The power of “Stranger Things,” set in the mid-1980s, pushed British songstress Kate Bush into the Billboard magazine top 10 this week for the very first time.
Her evocative song “Running Up That Hill,” featured prominently in the first part of season 4 of the Netflix streaming show, returned to the charts at No. 8, far higher than its peak position of No. 30 in January 1986 more than 36 years ago.
On the show, Sadie Sink ― suffering mentally after her brother died season three ―plays “Running Up That Hill” all the time on her Walkman. It even helps her fight off an enemy. The scenes with Sink were shot in metro Atlanta. (The first three seasons and parts of season four of “Stranger Things” were produced in Georgia.)
The reclusive 63-year-old Bush ― who has been nominated three times for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but has yet to get in ― herself cleared use of the song after reading the script ahead of time.
Bush even released a rare statement praising the show, adding, “It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song.”
She has had far more success in the U.K. than the United States, where only four of her songs have made the Hot 100, with just “Running Up That Hill” cracking the top 40. (The other songs were 1978′s “The Man With the Child in His Eyes” peaking at No. 85, her 1986 duet with Peter Gabriel “Don’t Give Up” peaking at No. 72 and “Rubberband Girl” peaking at No. 88 in 1993.)
Her single “Love and Anger” did spend three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard alternative rock charts in 1989, a year after that chart debuted. (If that chart had existed in early 1986, “Running Up That Hill” would have likely charted well but there weren’t any commercial alternative rock stations at that time.)
“Running Up That Hill” is now No. 4 on the global Spotify chart and has been No. 1 for several days on the iTunes download chart.
“Stranger Things” season 3 in 2019 featured the Limahl song “The Neverending Story” and helped increase sales of that tune but the impact was significantly more muted compared to the Bush boost.
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