Kate Bush hits #1 in the UK with “Running Up That Hill”
It’s a crazy mixed-up world when a 37-year-old song can be spontaneously resurrected by inclusion in a TV show and over the course of two weeks become (a) the most-streamed song on Spotify in the world and (b) a top 10 single in North America, and (c) a number one hit in North America.
Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” finished in the top spot on Britain’s Official Charts yesterday–but only after the chart rules were changed to allow for a song this old to compete with current songs. And there’s more.
- Kate set a record for the oldest woman to reach #1 in the UK (she’s 63).
- 37 years is the longest time a single has taken to reach #1
- 44 years is the longest gap between #1 singles (“Wuthering Heights” made it to that, er, height in 1978)
It’ll be interesting to see if labels and those companies who have bought up old song catalogues see this happening again with some other old song. Don’t count it out. (It does help that Stranger Things is the most-watched English language TV show going these days.)
