THE KT BUSH BAND
History & origins of the 1977 outfit
The KT Bush Band was formed in 1977 by guitarist Brian Bath, drummer Vic King, bassist Del Palmer and Kate Bush on vocals and piano. Their set consisted of classic soul and rock covers, Brian's original songs and many of Kate's songs before they were released on the EMI label. The band quickly gained a loyal and venue-filling following - playing gigs around well-known venues in London, performing songs like "James and the Cold Gun", "Them Heavy People" and "Oh To Be In Love" long before they were released by songwriter Kate Bush on The Kick Inside.
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Fast forward 40 years to 2017, Brian has taken The KT Bush Band back on the road - performing the music of Kate Bush, along with the fascinating insights and anecdotes from the early days, and with some original KT Bush Band songs not heard since 1977!
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Brian is joined by incredibly talented new members Sallie-Anne Hurst on vocals, Steve Bevan on bass, Emily Francis on keys and Pete Turtle on drums.
BRIAN'S STORY
I had some regular musical friends – Paddy Bush, Vic and Del, and we played together often. One day shortly after a gig at Whitechapel Art Gallery, Paddy said that Kate was looking for some live experience and wanted to join a band, as she was about to record her first album with EMI. I said I would definitely endeavour to sort out a band.
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My immediate reaction was to get the old TAME band from school back together. I rushed around to Del Palmer’s house, explaining that tons of gigs would come our way, that Kate was a great singer, had great looks and with her theatrical tendencies she could front a band for sure!
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It seems Kate had also approached Vic at the Whitechapel gig, and with us all on board it wasn’t long before we had a rehearsal organised. So, we met up with Kate and she was more than eager to get the band out there. We immediately started work rehearsing a set of songs that would blow the socks off of any competition on the pub circuit. Kate needed a good vocal microphone so we all went with Pa Bush to the Fender Soundhouse in Manchester Square, and from the range available Kate chose the favourite professional mic of the time, a Shure Unidyne.
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Rehearsals for the KT Bush Band began in earnest. After a first try in a room at the swimming baths, we cleared out and set up our equipment in the Barn over at Kate’s home, The Farm. It was midwinter and absolutely freezing.
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I remember setting my amp up in the old disused fireplace. Maybe if I played loud enough it would warm us up! Things began well. Kate spoilt us all with gallons of tea and biscuits, and fun was had by all.
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We needed a gig to try the band out on, so I went to the Rose of Lee pub in Lee Green, London, one evening, and got the guvnor interested in the band. I said we would guarantee 20 people in the first week, bodies up to the bar the second, down to the other end the third, and packed on the fourth! This is precisely what happened. What a gig it became – dry ice during “James and the Cold Gun” at the end of the evening where Kate went around with a pretend rifle, mock shooting at the audience!
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As we were all working at the same time as performing, we juggled late nights, and early starts with exhausting schedules : Up at 7am, home at 5pm, off to gig, home at 2am, back to work – and around it went!
TODAY'S STORY
It was in early 2014 after talking with Vic King about a reboot of the band that Brian got excited about the idea – with a few pertinent questions. “Are you serious? Can we do it? Where will we find someone who can sing like Kate? Where are we going to find like-minded players who will want to do it?” He need not have worried, Steve jumped on board to play Bass when Vic mentioned that Brian was thinking seriously about it. So the three of them prepared six songs and finally booked into a studio in October 2014. It was amazing affirmation of our idea that Kate was finally back on stage around the same time.
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Next step was to add a keyboard player. We asked around our known contacts, calling and emailing studios and checking music shops for musicians available, and using internet directories.
For a brief period during the early stages of this incarnation of the band, we were aided on keyboards by the very talented Robert Gerrard who was a very important cog in the the KT Bush Band wheel at this stage of the process with the assistance of getting the band onto it's feet, However, Robert was only with us for a short time and has since moved on to other wonderful touring projects. So began the hunt again for another keyboardist!
Vic shortlisted 20 people before we were suddenly introduced to Emily Francis, a suggestion from Jodie May, our former vocalist. Emily, a classically trained pianist and synth genius, is both highly capable and extremely versatile. With songs prepared, we ran through a trial set and she was in!
