Under the Ivy cover art

Under the Ivy

The Life and Music of Kate Bush

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Under the Ivy

By: Graeme Thomson
Narrated by: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw
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About this listen

In this updated edition of Graeme Thomson’s critically acclaimed biography, a near-exhaustive survey of Kate Bush’s life surveys everything from her upbringing in South London to her stunning return to live performance in August 2014.

The original edition of Under the Ivy was called one of the best music biographies ever, and this updated edition adds a wealth of new research to include the complete scope of Bush’s oeuvre. With over seventy new interviews and in-depth analysis of her triumphant return to the stage after thirty-five years, this is the most complete Kate Bush biography and a must for any fan.

Detailing everything from her upbringing to her early exposition of talent to her subsequent evolution into one of the most stunningly creative and fascinating visual and musical artists alive today, Under the Ivy truly is the story of one woman’s life. This is in no way a superficial rumor-mill, however, as Thomson writes with great detail, accuracy, and above all admiration for her work, this is in equal parts a biography and an analysis of Kate Bush’s art.

Focusing on her unique working methods, her studio techniques, her timeless albums, and inescapable influence, Under the Ivy is a true exploration of one of the world’s most underappreciated yet gifted artists. Thoroughly enjoyable, this book will be an eye-opening journey of discovery for somebody unfamiliar with Bush but will also reward a long-term fan with new insights and fresh analysis

©2010, 2015 Omnibus Press (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing
Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Biography

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All stars
Most relevant
This is a fairly in-depth look into the life and work of Kate Bush. The facts, on the whole, appear to be true and the critique of Bush's output is spot on. However, as mentioned many times in the review section, the narration is awful. I would have thought it would be in a narrator's best interest to do some research into their subject, but the constant errors become grating, to the point where you're listening out for them instead of the story. I'm not going to go through the many mispronunciations that pepper this audio book, but at the very least they could have realised that the song is called WUTHERING Heights and not WITHERING Heights, before the final few chapters. Read the book instead of listening to it in it's current form.

Decent biog, horrible narration.

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Really enjoyed this
Very in-depth and full of facts and stories
Agree that narrator lack of pronunciation at times got annoying but really engaging
Highly recommended

Fascinating

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If you’re sufficiently interested in Kate,
you’ll be able to get past the terrible posh AI- sounding narration.

Great book. Awful narration.

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I was frequently taken out of the flow of the audiobook by horrible pronunciation errors. Read ahead, and practice, please!

More research on pronunciation!

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Very subjective. A lot of personal opinions by the author of tracks they did or did not like.

Moved too much forwards and backwards

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