Perhaps two of the biggest icons of pop were always destined to work together one day. Born weeks apart from one another in 1958, Prince‘s birthdate landed on June 7, while Kate Bush came into the world seven weeks later on July 30. Both also started their music careers around the same time, with Bush releasing her debut single “Wuthering Heights” and first album The Kick Inside in 1978, a few months before Prince’s debut album For You.
By the 1970s, Prince and Bush shared a mutual admiration for one another, but wouldn’t meet until 1990 when Bush attended his concert at Wembley Stadium and requested to meet him backstage. At one time, during some email exchanges with Prince’s then-engineer Michael Koppelman, Bush’s engineer at the time, Del Palmer, the former recalled Prince called her his “favorite woman.”
“It’s funny because Prince knew I was a huge [Kate Bush] fan,” said Koppelman. “He was, too, but not like me. The first time I asked him if he liked Kate Bush, he said, ‘She’s my favorite woman.’ I also made him a tape of all the Kate Bush b-sides, which f–king rule. When ‘The Sensual World’ came out, he had someone go get it, and we listened to it in the studio.”
He continued, “I think part of his motivation to work with Kate was the fact that I worshipped her, and he knew it would impress me that he could call her on the phone and work on her music and s–t.”
By the time both connected in the early ’90s, Bush was considering quitting music following the death of her friend and guitarist Alan Murphy from AIDS, while Prince was navigating another creative awakening following The Black Album.
What transpired after both finally met was two unexpected collaborations—one on Bush’s seventh album, The Red Shoes, in 1993, and a second, three years later, on Prince’s triple album, Emancipation.
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“Why Should I Love You” (1993)
Written by Kate Bush
On opposite sides of a musical spectrum, when Bush asked Prince to contribute some vocals to her song “Why Should I Love You,” on her 1993 album, The Red Shoes, Prince took the song (already written and recorded by Bush at Abbey Road) and completely rewired it, layering bass, guitar, and keyboards onto the track. Prince also fulfilled Bush’s initial request and shared vocals with her on the track.
“My Computer” (1996)
Written by Prince
In 1996, Bush returned the favor, singing on Prince’s Emancipation track “My Computer,” featured on the third side of the album. Prince’s lyrics mimic the theme of Bush’s The Sensual World track “Deeper Understanding,” which explores the search for human connection through the computer—I scan my computer looking for a site / Somebody to talk to, funny and bright / I scan my computer looking for a site / Make believe it’s a better world, a better life.
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