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The hardest part was that out of 100 vocalists on Vic's list, every one of them was missing some part of the essential mix; either the range, the style, or the approach. After Jodie left to pursue her solo music career, the search was on for another leading lady. Brian was approached with information of a sensational female vocalist, Sallie-Anne Hurst, who proved that she could handle Kate’s songs with ease.
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In early 2020 Vic King made the decision to retire from the band leaving a rather large void to fill for another drummer. Today, we are joined by the superb Pete Turtle on drums who brings a completely new dynamic and energy to the band.
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A few short years of hard work later and here we are - ready to bring back the exciting times of the early KT Bush Band.
LINE UP - MEET THE BAND
The KT Bush Band includes original member of the 1977 outfit, Brian Bath as well as new members Sallie-Anne Hurst, Steve Bevan, Emily Francis & Pete Turtle
BRIAN BATH
Guitar and Vocals
Back in 1977 schoolmates Brian Bath, Vic King and Del Palmer put their band “Tame” back together, with Kate Bush on vocals. The KT Bush Band, thus named by Vic, was born.
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Brian’s guitar work features on albums and singles such as “Wow”, “Babooshka” and ”Never Forever”, he plays lead on “James and the Cold Gun” and also soloed on “Pull out the Pin” to David Gilmour’s haunting vocals.
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Brian can be seen performing with Kate Bush in TV shows, videos, and on the ‘The Tour of Life’ show. He is a session musician, songwriter, arranger, cartoonist and illustrator.
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You can visit his personal website at: www.brianbath.com
SALLIE-ANNE HURST
Lead Vocals
Sallie was mesmerised by Kate Bush’s dance moves and haunting melodies at a young age and followed her music ever since. Sallie recalls that “with a love and passion for all things Kate Bush, I set out to become a singer and dancer, appearing in many theatre and stage shows.”
Sallie has a diploma in musical theatre, regularly performing on the London stage, and together with her songwriting and recording skills, is perfectly placed to join the KT Bush Band and bring Kate’s early shows to life.
OUR NEW PLACE
STEVE BEVAN
Bass and Vocals
Having Jazz pianist George Shearing as a close relative was always going to ensure Steve had a good musical education.
His love of classical and jazz music led to a proficiency on classical guitar which helped shape Steve's unique fluent melodic style on bass and dexterity on the fiendishly tiny fretboard of the mandolin.
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Steve has worked alongside Vic and Brian for some time and now brings his love of great bass lines to the music of Kate Bush.
EMILY FRANCIS
Keyboard and Vocals
Emily Francis is a talented pianist and keyboardist, who when not accompanying The KT Bush Band, works in a variety of different musical situations as a session musician and also runs her own jazz group, the Emily Francis Trio.
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Having been brought up on a heavy dose of 70’s & 80’s music, Emily loves being part of a group that gives her the opportunity to explore using those amazing sounds and recreating classic synth lines in songs such as Babooshka and Running Up That Hill. Not to mention some broken glass thrown in for good measure!
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Emily's website is available at: emilyfrancistrio.com
OUR NEW PLACE
PETE TURTLE
Drums and Vocals
Pete Turtle has been a professional drummer since the early 80s. He has played with a number of well known artists, including The Jordanaires, Geno Washington, Marlena Shaw, and Ashley Slater, from Freak Power.
As well as being a recent addition to The KT Bush Band, Pete is currently playing with Inner soul collective,The Big Blue, Voodoo Room, The Electric Experience and Ronnie and the Rex.
Pete is also a multi-instrumentalist/producer, working from his Brighton recording studio,
https://www.turtlestudios.co.uk, where he produces bands and creates backing music for solo artists. He also provides a remote drum session service, providing drum tracks for studios and artists worldwide.
During lockdown, Pete busied himself, making videos of well known songs, both solo and with Inner Soul Collective, which can be viewed here-
https://www.youtube.com/user/peterturtle1/videos
And here
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjc1aBiX750QkdSDHzoS7rA/videos
PREVIOUS BAND MEMBERS
Previous members of The KT Bush Band from 1977 onwards.
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Kate Bush - Vocalist
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Del Palmer - Bass player / Vocalist & Studio Engineer
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Vic King - Drummer
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Preston Heyman - Drummer/Percussionist
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Jodie May - Vocalist
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Chase Aitch - Drummer
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Robert L Gerrard - Keyboardist / Backing Vocals / Marketing & PR Materials
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Andy Platts - Guest Keyboardist
