‘Stranger Things’ Creators Discuss How Kate Bush Unexpectedly Took Over Season 4 of the Hit Show

Back in 2023, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed Kate Bush as the newest member. With a career dating back to the 1970s, the hitmakers spent the majority of the 70s and 80s releasing albums like The Kick Inside, The Dreaming, and Hounds of Love. She also became the first British solo female artist to top the UK Albums Chart. Having won countless awards and carved her name into music history, Bush saw a resurgence thanks to season four of the hit show Stranger Things. With her music playing a significant role in the season, the creators discussed what it was like watching Bush take over Stranger Things. 

With the cast of misfits banding together to fight an evil force called Vecna, the character Max, played by Sadie Sink, found herself trapped in a mysterious dimension. Using music to help bring her back to reality, Max’s friends decided to play her favorite song, which happened to be “Running Up That Hill” by Bush. 

Speaking with Variety about the popular moment causing the song to go viral once again, one of the show’s creators, Matt Duffer, admitted it was never planned. “You can’t really manufacture it. If you try to manufacture it, you’re almost guaranteed for it to not hit.” He added, “The Kate Bush thing, I thought that episode was cool, and I love Kate Bush. But no, I wasn’t expecting it to resonate with Gen Z in a particular way. But that is one of the fun things about putting it out.”

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Kate Bush Thanked Fans For Viral Moment

With the song fitting the time Stranger Things takes place, Duffer embraced the surprise moments. “I know the things we’re excited about, but usually, from the Kate Bush aspect of it, those come out of left field. I’m sure that will happen again. That’s part of the cool thing: You put it out into the world, and it does things that you expect and then does things that you don’t expect.”

As the song took over social media, Bush shared a quick message on her website, thanking fans for their support. While deleting the post, it read, “A billion streams!  I have an image of a river that suddenly floods and becomes many, many tributaries – a billion streams – on their way to the sea. Each one of these streams is one of you…” She concluded, “Thank you! Thank you so much for sending this song on such an impossibly astonishing journey. I’m blown away.”

(Photo by TV Times/TV Times via Getty Images)