As Kate Bush finally reached the summit of the U.K. charts on Friday (June 17), Cher was the first to congratulate the English singer on becoming the new record holder.
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With Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” conquering the No. 1 spot some 37 years after its release, she has broken at least three chart records, including the oldest female artist to hit. No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart, eclipsing Cher, who was 52 when “Believe” took the top spot in 1998.
Cher took to Twitter to say, “Bravo Kate, Records Are Meant 2 Be Broken!! Remember Back In The Day, When Women Had SHORT SELL BY DATES!? We Had 2 Fight Our Way Through The Testosterone Curtain, & We Did it So The Girls Who Came After Us Could Sing As Long As They Want To. With Mega Respect.”
Bush is now the fifth oldest artist to score a U.K. No. 1 single alongside the late Captain Tom Moore, who was 99 years old when the charity-fundraiser song he appeared on, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” topped the chart back in 2020.
Spurred on by its use in season four of Stranger Things, “Running Up That Hill” has become a staple in the charts. It has lifted to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has held the top spot on the ARIA Chart in Australia for the past two weeks.
Bush has said of the rebirth of the mid-’80s song, “I’m overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving and it’s all happening really fast as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force. I have to admit I feel really moved by it all. Thank you so very much for making the song a No. 1 in such an unexpected way.”
Cher (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Records)
