Sorry Sadie Sink, but now that we’ve seen all of Stranger Things’ fourth season, we can safely say that Kate Bush was the true breakout star this time around.
We’re only sort of kidding. While the youths certainly held it down in Volume 2, the immediately-iconic “Running Up That Hill” scene from Volume 1 had a power that went beyond the screen. Its newfound popularity propelled the song to new (Wuthering) heights, including number one on the UK charts for three weeks straight.
The surprise resurgence even prompted the notoriously reclusive singer to send yet another message to fans. In a post on her website, Bush says “We’re all so excited” about charting for the third week: “In fact it’s all starting to feel a bit surreal.”
She adds, “I’ve just watched the last two episodes of Stranger Things and they’re just through the roof. No spoilers here, I promise. I’d only seen the scenes that directly involved the use of the track and so I didn’t know how the story would evolve or build.”
The post continues, “I was so delighted that the Duffer Brothers wanted to use RUTH for Max’s totem but now having seen the whole of this last series, I feel deeply honoured that the song was chosen to become a part of their roller coaster journey. I can’t imagine the amount of hard work that’s gone into making something on this scale. I am in awe. They’ve made something really spectacular.”
She concludes the missive by warning fans off any “unofficial merchandise,” as “we want to honour the energy that’s being generated by the audiences right now.” The Stranger Things surge has been, in the artist’s words, “special, unique and quite frankly, bloody moving.” A deal with God may be all well and good, but a deal with the Duffer Brothers seems to be way more lucrative. As Kate Bush deserves!