December Will Be Magic Again

Kate Bush introduced "December Will Be Magic Again" on her Christmas special, Kate, which aired on December 28, 1979 in the UK. Sitting at the piano, Bush conjures a nostalgic yuletide scene with lyrics about Bing Crosby crooning "White Christmas," snow falling on black-soot icicled roofs, and lovers kissing under the mistletoe. That same week, Bush appeared on the BBC's Christmas Snowtime Special and gifted audiences with a different version of the song, featuring drummer/percussionist Preston Heyman on the bongos and Bush performing an interpretive dance in lieu of playing the piano. The studio version (sans bongos) had already been recorded at Abbey Road Studios Studio 2 in London on November 23, 1979 with Heyman on the drums, Alan Murphy on guitar, and Kuma Harada on bass. It was released as a non-album single (following "Army Dreamers" from Never For Ever) nearly a year later on November 17, 1980, going to #29 on the UK chart.

In the second verse, Bush references one of her literary heroes, the poet/playwright Oscar Wilde: Light the candle-lights To conjure Mr. Wilde Into the silent night Ooh, it's quiet inside Here in Oscar's mind Wilde, who wrote the classic novel The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1890) and the comedic play The Importance Of Being Earnest (1895), wasn't particularly known for holiday fare, but he did pen a collection of winter-themed children's stories, including Bush's favorite, "The Happy Prince." The single's release nearly coincided with the 80th anniversary of Wilde's death, which occurred on November 30, 1900.

It's no surprise Bush landed her own Christmas special less than two years after releasing her debut album, The Kick Inside. In that span of time, she made history as the first female British artist to earn a #1 hit in the UK with a self-written song when her debut single, "Wuthering Heights," topped the singles chart. She was also the first female pop singer to write a million-selling debut album. Later in 1978, she issued her followup, Lionheart, and embarked on her first UK tour in the spring of 1979 to critical and commercial acclaim.