substantial background for this documents subject. Finally, I will also write a conclusion with my personal thoughts on these singers and summarise all the ideas previously mentioned.

Pop Music and Soul in Eighties Music:

Eighties Music is extremely unique because it is filled with so many diverse genres. Rock music, Heavy Metal, Punk, Pop, Electronic, R&B, Urban, Rap and many more, were all types of music that were often featured in this period. However, I will personally be focusing on pop and soul music as those are the two main genres that Kate Bush and Sade based their music on and also because Pop music was the most well-known genre of music in the eighties.

Eighties pop music is commonly remembered by its frequent use of synthesisers for synth-pop and other electronic sounds. These were produced by advancements of technology that made way for future genres of techno and house. Music was also often connected to image and originality which was enhanced by outlandish, bright, bizarre fashion and ideas. This was due to the fact that MTV and other technologically advanced media and methods for listening to music, were becoming more and more popular, and everyone wanted to be the number one singer on these channels. Earning popularity was all about being unusual, eccentric and glamorous in style, fashion, music and behaviour in order to catch the public’s attention, and to become a staple for pop music worldwide (examples are Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie and Madonna who are recognised for their wild ideas, fashion and image).

This is what made new wave music, as well as art pop and experimental pop music so popular, as it incorporated so many diverse elements of music (such as jazz, folk, orchestral music or rock) and fashion or art into their pieces. R&B and soul was much mellower in comparison to the glamour and flash of pop and rock musicians. Unlike these artists, who were commonly seen as flashy and intense, R&B and soul musicians tended to have classy, casual, humbler elements, partly in relation to their roots as being in slavery. Especially given the fact that this music evolved from blues music, which itself evolved from songs sung by black slaves in plantations. This music was somewhat more emotional than pop music and focused on sadness, love, poverty and themes that are related to everyday life. While some of their music was still dramatic it remained respectfully low-key and generally stayed out of the circle glamour and glitz. This music still used instruments for jazz such as the saxophone, piano, sensual, powerful voices, and had slower, smoother rhythms and beats. It was generally sung more by those in black communities or backgrounds. Electronic sounds which were softer and less harsh that synthesisers such as the electronic organ sound were used to enhance the soft and sweet sound of soul music.

Kate Bush:

Kate Bush (30 July 1958 (age 57)) is a singer who is renowned for her unique pop-art, experimental pop and folk pop music. She was born in England and learned to play the violin, organ and piano. Her family’s background was very artistic, with close relatives that studied poetry and Irish dance music. Kate Bush incorporated these elements into her pop music and occasionally included elements of rock into her music. Kate Bush released her first single at the young age of 19. She is also well known for her dramatic soprano voice which can reach dark, warm lower tones and also reach bright, passionate higher tones.

Sade:

Sade, real name Helen Folasade Adu, (16 January 1959 (age 57)) is a singer popular for her R&B and soul, jazz music. She was born in Nigeria but moved to England and went to an Art School after completing High School. After leaving the Art School she worked in modelling for a brief period and later teamed up with guitarist/saxophonist Stuart Matthewman and released her first hit which succeeded in getting the attention of record companies. She later became part of the band Sade which included new musicians Paul Denman and Paul Cooke. She is known for her smooth and warm, timbre tone and her contralto voice.

Kate Bush’s music and how her music affected the eighties:

Kate Bush’s songs (as mentioned before) were focused on unique pop music that had many different elements in it such as electronic, rock and folk influences. Her most popular hits in the eighties were “The Man with the Child in His Eyes”, “Babooshka”, “Running Up That Hill”, and “King of the Mountain” and her most famous albums were, Never for Ever (1980) and Hounds of Love (1985).

Her song Running up That Hill has strong elements of synth music in it with a bouncy base composed of generic eighties synth sounds. Mixed with her strong vocal range and strength, this song already had pop elements in it, which were further enhanced with the steady drum beat in the background and powerful electric guitar which is introduced in the later part of the song. The strong vocals and deep, dark base and instrumental make this song a great example of electronic, rock and pop music. It is very enjoyable due to its passionate, strange nature. Her other song Babooshka has more folk based aspects with more focus on instrumental sounds as opposed to synthetic ones like the songs ominous double base sounds, balalaika and lovely piano chords. Again the song has rock elements with the frequent appearance of the electric guitar and the beat of drums. This song in specific is a good example of the folk music and foreign elements that Kate Bush often used in her songs. The title Babooshka (which means Grandmother in Russia) highlights this and shows how unique she was by incorporating sounds from foreign cultures in her pop music. Her most famous song of all, Wuthering Heights, did not come out in the eighties however it remained extremely popular during this period. This song is notable for its haunting melody, high pitched eerie voice and catchy tune. This song is another wonderful example of the artistic, folk like themes Kate Bush placed in her music. The tingly bells, uncanny piano melody, antique sounding harpsichord, modern electric guitar, emotive strings and doleful voice used in this song made this her number one hit of all time and for good reason.

