This article is about a song. For the device, see cloudbuster.
"Cloudbusting"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album Hounds of Love
B-side
"Burning Bridge"
"My Lagan Love"
"The Man with the Child in His Eyes"
"Sat in Your Lap"
Released
14 October 1985 (1985-10-14)[1]
Genre
Art rock[2]
new wave[3]
Length
5:06 (song)
6:59 (video)
Label
EMI
Songwriter(s)
Kate Bush
Producer(s)
Kate Bush
Kate Bush singles chronology
"Running Up That Hill" (1985)
"Cloudbusting" (1985)
"Hounds of Love" (1986)
Music video
"Cloudbusting" on YouTube
Audio sample
file
help
"Cloudbusting" is a song written, produced and performed by English singer Kate Bush.[4] It was the second single released from her fifth studio album Hounds of Love (1985). "Cloudbusting" peaked at No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart.
Taking inspiration from the 1973 Peter Reich memoir A Book of Dreams,[5] which Bush read and found deeply moving,[6] the song is about the very close relationship between psychiatrist and philosopher Wilhelm Reich and his young son, Peter, told from the point of view of the mature Peter. It describes the boy's memories of his life with Reich on their family farm, called Orgonon, where the two spent time "cloudbusting", a rain-making process which involved using a machine designed and built by Reich – a machine called a cloudbuster – to point at the sky. The lyrics further describes the elder Reich's abrupt arrest and imprisonment, the pain of loss the young Peter felt, and his helplessness at being unable to protect his father.
In a retrospective review of the single, AllMusic journalist Amy Hanson praised the song for its "magnificence" and "hypnotic mantric effects". Hanson wrote: "Safety and danger are threaded through the song, via both a thoughtful lyric and a compulsive cello-driven melody.[7] Even more startling, but hardly surprising, is the ease with which Bush was able to capture the moment when a child first realizes that adults are fallible."[8]
In 2014, the song was performed live for the first time and was also chosen as the closing encore track in Bush's 2014 live residency, Before the Dawn.[9]
^Smith, Robin (12 October 1985). "Index: Bush, Baby". Record Mirror. p. 6.
^"Cloudbusting | AllMusic". AllMusic.
^Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. p. 63. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
^"Cloudbusting". MUBI. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
^Thomson, Graeme (26 August 2014). ""This girl is very, very tough..." The untold story of Kate Bush's Hounds Of Love". Uncut. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
^"Gaffaweb - Kate Bush - DREAMING - A. The Albums - Hounds Of Love - The Songs - "Cloudbusting" Pt. 2". gaffa.org.
^"Community Weblog". MeFi Music. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
^"Cloudbusting". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
^Young, Alex (26 August 2014). "Kate Bush's first concert in 35 years: setlist + photos". Retrieved 2 March 2024.
musician Gemma Hayes covered "Cloudbusting" on her 2014 album Night & Day. Canadian musician Matthew Good covered "Cloudbusting" on his 2015 album Chaotic...
the Organism. The cloudbuster was the inspiration for the 1985 song "Cloudbusting" by British singer/songwriter Kate Bush. The song describes Reich's arrest...
in June 2022. The album's first side produced three further singles, "Cloudbusting", "Hounds of Love", and "The Big Sky". The second side, subtitled The...
garnered attention in indie music circles with a cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting". Tatum signed with the Captured Tracks record label after the success...
and visionary Wilhelm Reich in the video for Kate Bush's 1985 single, "Cloudbusting". In 1992, he played the role of Merrick in the movie Buffy the Vampire...
"accessible" pop songs, including the four singles "Running Up That Hill", "Cloudbusting", "Hounds of Love", and "The Big Sky". "Running Up That Hill" reached...
for rain, to a prayer for dew.[citation needed] The video of the song "Cloudbusting" (based on the story of Wilhelm Reich) by Kate Bush features Donald Sutherland...
Cloudbuster W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (1971) Me and the Orgone (1971) "Cloudbusting" (1985) Wilhelm Reich in Hell (1987) The All Souls' Waiting Room (2002)...
Goin' on But the Rent". "Something Good" heavily sampled Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting" and "Believe in Me" was based on "Love Action" by Human League and "You...
concerts in England and Ireland, with members of Kate Bush tribute band Cloudbusting to celebrate 40 years since the release of her first album. He appeared...
with God)". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 16 July 2022. "Kate Bush / Cloudbusting 12" pic disc". SuperDeluxeEdition.com. 10 May 2019. "Kate Bush / Ne T'Enfuis...
Marilyn (1980) by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero. Kate Bush's single "Cloudbusting" (1985) described Reich's arrest through the eyes of his son, Peter,...
Cloudbuster W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (1971) Me and the Orgone (1971) "Cloudbusting" (1985) Wilhelm Reich in Hell (1987) The All Souls' Waiting Room (2002)...
she performed a cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting". On 22 December 2009, Hayes released her cover of "Cloudbusting" for free from her website. In March...
required) Lauren Laverne at IMDb Lauren Laverne (BBC Radio 6 Music) Cloudbusting with Lauren Laverne (BBC Radio 6 Music) Desert Island Discs (BBC Radio...
Bush's 'Running Up That Hill'". MusicRadar. Retrieved 29 August 2022. "Cloudbusting - Music - Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush In Her Own Words". Archived...
1985 5:49 2. "The Big Sky" (Meteorological Mix) April 1986 7:46 3. "Cloudbusting" (The Orgonon Mix) October 1985 6:33 4. "Hounds of Love" (Alternative...
September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022. Lydall, Ross (20 October 2022). "Cloudbusting: London cable car gets new £2.1m sponsor and purple makeover". Evening...
Modern Talking "Cherish" – Kool & the Gang "Close to Me" – The Cure "Cloudbusting" – Kate Bush "Color My Love" – Fun Fun (Released in 1984) "Could It Be...
album opens with a trance-pop and techno cover of Kate Bush's 1985 hit "Cloudbusting". "Self-love anthem" "Diamond in the Dark" features vocals from American...
supervised by Robert Dyrenforth, were inconclusive. Wilhelm Reich performed cloudbusting experiments in the 1950s, the results of which are controversial and...
particular, she was inspired by the music video for Kate Bush's song "Cloudbusting", which features Bush as a young boy; Hval has expressed her admiration...
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