Bonus: Cathy/Phoenix Demos

This week, we’re not talking about just one song but rather a bunch of songs! Specifically, the sort of songs that Kate Bush doesn’t want us to hear, but which we’ve heard anyway. This is the week of the Cathy/Phoenix Demos, which were recordings Kate made of her songs when she was a teenager before she became famous. The Cathy Demos refer to tape recordings made when Kate was probably about 15 (circa 1973) of some of her songs. These songs were going to be put out on a bootleg record in 1986, when Kate got wind of what was going on and stopped it from being released. However, they have leaked anyway (well, all but one song, Go Now While You Can). Meanwhile, the Phoenix Demos refer to a group of almost two dozen previously unheard songs that a Phoenix, Arizona DJ and former EMI A&R man John Dixon played on the air in 1982. These songs were recorded around 1976, according to the tape reel he played that night, so Kate was a little older than those first Cathy demos in ’73. Either way, the songs have leaked and since the 80s, these songs have been endlessly bootlegged and have, of course, made their way to the Internet for an even wider audience to find. Some of these demos even contain embryonic versions of songs that later made her albums (Violin, The Kick Inside, and Oh To Be In Love, to name a few). To talk about these little gems, we have a familiar voice, Zoey P, on the show. We go into the history of how these songs, which were recorded in the privacy of Kate’s home, were leaked to the general public and what we think of these recordings. To listen to these demos, you can find them here. Also, check out Chris Kelley’s Kate Bush song-by-song blog, Dream of Orgonon, which you can find here. Song clips used/mentioned: On Fire Inside a Snowball The Disbelieving Angel Frightened Eyes Sunsi You Were the Star It Hurts Me Stranded At the Moonbase Rinfy the Gypsy Dali Where Are the Lionhearts The Gay Farewell Nevertheless You’ll Do Frightened Eyes (Alphan Remix)