Editing Kate Bush (section)

===1978–1979: ''The Kick Inside'' and ''Lionheart''===
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| quote = Perhaps its keen ear for adolescent angst is part of what makes "Wuthering Heights" so special. She appeared on ''Top of the Pops'' with it five times in 1978, cementing her public image as an ethereal spirit, embodying the essence of Cathy through a combination of wide eyes, floaty fabrics and wild choreography, still fondly mimicked and parodied today. "Wuthering Heights" turned Bush into a pop star, the rules of which she continues to bend to her own will: her individuality was set in stone from the very beginning.
| source = —Rebecca Nicholson in ''The Guardian''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nicholson |first1=Rebecca |title=The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 14, Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/19/the-100-greatest-uk-no-1s-no-14-kate-bush-wuthering-heights |access-date=14 June 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630065823/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/19/the-100-greatest-uk-no-1s-no-14-kate-bush-wuthering-heights |url-status=live }}</ref>
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For her debut album, ''[[The Kick Inside]]'' (1978), Bush was persuaded to use established session musicians instead of the KT Bush Band. She retained some of these even after she had brought her bandmates back on board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lyricsystem.com/kate-bush/ |title=Kate Bush Biography |publisher=LyricSystem.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012171005/http://lyricsystem.com/kate-bush/ |archive-date=12 October 2007}}</ref> Her brother Paddy played the harmonica and mandolin. [[Stuart Elliott (drummer)|Stuart Elliott]] played some of the drums and became her main drummer on subsequent albums.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lyrics booklets from Kate Bush's albums |publisher=[[EMI]]}}</ref> ''The Kick Inside'' was released when Bush was 19, with some songs written when she was as young as 13. EMI originally wanted the more rock-oriented track "James and the Cold Gun" to be her debut single, but Bush, who already had a reputation for asserting herself in decisions about her work, insisted that it should be "[[Wuthering Heights (song)|Wuthering Heights]]".<ref name="Rebel" /> Two music videos with similar choreography were created by Bush to accompany the song. The studio version sees her perform in a dark room with mist while wearing a white dress, suggesting her character is a ghost (as is the case with [[Catherine Earnshaw|Cathy]] in [[Wuthering Heights|the novel]] that inspired the song).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://subscribe.ft.com/barrier/logic?location=https%3A%2F%2Fig.ft.com%2Flife-of-a-song%2Fwuthering-heights.html&referer=&classification=conditional_registered|title=Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights – from Emily Brontë to Alan Partridge|last=Rogers|first=Jude|date=12 February 2018|website=Financial Times|access-date=14 November 2019|archive-date=30 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630065818/https://www.ft.com/products|url-status=live}}</ref> The outside version sees Bush dancing in a grassy area on [[Salisbury Plain]] (inspired by the novel's [[Moorland|moors]]) while wearing a red dress.<ref>{{Citation|title=Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights - Official Music Video - Version 2| date=2 March 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk-4lXLM34g|language=en|access-date=15 February 2020|archive-date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207003029/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk-4lXLM34g|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom alone, ''The Kick Inside'' sold over a million copies.<ref name="Guinness World Records" /> "Wuthering Heights" topped the UK and Australian charts and became an international hit.<ref name="The Official Charts" /> Bush became the first British woman to reach number one on the UK charts with a self-written song.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1581815,00.html |title=Guardian profile: Kate Bush |work=[[The Guardian]] |last=Barkham |first=Patrick |date=30 September 2005 |location=London |access-date=10 September 2007 |archive-date=13 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013042315/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1581815,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> "[[The Man with the Child in His Eyes]]" made it onto the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] where it reached number 85 in early 1979, and went on to win her an [[Ivor Novello Award]] in 1979 for Outstanding British Lyric.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com |title=Awards Database |publisher=The Envelope |access-date=5 January 2022 |archive-date=30 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430225109/http://www.theenvelope.latimes.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ''[[Guinness World Records]]'', Bush was the first female artist in pop history to have written every track on a million-selling debut album.<ref name="Guinness World Records" />

[[File:Kate Bush 1978.jpg|upright|thumb|Bush in 1978]]
Bob Mercer blamed Bush's lesser success in the United States on American radio formats, saying there were no outlets for Bush's visual presentation.<ref name="Mercer" /> EMI capitalised on Bush's appearance by promoting the album with a poster of her in a tight pink top which emphasised her breasts. In an interview with ''[[NME]]'' in 1982, Bush criticised the choice: "People weren't even generally aware that I wrote my own songs or played the piano. The media just promoted me as a female body. It's like I've had to prove that I'm an artist in a female body."<ref name="Rebel" /> In late 1978, EMI persuaded Bush to quickly record a follow-up album, ''[[Lionheart (Kate Bush album)|Lionheart]]'', to take advantage of the success of ''The Kick Inside''. The album was produced by Andrew Powell, assisted by Bush. Although it gained a high number of sales and spawned the hit single "[[Wow (Kate Bush song)|Wow]]", it did not achieve the success of ''The Kick Inside'', reaching number six in the UK album charts. She went on to express dissatisfaction with ''Lionheart'', feeling that it had needed more time.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Whole Story album lyrics booklet |publisher=[[EMI]] |year=1986}}</ref>

Bush set up her own publishing company, Kate Bush Music, and her own management company, Novercia, to maintain control of her work. Members of her family, along with Bush herself, composed the board of directors.<ref name="Rebel" /> Following the release of ''Lionheart'', she was required by EMI to undertake heavy promotional work and an exhausting tour.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stand By Your Mantra |work=Classic Rock |year=2004}}</ref> [[The Tour of Life]] began in April 1979 and lasted six weeks. It was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "an extraordinary, [[Lernaean Hydra|hydra]]-headed beast, combining music, dance, poetry, mime, [[burlesque]], magic and theatre".<ref name="Thomson-2010" /> The show was co-devised and performed on stage with magician [[Simon Drake]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.magicweek.co.uk/magic_profiles/magicprofile_0001_simon_drake.htm |title=Simon Drake – The Illusionist |year=2000 |publisher=magicweek.co.uk |access-date=15 March 2011 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190722/http://www.magicweek.co.uk/magic_profiles/magicprofile_0001_simon_drake.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush was involved in every aspect of the production, choreography, set design, costume design and hiring.<ref name="Rebel" /> The shows were noted for her dancing, complex lighting and her 17 costume changes per show. Because of her need to dance as she sang, sound engineers used a wire coat hanger and a [[Wireless microphone|radio microphone]] to fashion a headset microphone; it was the first use by a rock performer since [[the Spotnicks]] used a rudimentary version in the early 1960s.<ref name="AllMusicBio" /><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Badhorn |first=Philippe |title=Interview in Rolling Stone (France) |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=February 2006}}</ref> Bush's first experience as a producer was on her live ''[[On Stage (EP)|On Stage]]'' [[Extended play|EP]], released in August 1979.