Kate Bush-ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Kate Bush-Ka – Live at The Factory Live in Worthing 26 November 2021
Kate Bush-Ka
“Kate Bush-Ka is a celebration of the sensational work of Kate Bush, an art tribute show experience like no other.”
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush CBE is an English singer, songwriter, musician, dancer and record producer. In 1978, aged 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single “Wuthering Heights”, becoming the first female artist to achieve a UK number one with a self-written song.
Kate Bush-Ka
Kate Bush-ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
I have not seen Kate Bush live, and I had only glimpsed a couple of you tube videos of Kate Bush-Ka as an introduction. I was intrigued. So I set the Sat Nav for The Factory Live in Worthing and headed off into a chilly night as parts of the UK were being battered by Storm Arwen. We were due a storm, which promised to be a much more gentle one than Arwen! A good rocking soundtrack welcomed us into the venue, the lights dimmed and the stage washed in blue as the smoke machine fired up…
Kate Bush-Ka: The Band
Ok, a busy stage there were four set of keys, drums and a selection of guitars.
Gary Smith – Drums
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Danny Watson – Guitar
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Stevey Marsh – Bass
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Matt Bowers – Piano
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussexv
A special shout to the band. A breathtaking sound generated for this gig. The Factory guys again had nailed down the sound mix. All of the instruments shone highlighting the wonderful keys, bass, drums and some quite stunning guitar playing. This was a top notch band of musicians who handled the songs with precision and love. It really was a joy to hear these guys play.
Kate Bush-Ka: The Set:
It was clear that the night was going to be set into two sections.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Katy opened proceedings with Moving and Oh, To Be in Love from the album The Kick Inside. And from the get go she had every single person in the room. Her stunningly similar vocals, well studied intonation and recognisable gestures were absolutely on point, quite remarkable. This lady has worked hard to hone this performance. She has obviously studied Kate Bush closely, and no doubt tirelessly worked on those glorious vocals techniques and intricate dance moves. This was shaping up to be a beautifully crafted performance of song and dance.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
As I mentioned Katy was backed by a super band of musicians (including her Dad on drums). They proved themselves skilled enough and more than capable of handling that unique variety in Kate Bush’s songwriting. They handled it all from funk to folk to even rock at times. The delivered performances of Running Up That Hill and Wow both sounding almost identical to those original recorded releases.
Wow!
The Man With The Child In His Eyes was up and another track I had long forgotten about was Hammer Horror. Both songs were perfectly delivered by Katy. I have to admit that by this point I was totally hooked and felt I was watching the real thing. This was no Not The Nine O’Clock news parody, this was a tribute of the highest order and as if to prove the point, Wow closed set one. Katy was full on with hands and her hair for this one. Her vocals soared. Unbelievable.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussexv
The Set – part 2
A fairly lengthy break before the band returned to the stage. Katy still dressed in her leggings and wrap wound top wowed us with Running Up That Hill and they let loose The Hounds Of Love. The first set was fairly free from those big hits, but set two started with a bang and it all looked set to continue as Army Dreamers was next.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussexv
The sizeable audience were lapping this up. The crowd clearly happy to be in the same room as Katy as they seemed to spend the most of the second half clapping along with everything she does, and also some fine sing along moments from the Worthing crowd.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Katy delivered a stunning rendition of This Womans Work. This was a beautiful rendition of a really difficult song to sing. Katy slipped off stage giving the band a chance to open up, and they did. Fantastic stuff! Katy then re-emerged from the smoke in a black cloak. The opening strains of Babooshka hit as and as we were taken to the chorus the black cloak was whipped away.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
The appreciative house added to the great vibe, but everyone went silent as Dont Give Up was next in line. Dad/Drummer Gary Smith took on the vocal duties of Peter Gabriel. He did a great job with that, and it was something special unfurling in front of us. It was delightful actually and the pair swapped vocal duties and ended up with a lovely hug on stage.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
This had been a fabulous evening of Kate Bush songs played brilliantly and sung perfectly. Great costume changes. All in all The Factory Live had given us another very enjoyable evening’s entertainment by a band of professional musicians. Other highlights for me included Cloudbusting and Sat In Your Lap.
Wuthering Heights
And so, a look at the watch showed it must be nearly time for it all to end. Katy slipped away again, allowing the band to fire up a rocking interlude again, and returning all in red. She gave us some background to the song, Wuthering Heights.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
Katy’s voice for this was crystal clear and emotive as it had been through out the performance. The band kind of rocked it up a bit towards the end which gave an alternative ending and it sounded really good. Interestingly this song wasn’t performed live by Kate Bush when she appeared for her Before The Dawn shows.
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
The song ended and the audience reacted perfectly with a huge show of appreciation for what we had been part of tonight. What an absolute pleasure to see this singer and her band. Katy has a phenomenal voice and a unique presence. Katy has absolutely the sensual, at times almost vulnerable look of that enigmatic young Kate Bush. She is backed up by a band made up of great musicians. This lady has refreshed my love of the earlier music of Kate Bush. I definitely want to see this band again, and so I hope we get more than the one gig every 35 years that Kate Bush puts in! Wow!!
Kate Bush-Ka: photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex
And Finally
Highly recommended show. It really does sound and look like the real thing. And Katy was lovely to talk with as we chatted about her Wuthering Heights video, thank you. X
Kate Bush-Ka are on Facebook here.
The Factory Live
A huge shout to the super team at The Factory Live. This really is a little gem of a venue and tonight the sound mix was spot on. The lighting had been upgraded since my last visit and it was wonderful to see all the band members and just the right amount of smoke. First class night guys and cheers to the brilliant security and bar staff.
The Factory Live is tucked away in Worthing. It’s a great venue. A great team running the place, the staff were approachable, friendly and helpful. The venue is pretty large and well ventilated with a nice large bar area and outside seating and tables. The venue, The Factory Live, is located at Unit 9A, Ivy Arch Road in Worthing.
The Factory Live are on the WWW here
Like what we do here? Give us a follow on Twitter and Instagram, and we have a Facebook page also. We work hard with the artists, the venues and the crowd to bring you the best photos and reviews across the area. Keep Music LIVE! Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.
Please note all original images / video are copyright, please do not copy. If any of the featured artists/promoters/venues want copies of the images – or more if available – please just get in touch.
All original pictures / video – copyright to IANB/MEDIA WORKS/ SCENE SUSSEX – Ian “The Lens” Bourn 2021.
Got an event coming up? Need some gig photography, promo shots, previews or reviews? – please get in touch! See you down the front – come and say “hi!”