Kate Bush reaches Number One with “Running Up That Hill”, 37 years after release

Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” has reached Number One on the UK singles chart following its appearance in the latest season of Stranger Things.

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Last week, the song was the most streamed track on the planet and reached Number One on both the Spotify charts in the UK and the US after earning 57million streams in just one week.

As well as being Number One now in the UK as of June 17, it’s also Number One in Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland. In the US, it’s currently Number Four in the main chart and Number One on the Billboard Global 200 chart, making it Bush’s biggest ever hit in America 37 years after its original release.

In a new statement today, Bush said of the news: “The Duffer Brothers have created four extraordinary series of Stranger Things in which the child actors have grown into young adults.

“In this latest series the characters are facing many of the same challenges that exist in reality right now. I believe the Duffer Brothers have touched people’s hearts in a special way at a time that’s incredibly difficult for everyone, especially younger people.

“By featuring ‘Running Up That Hill’ in such a positive light – as a talisman for Max (one of the main female characters) – the song has been brought into the emotional arena of her story. Fear, conflict and the power of love are all around her and her friends.

“I salute the Duffer Brothers for their courage – taking this new series into a much more adult and darker place. I want to thank them so much for bringing the song into so many people’s lives.

“I’m overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving, and it’s all happening really fast, as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force.

“I have to admit I feel really moved by it all. Thank you so very much for making the song a number one in such an unexpected way”.

“Running Up That Hill” originally reached Number Three in the UK in 1985 and charted again in 2012, when it reached Number 12. The song was also recently used in It’s A Sin, the award-winning TV series by Russell T Davies.

The song was written and produced by Bush and featured on her fifth studio album Hounds Of Love, which was released in 1985, debuting at 30 on the Billboard chart, where it currently stands at No 12.

Bush now has boasts the longest-ever gap between Number One singles in Official Chart history, with 44 years between her 1978 chart topper “Wuthering Heights” and 2022’s “Running Up That Hill”.

Bush now also claims the record of longest time taken for a single to reach Number One on the Official Singles Chart, with it being 37 years since the single was first released.

Martin Talbot, Chief Executive of the Official Charts Company said: “It has been fantastic to see the iconic Kate Bush climbing up the Official Singles Chart with ‘Running Up That Hill’ – and to see her breaking a slew of records into the bargain.

“The way that a new generation of music fans have taken her classic track to their hearts really does cement Kate’s position as an all-time great, if that were at all necessary.”

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Written by Uncut | The spiritual home of great rock music