The Song Her Record Label Was Afraid To Release Became A Timeless Classic

Kate Bush had never been interested in making music that simply fit the moment. By 1985, she was already known for pushing pop into strange, theatrical, deeply personal territory, and “Running Up That Hill” became one of her boldest creations. The song sounded futuristic, urgent, and emotionally restless, built around the impossible idea of two people trading places so they could finally understand each other. But before it reached the world, there was one problem her record label could not ignore: Bush had given the song a very different title, one that EMI feared could hurt its chances on radio.

Bush originally called the song “A Deal With God,” because that was exactly how she imagined its central idea. She pictured a man and woman asking God to let them exchange places, allowing each to experience the other’s fears, frustrations, and emotions. For Bush, it was not a religious statement or an attempt to provoke anyone. It was a fantasy about empathy and the difficulty men and women can have understanding each other. But EMI worried that the word “God” could create problems in more religious markets and potentially keep the song off radio. Bush was unhappy with the compromise, but eventually accepted “Running Up That Hill” as the single title.

Musically, the song was every bit as unconventional as its concept. Bush wrote it in a single evening at her home studio, beginning with a Fairlight CMI sound and a drum pattern that Del Palmer programmed into a LinnDrum. The production grew around that stark, driving pulse, with Bush using the Fairlight to create the distinctive sampled-cello sound that became one of the recording’s signatures. She also produced the track herself, shaping an atmosphere that felt both mechanical and intensely human. Instead of building the song around a conventional pop arrangement, she created something that seemed to constantly move forward, as if the music itself were struggling to reach the understanding described in the lyrics.

Released in August 1985 as the first single from Hounds of Love, “Running Up That Hill” reached No. 3 in the UK and became Bush’s only original-run U.S. Top 40 hit, reaching No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album itself went to No. 1 in the UK, establishing Bush at the height of her creative powers. But the song’s story was far from finished. Decades later, its use in Stranger Things introduced it to an entirely new generation, sending it back up charts around the world and turning a song from 1985 into a contemporary phenomenon.

What makes “Running Up That Hill” so remarkable is that the controversy surrounding its original title now feels almost like a footnote. The song survived the hesitation, the compromise, and the passing of time because its emotional idea is bigger than any particular era. Bush was imagining something almost impossible: the chance to step completely inside another person’s life and finally understand what they feel. That simple wish still gives the song its extraordinary pull. And perhaps there is something fitting about the fact that a record once considered too risky for its original title eventually became one of Kate Bush’s most enduring songs.