Editing Never for Ever (section)

==Release and critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="All">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/never-for-ever-mw0000649941 |title=Never for Ever – Kate Bush |publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=24 November 2020 |last=DeGagne |first=Mike}}</ref>
| rev2      = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Bush, Kate |title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |pages=850–51 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |edition=3rd |year=1998 |isbn=0-333-74134-X}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Great Rock Discography]]''
| rev3Score = 6/10<ref>{{cite book|last=Strong|first=Martin C.|author-link=Martin C. Strong|year=2006|pages=146–47|chapter=Kate Bush|title=The Great Rock Discography|publisher=Canongate U.S.|isbn=978-184195-827-9}}</ref>
| rev4      = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sutcliffe |first=Phil |date=June 2011 |title=A Magnificent Obsession |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |issue=211 |pages=82–83}}</ref>
| rev5      = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Galens|first=David|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|edition=2nd|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|pages=179–80}}</ref>
| rev6      = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev6Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lynskey |first=Dorian |date=August 2017 |title=Coming of Age: Three Other Records that Waved Goodbye to Adolescence |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |page=100}}</ref>
| rev7      = ''[[Record Mirror]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="RM">{{cite magazine |url=http://gaffa.org/reaching/rev_nfe.html#kg |title=Kate Grates |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=6 September 1980 |access-date=20 November 2013 |last=Gurr |first=Ronnie |page=18}}</ref>
| rev8      = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Kate Bush |last=Considine |first=J. D. |author-link=J. D. Considine |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/122 122–23]}}</ref>
| rev9      = ''[[Smash Hits]]''
| rev9score = 8/10<ref name="Smash Hits">{{cite magazine |title=Kate Bush: Never for Ever |magazine=[[Smash Hits]] |volume=2 |issue=19 |date=18 September – 1 October 1980 |last=Duff |first=Linda |page=35}}</ref>
| rev10      = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev10score = 6/10<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Kate Bush |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=62–63}}</ref>
}}

With work on the album completed in May, ''Never for Ever'' was released on 8 September 1980. Over the following week, Bush undertook a record signing tour of the UK including London, which resulted in lengthy queues down [[Oxford Street]].<ref name="History">{{Cite web|url=http://gaffa.org/garden/chrono.html#79|title=Gaffaweb - Kate Bush - THE GARDEN - A Chronology of Kate Bush's Career|website=gaffa.org}}</ref> During October she also undertook promotional appearances for the album throughout Europe, most prominently in Germany and France.<ref name="History" /> In the US, the album was initially unreleased following the failure of her debut. As Bush gained a cult following over the coming years, however, ''Never for Ever'' was belatedly released in 1984 following the entry into the charts of her fourth album, ''[[The Dreaming (album)|The Dreaming]]''. 

''Never for Ever'' entered the [[UK Albums Chart]] on (week-ending) 20 September 1980 at No. 1. It remained there for one week, staying in the top 75 for a total of 23 weeks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/kate%20bush/|title=The Official UK Charts – Kate Bush|website=[[Official Charts Company|Official Charts]] }}</ref> The album became Bush's first record to reach the top position on the UK Albums Chart, also making her the first female British solo artist to achieve that status.<ref name="MightyB">{{cite news |first=Nigel |last=Williamson |author-link=Nigel Williamson |title=The Mighty Bush |newspaper=[[Scotland on Sunday]] |date=2005-10-02 |url=http://gaffaweb.org/reaching/rev_aer_UK1.html |access-date=2009-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629184811/http://gaffaweb.org/reaching/rev_aer_UK1.html |archive-date=29 June 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Technically, ''Never for Ever'' is the first ''studio'' album (i.e. not a greatest hits compilation) by ''any'' solo female artist to reach number 1 in the UK as only [[Barbra Streisand]] and [[Connie Francis]] had achieved the feat prior to 1980 but with compilation albums ([[Diana Ross]] had also achieved three UK number 1 albums by then but these were also compilations and were credited to Diana Ross & The Supremes, and were therefore not solo albums).

Three singles were released from the album—all of which fared well in the charts. The first, "Breathing", reached No. 16 in the UK, as did the third, "Army Dreamers".<ref name="UK">{{cite web| url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/27937/kate-bush/ | title= Kate Bush {{!}} full Official Chart History| publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=10 July 2020}}</ref> The second single, "Babooshka", became one of Bush's biggest hits, peaking at No. 5 in the summer of 1980 in the UK and faring even better in Australia, where it reached No. 2 and was the 20th best-selling single of the year.<ref name="UK"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.australianchartbooks.com.au/|title=Australian Chart Books|website=www.australianchartbooks.com.au}}</ref>

In November 2018, Bush released box sets of remasters of her studio albums, including ''Never For Ever''.

The album was favourably received by music critics at the time, save for a curiously critical review in ''[[Record Mirror]]'', which appears to criticise the album (and Bush herself), while complimenting a number of tracks.<ref name="RM" /> Based largely on this album, Bush was voted "Best female artist of 1980" in polls taken in ''[[Melody Maker]]'', ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'', the ''[[Sunday Telegraph]]'', and [[Capital London|Capital Radio]].<ref name="History" /> Bush herself has said that it was her favourite album to date. More recently, [[AllMusic]] gave the album a favourable review, complimenting the three singles most highly but said that Bush would improve on the formula on later albums.<ref name="All" /> In 2020, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' included ''Never for Ever'' in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising Bush for her songwriting and her imagination.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-1980-1075743/|title=The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980 What came out of all this was, arguably, the greatest year for great albums ever|publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=11 November 2020 |access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref>