You might be an OG fan of Kate Bush’s hit song from 1985, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God),” or, like many others these days, you may have had it stuck in your head after you binged the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix. Ever since it was featured on the show, it’s regained popularity and is playing everywhere you go. It hit number one on the U.K. charts, according to Billboard, and a clip of the chorus has been used over 500,000 times on TikTok. So how does the artist feel about her newfound popularity? She spoke out about her song’s resurgence, 37 years after its debut.
The show features one of the main characters, Max (played by Sadie Sink), listening to “Running Up That Hill” walking through the halls of school, and again later in a more powerful scene when she is running through the “Upside Down” away from Vecna (this season’s monster).
Bush wrote on her website in early June saying that the song “is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show – I love it too!” She went on to say that seeing the song chart is “all really exciting!” Adding, “Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song.”
She continued to express her gratitude in a second post on her website saying, “I have to admit I feel really moved by it all. Thank you so very much for making the song a No 1 in such an unexpected way.”
She also thanked the executive producers of Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer, for creating “four extraordinary series of Stranger Things in which the child actors have grown into young adults. In this latest series the characters are facing many of the same challenges that exist in reality right now.”
She continued, “I believe the Duffer Brothers have touched people’s hearts in a special way, at a time that’s incredibly difficult for everyone, especially younger people.”
Bush praised the show’s creators for featuring the song in “such a positive light.” Talking about Max, she said, “The song has been brought into the emotional arena of her story. Fear, conflict and the power of love are all around her and her friends.”
She concluded her note with gratitude towards the Duffer Brothers saying, “I want to thank them so much for bringing the song into so many people’s lives. I’m overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving and it’s all happening really fast, as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force.”
After the outpouring of love for Bush’s song, the Stranger Things Instagram account released the new trailer for Vol. 2 of the latest season, featuring the song in the background.
Bush, just like us, is waiting “with bated breath” for Vol 2. of Stranger Things season 4 to come out on Netflix on July 1.
