Kate Bush Asked for Queen Elizabeth II’s Autograph at a 2005 Buckingham Palace Reception: ‘I Made a Complete A******* of Myself’
Kate Bush is a classic rock queen, but she didn’t exactly know how to act in the company of real royalty, Queen Elizabeth II. She embarrassed herself by asking the monarch for her autograph. Thankfully, Buckingham Palace asked the “Wuthering Heights” singer back to receive a prestigious award.
Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour discovered the singer-songwriter
Years before Bush met Queen Elizabeth, she started writing songs at 11. In an interview with Matt Everitt for BBC Radio 6 Music, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour said he discovered Bush through a mutual friend.
“A guy I know called Ricky Hopper was a friend of Kate’s brother, and he came to me one day and said, ‘I’ve got this tape of this 15-year-old girl singing, and I think she’s talented.’ He played it to me, and I agreed that I did think she was very talented.
“Her unusual vocal style and sound, I thought it was unlikely that record companies, A&R people would get it. I was not convinced that they would get it instantly. So, after some various tryouts, I decided to employ a full studio in London with Geoff Emerick engineering and a friend of mine, Andrew Powell, producing and arranging.
“I chose two or three songs out of about 50 that she had, and I didn’t spend a long time choosing, I just sort of thought we’ll have one nice slow one, one sort of medium temperature, one like this… we’ll do those to releasable level so that they weren’t demos, so that they were actually properly ready-to-go tracks.
“I thought that was the best way to take her to the record companies to convince them, and the song ‘The Man With the Child in His Eyes’ was one of those three.”
Gilmour and Powell went on to produce Bush’s debut album, The Kick Inside, in 1978. Powell also produced Bush’s second album, Lionheart.
By 1985, Bush was one of the most famous singers in the music industry. Her album that year, Hounds of Love, had some of her biggest hits, including “Cloudbursting” and “Running Up That Hill.” In 2005, when she made her awkward appearance at Buckingham Palace, she released Aerial.
Kate Bush asked Queen Elizabeth for her autograph at a 2005 Buckingham Palace reception
During an interview with the Guardian, Bush confirmed the myth that she’d asked Queen Elizabeth for her autograph at a 2005 Buckingham Palace reception.
“Instantly a grin spreads across the face of the Most Elusive Woman in Rock,” the Guardian wrote. “‘Yes, I did!’ she exclaims, only half-embarrassedly. ‘I made a complete a******* of myself.'”
Bush explained she’d only done the daring deed to prove to her son Bertie that she had met the monarch.
“I’m ashamed to say that when I told Bertie that I was going to meet the Queen, he said, ‘Mummy, no, you’re not, you’ve got it wrong’ and I said, ‘But I am!’ So rather stupidly I thought I’d get her to sign my programme. She was very sweet,” Bush explained.
“The thing is I would do anything for Bertie and making an a******* of myself in front of a whole roomful of people and the Queen, I mean … But I don’t have a very good track record with royalty. My dress fell off in front of Prince Charles at the Prince’s Trust, so I’m just living up to my reputation.”
Bush saw Queen Elizabeth again when the monarch gave her a CBE
In 2013, Bush received her CBE for services to music from Queen Elizabeth at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. Likely, Bush didn’t bring up their earlier meeting.
The singer, who has inspired everyone from Elton John to Big Boi, said she was “incredibly thrilled” to receive the honor.
“I feel incredibly thrilled to receive this honour which I share with my family, friends and fellow musicians and everybody who has been such an important part of it all,” she said in a statement (per BBC). “Now I’ve got something special to put on top of the Christmas tree.”
At least Bush’s second meeting with Queen Elizabeth didn’t go as badly as her first. However, she shouldn’t feel too embarrassed by her first meeting with the monarch. Plenty of people said the most awkward things to her. The queen always tried to make whoever she was talking to comfortable.
