"Experiment IV" is a song by the English singer
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...
. It was released as a single on 27 October 1986, in order to promote Bush's greatest hits album ''
The Whole Story
''The Whole Story'' is the second compilation album by English singer Kate Bush, and first greatest hits album worldwide. Released on 10 November 1986, it earned Bush her third UK number-one album and went on to become her best-selling relea ...
''. The single peaked at 23 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
,
simultaneously with "
Don't Give Up", Bush's duet with
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
, which reached number 9.
[
]
Overview
The song tells a story about a secret military plan to create a sound that is sly and horrific enough to kill people. The ending of the story is unclear, but in the music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
nearly every person working on the project is killed by the horrific sound, which is personified by Bush herself as she changed from an angelic apparition into an horrific flying monster.
The song features Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and background
Kenn ...
on violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
, who at one point replicates the screeching violins from Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely re ...
's famous scoring of the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
's 1960 film '' Psycho''.
The B-sides of both the 7" and 12" singles included a re-working of "Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...
", the single which catapulted her to stardom in 1978. On the 12" single, the 1980 song "December Will Be Magic Again
"December Will Be Magic Again" is a festive-themed song by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was released as a single in the UK in November 1980.
Song release
"December Will Be Magic Again" was written and originally recorded in 1979 at Ab ...
" was included as an additional B-side.
An extended version of "Experiment IV" appeared on the 12" vinyl
The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
release of the single. Both versions of the song were included on the second CD, second cassette or second LP of rarities on the box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
''This Woman's Work
"This Woman's Work" is a song written and performed by the British singer Kate Bush. It was originally featured on the soundtrack of the American film ''She's Having a Baby'' (1988). The song was released as the second single from her album ''T ...
'', released in 1990. A slightly longer version, known as the 'Video Mix' appears on 2019's ''The Other Sides
''The Other Sides'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. Released in March 2019, the set contained a selection of 12" mixes and B-sides as well as a selection of cover versions. Released as part of Bush’s definitive re ...
''.
Music video
The music video for the song adapts the "storyline", and chronicles the destruction of a secret military installation by a creature made of sound. The science fiction film-in-miniature includes appearances from Dawn French
Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...
, Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...
, Richard Vernon
Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...
, Peter Vaughan
Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage.
He is perhaps best known ...
, Paddy Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...
and Del Palmer
Derek Peter "Del" Palmer is an English singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and sound engineer, best known for his work with Kate Bush, with whom he also had a long-term relationship between the late 1970s and early 1990s. He released his first so ...
. Bush appears on screen as an orderly officer serving tea, as the sound creature and at the end entering a van. The video was banned from ''Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...
'' because it was considered "too violent" for a pre-watershed slot. In the UK, the music video was shown at some cinemas as an accompaniment to the main feature.
The music video, directed by Bush herself, was nominated for the Best Concept Music Video at the 1988 Grammy Awards
The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year.
Album of the Year went to U2 for ''The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year went ...
.
Track listing
All songs were written by Kate Bush.
;7" single (UK)
;12" single (UK)
Chart performance
In Australia, "Experiment IV" narrowly missed the Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
top 100 singles chart in December 1986.
Further reading
An article about the video for Experiment IV and its horror influences
'
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Experiment Iv
Kate Bush songs
1986 singles
Songs written by Kate Bush
1986 songs