The Tour of Life
| Tour by Kate Bush | |
Cover of the tour programme.
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| Associated album | Lionheart and The Kick Inside |
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| Start date | 2 April 1979 |
| End date | 13 May 1979 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 28 in Europe |
| Kate Bush concert chronology | |
The Tour of Life (originally known as the "Lionheart Tour", and also officially referred to as the Kate Bush Tour and by outside sources as the "Kate Bush Show" and "Kate Bush: On Tour"). Starting in April 1979, the tour lasted just over one month. Consisting of 24 performances from Bush's first two studio albums The Kick Inside and Lionheart (both 1978), it was acclaimed for its incorporation of mime, magic, and readings during costume changes. The tour is also renowned for its use of new technology; because of Bush's determination to dance as she sang, her stage sound engineer Martin Fisher rigged a wireless headset microphone using a wire clothes hanger, making her the first singer to use such a device on stage. The simple staging also involved rear-screen projection and the accompaniment of two male dancers. The tour was notable for the death of Bush's lighting engineer, Bill Duffield, to whom one of the London shows was dedicated.
The tour was a critical and commercial success, with most dates selling out and additional shows being added due to high demand. Members of the Kate Bush Club were provided with a guaranteed ticket. The BBC filmed a special of the Kate Bush Show entitled Kate Bush: On Tour. The documentary featured the production and staging of the set, and revealed the extent to which Bush was involved. Broadcast in 1979, it did not show any of the full performances. The concert also spawned two physical releases, the extended play On Stage (1979) as well as the home video Live at Hammersmith Odeon (1981). Live at the Hammersmith Odeon was later re-issued in 1994 as a boxed set including an audio CD of the broadcast as well as the video. The name, "Tour of Life", was not coined until after its completion, with all promotional material referring to it simply as the Kate Bush Tour. Neither the EP nor the home video make any reference to the name.
The show was divided into four sections, concluding with two encores. It began with playback of whale song, with Bush's shadow projected as she began to dance whilst the curtain parted to reveal a simple stage with a ramp at its centre. Bush, wearing a blue leotard, sang the first song "Moving." A shadow projection of the band's saxophone player was used next, during "The Saxophone Song". The theatre was then filled with the sound of a heartbeat as red lights flickered whilst the onstage piano was removed. A large plush oval was rolled onto the stage, from within which Bush sang "Room for the Life" whilst curled inside as it was rolled around the stage. Dressed in a long coat and trilby hat, Bush was joined by her two male dancers as she performed "Them Heavy People". She then moved to the piano to play "The Man with the Child in His Eyes", whilst the stage props were removed and the lights faded out. The band then played the as yet unreleased "Egypt", whilst Bush emerged from the back of the stage wearing an Egyptian costume. An extended introduction to "L'Amour Looks Something Like You" was then played in darkness, whilst Bush changed into a black leotard and red skirt. Whilst at centre-stage by a tall mirror, a magician emerged to perform with a flying cane. Bush performed "Violin", wearing bat wings and taunted by her two dancers dressed as giant violins. As the stage darkened, Bush's brother, John Carder Bush, was heard reciting a poem, which culminated in a spoken duet with Bush herself. She was then illuminated by a spotlight as she performed "The Kick Inside" at the piano. A black veil was placed over her and the curtains closed.
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