Is it safe to . . .?

. . . step out from behind the curtain, after such a long absence?

Of all the events that might have caused me to scurry back to the laptop, the one that I would not have predicted was the reappearance of someone else - Kate Bush, to be precise.

The Dear Daughter had tried to get tickets for Kate's re-emergence. I tried to get tickets. No joy; sold out in just 15 minutes. We had to settle for the Guardian live-tweeting throughout the opening night and watching old video clips on YouTube. 

And then, a couple of days ago, the DD sent me a link to an eBay page, where someone was selling a poster advertising Kate's first tour in 1979.

'Remember this?' said the DD.

'Would you like it for your birthday?' I asked, in a moment of madness.

'I've already got it,' she replied. And so she had. It had once adorned a wall of her bedroom.

'I think I've got one of these too.' Attached was a copy of a 1978 Christmas card, courtesy of the Kate Bush Fan Club. 

In the 1970s, Kate was a significant presence in our house; well, her voice was, along with various Kate-related stuff.  The DD was a HUGE fan; I was pretty much of a fan too. So we could not possibly miss going to see Kate on that first tour and we did see her - at the London Palladium. No frustrating hours spent endlessly reloading internet pages in those days; it was all very civilised: a phone call or a trip to the box office. And affordable tickets.

We loved every minute and, 35 years later, I was amazed at just how much I could remember of that concert. It was one of the high points of a year during which other things in our world were beginning to unravel.

'I think I've still got my ticket,' said the DD. 'I just have to find my Kate Bush memorabilia . . .'

I spent the rest of the day playing four of Kate's early albums (vinyl, of course). They belong to the DD but live here because I am the only member of the family who still possesses an ancient hifi with a turntable, so that I can play my substantial and much-cherished collection of LPs and 45s, not to mention EPs. I was transported back to our flat in Marylebone, still young(ish) at 31 - which seems very young when one is nearer 70 than 60 - and the mother of a daughter on the cusp of her teenage years. As Sandy Denny once sang, 'Who knows where the time goes?'

But I couldn't find Hounds of Love. I searched everywhere. I could see the cover. I emailed the DD. 

'I think I had it on cassette,' she answered. 'What year was it?'

'1985.'

'Oh yes, I already had a Walkman by then.'

Ah, the refuse heap of technology.

But the disappointment of not bagging any tickets this time round in no way detracts from the wonder of being there the first time and seeing my daughter's face light up when Kate appeared. It was, almost, unbelievable . . . 

There was one final email from the DD, normally a very private woman. 'You can blog about this, if you like.' So I did.

Comments

[Teresa Radziejewska]

So wonderful to have you back! (even if I'm not a Kate Bush fan...)
Keep well!
Teresa

[60 going on 16]

Thank you so much, Teresa; it's good to be back. Tell me what or whose music you like and I'll see what I can do!

[Ceri]

Welcome back from me too. I'm with Teresa on KB but it is lovely to hear your account of how you and your DD connected back through the years

[colleen]

How lovely to have that shared passion. It's not quite the same with a son whofavours, well, I'm not even sure what it is other than it's loud and jarring.

Good to hear your voice again too.

[Christina]

I've missed you! Recently I have been struggling with my hair. I have a great deal of grey right along the hairline which makes me look as though my hair is receding in the manner of Elizabeth 1st! Not a good look. In my attempts to find some colour that doesn't make me look half bald, I have found myself, on more than one occasion, saying aloud to myself: Well, you're not the only blonde in this village!

It's lovely to have you back.
I leave you with this provocative image:
https://www.facebook.com/leonardcohen/photos/a.57139464643.63998.38026784643/10152663274259644/?type=1&theater

[60 going on 16]

Ceri - thank you. I'm hoping that a sustained break from blogging (and a new look for the blog) will spur me on.

Colleen - good to be back and am enjoying catching up with all your excellent posts.

Christina - sorry to hear about the current hair challenge but thank you so much for that pic, which had me laughing out loud. (Which was probably not the correct reaction . . . after all, even Leonard Cohen is entitled to a bad car day.)

[Bob]

Really good to have you back. Like Teresa I was never a great fan of the music although I fancied her rotten - is one allowed to mention that?

Having evolved through Chuck Berry, Trad, Beatles and especially Searchers, I have ended up in the Byrds/Fleetwood Mac/Eagles genre in theory more melodic. Kate Bush is a wonderful song-writer but the voice does very little for me. Perhaps in my more mature years, I will come to appreciate her after all I only hit on Mr Cohen properly a couple of years back and now play and read him an awful lot!

[Maggie Brackley]

Today happens to be my birthday and what a sweet little gift to open my email this morning and find a post from you! My husband has always been a huge Kate Bush fan and our house has often echoed with her great voice, although more recently others have taken her place. Like the new look of the blog and interesting to see what you’ve been reading this year too. Will keep my fingers crossed you will be further inspired to blog more in the near future!

MaggieB

[60 going on 16]

Bob - I think it's allowed (I guess it didn't get out of control?!) And I'm sure that you weren't alone; she really was drop-dead gorgeous. And I happen to think that the mature version of Kate still looks gorgeous. By the way, I loved the Searchers too and all the others you mention: tick, tick, tick.

Maggie - Happy birthday to you (sings familiar refrain) . . . have a wonderful day. (We share a birthday month but mine is at the far end of Virgo, almost a Libra. not that I take any notice of things like that, ahem.) I'm glad that you like the new look; the irritants have almost been ironed out, just the annoying caps in the blog name to sort out and we are there.

And now I'm going to sit in the corner with my thinking cap on and ponder future blogposts.

[therunningwave]

I'm liking the new look of 60goingon16! I keep meaning to freshen up therunningwave but I have never been much good at DIY, wallpapering or anything remotely akin to a facelift, so it will probably stay as it is for a while yet! It's lovely to know that you are back again, doing what you do so well! You have been missed that's for sure. I hope you feel the break has done you good and you will enjoy digging around again for all the wonderful material you bring to your blog! Hooray! A x

[Lyn]

Lovely to see you back & the new look is wonderful. I'm also a KB fan & have all her albums on vinyl (no turntable any more though). I also bought some of them on CD so I could at least listen to them. I read somewhere that a DVD of the recent tour will be released so I'll have to make do with that - or maybe I'll just listen to the old songs again.