NME's Top Ten Books of 2010

Also some kind words from the excellent The Anti-Room

New Album Rumours

There's been some rumours flying around today about a new Kate Bush album coming out this year. This from a well-placed source:

“Right to be cautious. These rumours always surface this time of year and there's no reason to think this is any different. We're hopeful that a new record may emerge this year, but I was saying the same to people in Jan of 2010 so who knows... only Kate herself. Let's keep fingers crossed!! I'm feeling optimistic."

So: It's either "as you were" or "reasons to be cheerful", depending on your outlook. Crossing our fingers can't hurt though, can it?

EDIT: News today (20.01.11) from David Munns of the reissue of four albums - The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, Sensual World and Red Shoes - later this year, presumably with extra tracks, but still nothing concrete about the nature of any new material that might be arriving in 2011, or indeed firm confirmation that something will definitely be coming this year at all, or whether it will be released through EMI. I feel certain there will be more news on those fronts soon.

Uncut review, January 2011

Vintage Rock also reviews the book here

Mojo review, December 2010

Also, the current issue of Classic Rock magazine comes with a free book which includes an extract from the 'Tour Of Life' chapter in 'Under the Ivy'.

FT, 14/08/10

‘Under The Ivy’ has been reviewed in the Financial Times as part of a long, discursive essay on “druids and dreamers” by their pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney. It examines five recently published books that - to varying degrees - engage with artists who make or made quintessentially English music, those in search of some pre-industrial age Arcadia. It’s interesting stuff, and you can read it here.

Irish Times review, 06/08/10

“The best music biography in perhaps the past decade”.

Read the full review here

The National, 11/08/10

There’s a nice combination of Kate Bush career profile, interview (with me) and review of 'Under the Ivy' over at The National, the quality English language broadsheet for the UAE. You can read it here.