Warning: The below article contains plot details and spoilers for Season 4, part one of Stranger Things. Read at your own risk.
Season 4 of Stranger Things has Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” racing up the charts some 37 years after the song’s original release. It’s also prompted the somewhat reclusive English singer to issue a rare statement reacting to her 1985’s newfound popularity.
In a new message posted to her official website, the 63-year-old Bush expresses her love for the Netflix show, which launched the first set of Season 4 episodes on May 27, with the second set to stream from July 1. Seeing her song back on the charts and trending worldwide, she says, has been “really exciting.”
“You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of Stranger Things has recently been released on Netflix,” Bush writes in her first note to fans since Christmas 2021. “It features the song ‘Running Up That Hill’ which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show. I love it too! Because of this, ‘Running Up That Hill’ is charting around the world and has entered the U.K. chart at No. 8. It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song.”
Currently topping charts ranging from Spotify to iTunes, “Running Up That Hill” features prominently in Season 4 thanks to a plot point that has Max’s (Sadie Sink) survival hinging on her ability to tune out threats from the villainous Vecna by continuously blasting her favorite song. The song also appears in a Hawkins High montage during the first episode.
While it’s unclear if the second batch of Season 4 episodes will also reference “Running Up That Hill,” Bush will be among millions eagerly awaiting their release.
“I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July,” she ended her message, signing off with “best wishes, Kate.”
According to Variety, Bush’s song was selected for the series because, as music supervisor Nora Felder told the publication, it “immediately struck me with its deep chords of the possible connection to Max’s emotional struggles and took on more significance as Bush’s song marinated in my conscious awareness.”
The Stranger Things team then put together detailed scene descriptions to submit to the singer via her publisher.
“Kate Bush is selective when it comes to licensing her music and because of that, we made sure to get script pages and footage for her to review so she could see exactly how the song would be used,” Wende Crowley, Sony Music Publishing’s senior vice president of creative marketing, film and TV, told Variety.
Bush, said to be a fan of the series, ultimately granted her permission.