These songs were definitely noticed by the public for their strange and stirring themes and were made all the more popular by Kate’s music videos. Many of these videos were very simple, yet it was their simplicity and eccentricity that made so valued. Kate had many music videos composed solely of her dancing in fluid and graceful ways reminiscent to ballet, wearing long dresses and having simply lit backgrounds. Her facial expressions were far from graceful however, and were in contrast very emotive, almost giving her the appearance of being mad, with expressions changing from sweet, seductive and elegant to wide eyed, shocked and stunned at the drop of a hat. The song lyrics and subjects that she created were also very powerful and thought-out. Running up that Hill has lyrics and themes relating to the struggles in a relationship from the views of a woman with lines such as

” It doesn’t hurt me; do you want to feel how it feels?

Do you want to know that it doesn’t hurt me?

Do you want to hear about the deal that I’m making?”

These impactful lyrics are brought to life as a chaotic yet elegant dance between Kate and her male partner in the music video.

Her other hit song, Babooshka, is about an older woman testing her husband’s loyalty by writing letters to him under the name Babooshka and pretending to be a younger woman. She does so out of paranoia and distrust which is represented by the songs dark and ominous melody. The lyrics

She sent him scented letters,

And he received them with a strange delight.

Just like his wife

But how she was before the tears,

And how she was before the years flew by,

And how she was when she was beautiful

Demonstrate the theme of the songs, and display Kate’s talent for storytelling and lyric making. Her black outfitted, veiled profile in the video represents her as a bitter older lady and the golden warrior woman as the sensual, younger self.

Kate’s most popular song Wuthering Heights is also very unique as it has lyrics which are directly related to an actual book, something that is very rare in the world of music. This is a demonstration of Kate’s imaginative mind, as it shows how cultured she is having read classics like this book. Her lyrical creativity is again demonstrated in these lines which describe the books main characters feelings of possessive love and hate.

Out on the wiley, windy moors

We’d roll and fall in green

You had a temper like my jealousy

Too hot, too greedy

How could you leave me

When I needed to possess you

I hated you. I loved you, too

Kate Bush’s distinctive voice, eccentric behaviour, varied musical styles, and powerful and bizarre themes made her extremely popular during the eighties. Her song Wuthering Heights topped UK Singles Chart for four weeks and she was the first female artist to reach a UK number one song that was self – written. Her other most popular songs “The Man with the Child in His Eyes”, “Babooshka”, “Running Up That Hill”, and “King of the Mountain” were all top ten UK hits and she is the first woman to have ever had a number one album in the album chart, and is the only female artist to date that had five album in the UK charts for five decades. Kate Bush has also been nominated 13 times for British Phonographic Industry accolades. In 1987 she also won a Brit Award for Best British Female Artist and she has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards. In 2002, she was given an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Bush was finally appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to music. In addition to being extremely popular in the eighties as noted before, her wonderful music has been admired and praised by many artists such as Coldplay, Bjork, Tupac and many more. Johnny Rotten has claimed her music to be a beauty beyond belief. Robert Smith has also stated that her music was the best thing of the eighties.

Sade and how her music affected the eighties:

Sade’s music is primarily based on jazz, soul and R&B which often had soft and soothing synths, sensual saxophones and piano and guitar. Her most famous songs in the eighties were “Your Love is King”,”Smooth Operator”, “Never as Good as the First Time” and “The Sweetest Taboo,”. Her most popular albums during this period were Diamond Life (1984) and Stronger than Pride (1988).

Her song Your Love Is King is an excellent example of soul and smooth jazz that was popular in the eighties for its sensual aspects and romantic themes. The slow and sensual tempo, gentle, warm vocals mixed with the jazzy saxophone and the electronic organs mellow accompaniment, make this a very relaxing and sweet song. Her song Smooth Operator is very similar with electric organ, saxophone, warm vocals and guitar. However this song is more fast passed and energetic and has a more dance-like rhythm. Her song The Sweetest Taboo is slower but has a very bouncy tempo with the wonderful electric organ chords, saxophone accompaniment and sensual guitar rhythms and gentle flute mixed with Sade’s gentle voice.

