Who is Kate Bush? Stranger Things' Max and her connection with live-saving song in Season 4

Max (Sadie Sink) in Stranger Things season 4; Kate Bush (Image via Netflix/Getty Images)
Max (Sadie Sink) in Stranger Things season 4; Kate Bush (Image via Netflix/Getty Images)

Kate Bush's influence on modern pop music was so pervasive that it was difficult to quantify.

So when the legendary singer infamously took a 35-year hiatus from touring after 1979, her return to performing concerts in 2014 was all the more reason to celebrate for the press and her devoted fans.


Stranger Things 4 features Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill in a pivotal moment

Stranger Things 4 features music as a critical component in the fight against the new Upside Down threat. This villain, named Vecna, preys on those who have been through a traumatic experience; he infiltrates their brains, haunts and enters them, and then violently kills them.

At first, it appears that his victims have no way out, but our favorite Hawkins kids realize that music therapy can help: playing a song that the sufferer likes will wake them up and break them free from Vecna's trance before he can kill them.

However, when Vecna targeted Max in episode 4, their theory came true.

She's on the verge of passing out when her pals, including her ex-boyfriend Lucas, save her by blaring her favorite song, Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill (Deal with God), over her headphones to rouse her up.

Max's sense of style is everything in this scene. Second, the song selection isn't entirely random. Max was listening to it during a slow-motion trip down the school corridor to the guidance counselor's office three episodes earlier, at the start of ST4.

We're guessing she'd heard it before; the song, from Bush's album Hounds of Love, was released in 1985 and spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 30.

A teenage girl set in 1986, such as Max, could have heard it and fallen in love with it. It is the significance of the lyric that is quite relevant to her life.

youtube-cover

The chorus of words may also add terrible depth to Max's grief over Billy's death.

The music also adds to the suspense of Max's escape from Vecna. The track's booming percussion adds to the adrenaline rush in the climactic action, while Bush's powerful vocals give it emotional weight.

Swelling strings were added to the show's song version to make the moment feel even more remarkable.


What do we know about Kate Bush?

Catherine "Kate" Bush, CBE, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer born on July 30, 1958.

Her unique vocal technique and diversified musical approach have made her one of the most popular solo female artists in the United Kingdom over the last 35 years.

Bush became the first woman to gain a UK number one title with a self-written song when her debut single, Wuthering Heights, topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in 1978 when she was 19 years old.

Kate Bush has now recorded ten albums, three of which have charted at number one in the United Kingdom.

She has 25 UK Top 40 singles to her credit, including the Top 5 hits Wuthering Heights, The Man with the Child in His Eyes, Babooshka, Running Up That Hill, and Don't Give Up.

Kate Bush earned a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist in 1987 and an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British music in 2002 for her songwriting abilities. She has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards over her career.

Following her 1979 tour, Bush released the 1980 album Never for Ever, becoming the first British solo female artist to top the UK album charts and the first female artist to ever enter the album chart at Number 1.

In the 2013 New Year Honours, Kate Bush was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to music.

On April 10, 2013, she received the award from Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.

Quick Links