The Kate Bush renaissance, fueled by Netflix’s “Stranger Things 4,” continues to flourish: The official video for the artist’s synth-pop classic “Running Up That Hill” has just surpassed 100 million views on YouTube.
Since the premiere of “Stranger Things 4,” views of Bush’s music video for “Running Up That Hill” have more than doubled on YouTube. The song plays a literal life-saving role in the ’80s-set supernatural thriller’s fourth season and is heard in several pivotal scenes (as well as in the trailer for Volume 2). As a result, 37 years after its initial release, “Running Up That Hill” has shot up the charts worldwide and given Bush her first top 10 hit in the U.S.
The music video, first uploaded to YouTube in January 2011 to Kate Bush’s channel, had 48.2 million views on the platform as of May 25, just prior to the May 27 release of the first volume of “Stranger Things 4.”
With the song’s resurgence, the English singer-songwriter-producer has expressed amazement, excitement and gratitude about “Running Up That Hill” being embraced by younger generations. “[‘Stranger Things’] is such a great series, I thought that the track would get some attention. But I just never imagined that it would be anything like this,” Bush said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 last month. “It’s so exciting. But it’s quite shocking really, isn’t it? I mean, the whole world’s gone mad.”
“Running Up That Hill” was the first single from Bush’s 1985 album “Hounds of Love” and was initially released in the U.K. on Aug. 5, 1985, by EMI. The music video, directed by David Garfath, features an interpretive dance Bush performs with dancer Michael Hervieu.
Even though it has crossed the 100 million-views threshold on YouTube, the music video for “Running Up That Hill” still has quite a hill to climb (sorry) before it reaches rarefied membership in YouTube’s Billion Views Club.
From Variety US