All these lovely songs were famous for having masterfully woven smooth melodies and instrumentals. The videos for these songs were simple, romantic and thoughtful. Many of them had clips of Sade staring out of a window to the rain outside, singing with a group, meeting a man or simply walking down a street. These songs and videos were more grounded in reality and emotionally realistic due to their themes of love, loneliness and love. This was very different to the songs and videos of pop artists who revolved around being as unrealistic, glamorous and fun as possible. Sade often wore normal yet stylish clothes in her videos and focused herself on being more sensible and authentic with her image and music. This was very typical amongst singers of this genre who, like Sade, had more clear–sighted ways of portraying their image and music. Her lyrics also reflect this by talking about powerful everyday emotions like a strong love

Touching the very part of me

It’s making my soul sing

I’m crying out for more

Your love is king

Whilst these lyrics do not tell a complex story, they describe the intensity of true, passionate love which humans feel often. The song Sweetest Taboo, is again very simple and is once more about a passionate love that is taboo as seen here

Will you keep on loving me

If I tell you

If I tell you how I feel

Will you keep bringing out the best in me

You give me, you give me the sweetest taboo

Her song Smooth Operator is a song that has more of story to it, and is about a womanizer that plays with woman’s hearts and his eventual fate. These lyrics relate to those who have both suffered from the womanizers antiques and also to womanizer himself.

He’s laughing with another girl

And playing with another heart

Placing high stakes, making hearts ache

He’s loved in seven languages

Jewel box life diamond nights and ruby lights, high in the sky

Heaven help him, when he falls

Diamond life, lover boy

He move in space with minimum waste and maximum joy

City lights and business nights

When you require streetcar desire for higher heights

All in all, Sade’s warm, sweet voice, jazzy instruments, themes of life and love, classy yet humble style are all a great example of eighties soul and jazz. Her first album sold over six million copies, and became one of the top-selling debut recordings in the 1980s, as well as the best-selling debut to ever be made by a female vocalist from England.

After her first album was released Sade went on to release a series of multi-platinum selling albums. The song Promise was released in 1985 and became number-one in the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, and also sold four million copies in the US. Sade’s sixth album, Soldier of Love (2010) became a commercial success and won a Grammy Award. Sade’s US sales are at 23.5 million units according to Recording Industry Association of America web site and have sold over 50 million units worldwide at the moment. Sade was ranked at number 50 on VH1’s list of the “100 greatest artists of all time”. In the year 2002, Sade was awarded an OBE for services to music, and stated her award was “a great gesture to me and all black women in England”. In 2010, The Sunday Times called her the most successful solo British female artist in history and in 2012, Sade was listed at number 30 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Women In Music”. Her music was also praised by other artists as seen here: Missy Elliott said Sade’s performance of “Smooth Operator” was one of her favourites. Souls of Mischief stated they grew up listening to Sade’s music and Tanya Morgan also describes Sade as one of their favourite artists. Other rappers that praised Sade were Malice and Pusha. In response to the newly released album Soldier of Love, Kanye West wrote, “This is why I still have a blog. To be a part of moments like this … new Sade … How much better this … than everything else? “Rick Ross said in an interview that “People may know my infatuation with Sade. There’s never been a bad Sade track. I love all different sides.” Beyoncé, Aaliyah, Kelly Rowland and Kerry Hilson have all stated that they enjoy her music and may have been influenced by Sade’s wonderful R&B songs.

Conclusion:

All in all we can clearly see that these two musicians whilst very different greatly affected the eighties and inspired many artists in the future. Despite having very different and unique styles, these women both made exquisite classic piece and have been recognised worldwide for the talent. Kate Bush’s weird, fairy-like elements and quirky style made her an iconic figure of music, specifically music that breaks boundaries and limits. Sade became a symbol of music as well, due to her soul, jazz songs being gorgeous and well written. She is more of a master of jazz music and is less about breaking boundaries like Kate. My favourite songs by Kate Bush are: Wuthering Heights, Moving, Strange Phenomena and Babooshka, with my favourite album of hers being The Kick Inside. My favourite songs by Sade are: King of Sorrow, Smooth Operator, Is It a Crime and Jezebel, with my favourite album being The Best of Sade.