Kate Bush earns first ever US Top 10 hit with Running Up That Hill

Song reaches No 8 in the US 37 years after it was first released, thanks to inclusion in new season of Stranger Things

Kate Bush has earned her first ever US Top 10 hit with Running Up That Hill, 37 years after it was released.

The song is a key plot point in the new series of Netflix’s supernatural drama Stranger Things, and has exploded in popularity since the show debuted on 27 May. It is now at No 8 in the US, and reached the same position in the UK singles chart last Friday.

Running Up That Hill reached No 30 in the US when it was first released in 1985, her highest chart placing there until now.

It is currently the second-most played song globally on Spotify and Apple Music, behind Harry Styles’s As It Was and Future’s Wait For U respectively.

In the UK charts’ midweek sales update on Sunday, it had risen to No 2 behind Styles to put it in strong contention for the No 1 spot this Friday.

In a statement on her website, Bush said the song’s resurgence is “really exciting”, adding that it “is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show – I love it too!”

Aside from Christmas songs which go back into the charts each year, it’s rare for an old song to re-enter the US Top 10. The last time was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody reaching No 2 in 1992 after it was included in Wayne’s World, though Fleetwood Mac grazed the Top 10 with Dreams in 2020 after it was used on a viral TikTok video.

Contributor

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Kate Bush reaches UK No 1 with Running Up That Hill after 37 years
Singer breaks multiple records with Stranger Things-revived hit after ‘manual reset’ of streaming ratios

Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent

17, Jun, 2022 @5:00 PM

Article image
‘The whole world’s gone mad!’ Kate Bush on Running Up That Hill’s success
Singer says she hadn’t listened to her song ‘for a really long time’ before it raced up the charts thanks to its inclusion in Stranger Things

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

22, Jun, 2022 @9:30 AM

Article image
Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill races back into UK Top 10 thanks to Stranger Things
Hit from 1985 is the most streamed song in the UK and US on Spotify, earning itself a third appearance in the UK Top 10

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

03, Jun, 2022 @5:00 PM

Article image
Kate Bush hits it off with a new generation of fans | Letters
Letter: Diane Silva is glad that classic songs are getting their due share of success and new fans

Letters

20, Jun, 2022 @3:38 PM

Article image
Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill climbs higher than ever to No 2 in charts
Harry Styles remains atop the singles and album charts, while singer-songwriter Michael Head gets first Top 10 of storied career

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

10, Jun, 2022 @5:00 PM

Article image
Kate Bush thanks Stranger Things fans as Running Up That Hill climbs charts
The singer celebrated the ‘fantastic, gripping’ show in a rare statement, after her 37-year-old song, which features on the soundtrack, entered the UK top ten

Sian Cain

06, Jun, 2022 @1:52 AM

Article image
The 100 greatest UK No 1s: No 14, Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights
Written when Bush was 18 years old, this eerie gothic tale of lost love and longing cemented her individuality from the very beginning

Rebecca Nicholson

19, May, 2020 @8:00 AM

Article image
‘Ooh, yeah, you’re amazing!’ The wonder of Kate Bush – and 10 tracks to delight new listeners
Thanks to Netflix’s Stranger Things, the 1985 classic Running Up That Hill is in the charts again, and a new generation are discovering the singer’s unique appeal

Alexis Petridis

07, Jun, 2022 @5:00 AM

Article image
UK’s top 10 singles of 2022 were all by British artists
A clean sweep led by Harry Styles was an ‘astonishing’ high note for the music industry – but the domination of older songs reflected the impact of streaming

Laura Snapes

04, Jan, 2023 @12:01 AM

Article image
Metallica’s Master of Puppets conjures UK Top 40 hit thanks to Stranger Things
1986 song gets first ever UK chart placing after appearing in season finale, reaching No 22

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

15, Jul, 2022 @5:00 PM