Kate Bush thanks fans as ‘Running Up That Hill’ hits “impossibly astonishing” one billion streams
Kate Bush has shared another message thanking fans after ‘Running Up That Hill’ continues its resurgence all the way to one billion streams.
There’s been a huge renewed interest in the 1975 single after it featured prominently in the fourth season of Stranger Things, which was released on Netflix as two volumes last summer.
Since then, its second wind of popularity has grown and grown, and now hit a billion streams on Spotify.
Posting a rare message on her website, Bush wrote: “A billion streams! I have an image of a river that suddenly floods and becomes many, many tributaries – a billion streams – on their way to the sea. Each one of these streams is one of you…
“Thank you! Thank you so much for sending this song on such an impossibly astonishing journey. I’m blown away.”
Last year, it was reported that Bush had earned an estimated $2.3million (£1.9million) in streaming revenue with ”Running Up That Hill’ after it featured in Stranger Things 4.
While giving a rare interview to BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this summer, Bush called the rise of her song “extraordinary” and said it was “very special” that younger audiences were listening to it.
‘Running Up That Hill’ was among the most streamed songs in the UK last year, also ranking number six in the Top 10 most popular songs in the UK on TikTok for 2022.
Elsewhere, last month Bush shared an emotional tribute to her former bassist John Giblin, who recently died at the age of 71.
The musician’s longstanding partnership with Bush began when he played bass on the legendary artist’s 1980 singles ‘Babooshka’ and ‘Breathing’, both of which appear on her third album ‘Never For Ever’.
“I loved John so very much,” Bush wrote in a statement. “He was one of my very dearest and closest friends for over forty years. We were always there for each other. He was very special. I loved working with him, not just because he was such an extraordinary musician but because he was always huge amounts of fun.”
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Will Richards
NME
