Kate Bush announced as Record Store Day 2024 ambassador, announces rare track re-release

Eat The Music - taken from Bush's seventh album The Red Shoes - was originally scheduled to be released as that album's lead single, before being withdrawn at the last minute, in favour of the more commercially-minded Rubberband Girl, which peaked at Number 12 on the Official Singles Chart in 1993.

In a wide-ranging statement, Kate Bush says: "What a huge honour to have been asked to be Ambassador for this year’s Record Store Day. It really is a great privilege.

"Isn’t it great to see how the resurgence in vinyl has taken the music industry by complete surprise? It had decided to leave vinyl far behind, but it would seem that not everyone agrees! I love that!

I know there are many, many artists who are just as excited to see the audience turning the tide. In the same way that some people like to read a book on Kindle but also want to have a book as a physical object, a lot of people like vinyl and streaming. Both have different appeals.

"The added bonus of vinyl is that it encourages people to listen to albums. An art form that I’ve always thought can be treasured in a unique way. 

"An album on vinyl is a beautiful thing, given a strong identity by its large-scale artwork. There’s a much more personal connection with the artist and their work.

"It’s been fun putting designs together for some of the previous RSDs. This year’s design echoes the cancelled release of Eat the Music as the first single from the album, The Red Shoes.

"The image was intended to be on the cover of the single bag and is now on the disc as a UV print.

"The title, Eat the Music, is meant to be a playful nod to  'If music be the food of love, play on,'  from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

"Each year Record Store Day gathers more attention, more momentum, and attracts more people who cram into indie record stores all over the world to see what’s up. What’s new?

"This year, I hope you have a fantastic time at this very important event, and that you get to celebrate music that’s been specially released for you."

Always venerated as one of the gifted and singular musical talents that Britain has ever produced, Kate Bush hasn't released an album of original material since 2011's 50 Words For Snow, but her public profile got a massive boost thanks to the inclusion of Running Up That Hill during the blockbuster fourth season of Netflix sensation Stranger Things. 

Becoming a viral sensation, Running Up That Hill hit headlines when it reached Number 1 in the UK in 2022, 37 years after its initial release.

Running Up That Hill - written and produced entirely by Bush herself - was the lead single from her fifth album and magnum opus, Hounds Of Love, and also held the distinction of being crowned the UK's Official Song of the Summer for 2022, as well as one of the Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2022 overall too.

In a very rare public statement posted late in 2022, Kate Bush admitted she was still "reeling" from the surprise success of Running Up That Hill, which also achieved its highest-ever placing in the US Billboard charts too, netting her her first US Top 10 single.

Eat The Music's special RSD physical release also chimes in with Bush releasing a collection of her iconic albums - including Hounds of Love - on brand-new physical formats in December last year.

We're ready for new music whenever you are, Kate!

Image: ZIK Images/United Archives via Getty Images