Kate Bush hopes for end to Ukraine conflict in 2022 Christmas message

Kate Bush has shared her hopes for an end to the conflict in Ukraine in her 2022 Christmas message.

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The singer, who called for a pay rise for doctors and nurses in her 2021 Christmas message, has shared a new post on her website titled ‘Merry Christmas’, in which she reflects on how life has continued to be “incredibly frightening” after the pandemic.

“Every year seems to fly by a little faster. They say this happens as you get older, but there’s no doubt that the speed of life is accelerating at a greater rate than ever,” she opened the message.

“I don’t think any of us have ever known a year like this one. Life became incredibly frightening in the pandemic, but just as we think it might be over soon, it seems to keep going.

“It’s a bombardment,” she continued, “the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods…  and we lost our Queen. Many of my friends were surprised at how upset they were at her death especially as we aren’t royalists, but I think her passing became a focus for grief, for unexpressed loss that so many people had felt during the pandemic.”

The singer also reflected on the renewed popularity of her 1985 single ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ after it appeared in the fourth season of Stranger Things, going on to break three Guinness World Records and as well as being the most-streamed song on the planet at one point.

“It’s been a crazy, roller coaster year for me. I still reel from the success of RUTH, being the No 1 track of this summer,” Bush continued. “What an honour! It was really exciting to see it doing so well globally, but especially here in the UK and Australia; and also to see it making it all the way to No 3 in the US. It was such a great feeling to see so many of the younger generation enjoying the song. It seems that quite a lot of them thought I was a new artist! I love that!”

She also thanked everyone who “supported the track and made it a hit”.

The message continued: “I wonder where on earth we’ll all be at the end of next year? I hope the war will end. I hope that the nurses will be in a position where they are appreciated – they should be cherished. Let’s all hope that next year will be better than this one. I keep thinking about hope and how it was the last to fly out of Pandora’s box. Sometimes it’s all that seems to glow in the dark times we find ourselves in right now.”

Bush concluded: “I used a little robin in some of my Christmas gifts to friends this year. I felt that this humble little bird, which symbolises Christmas could also symbolise hope in the context of Emily Dickinson’s beautiful words: Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.

“I‘d like to think that this Christmas when joy is so hard to find, hope will perch in all our souls. Merry Christmas!”

Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ was among the most streamed songs in the UK this year, also ranking number six in the Top 10 most popular songs in the UK on TikTok for 2022.