Kate Bush claims David Bowie left the greatest mark on music

“One of the most powerful things that I heard recently was Blackstar by Bowie,“ she told The Fader back in 2016. “I thought it was beautiful. Very moving of course, but I think one of the best things he’s ever done.“ Cherishing Blackstar comes as no surprise, particularly as it arrived as one of the Starman’s darkest and most introspective works in all of his career.

After Bowie’s death, Bush opened up further about his impact on her as an artist, commenting on his prowess not only as a musician but as someone so prolific in the arts. She said,  “He created such staggeringly brilliant work, yes, but so much of it, and it was so good. There are great people who make great work, but who else has left a mark like his? No one like him.”

Ten months after his passing, she added, “He was one of my great heroes when I was growing up. He was such a brave artist, so unusual, and I loved his music…But I just sort of admired what he achieved creatively.“ When questioned about their shared capacity to defy conventional gender norms, she persisted, “I think when I’m working creatively, I don’t really think of myself of writing as a woman. I just think of writing as me, as a person, if that makes sense.“

Bush made her fondness for the late star clear before his death, declaring the inspiration he had on her artistic and personal development. She even recalled being one of the die-hard fans at that iconic final performance by Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars on July 3rd, 1973. Bush is honest, though, about the fact that hearing Bowie for the first time had a life-changing effect.

“I was sitting in my bath, submerged in bubbles, listening to Radio Luxembourg when I heard David Bowie for the first time,” she once said. “‘There’s a starman waiting in the sky’. I thought it was such an interesting song and that he had a really unusual voice. Soon I was to hear that track everywhere, and Bowie’s music became a part of my life.”