Talk:Wuthering Heights (song)

Move?
Perhaps this should be moved to the page devoted to the album. Paul Klenk

Maybe, i'm just trying to tidy up the Wuthering Heights from the Brontë novel, I'll think about it after i'm finished. Cokehabit 23:02, 25 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Actually, the song was not inspired by the 1939 film, but rather 1971 Timothy Dalton TV version of the story. Kate has mentioned this several times, and quotes about this are collected hereK8 fan 02:56, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, I think someone with more editing skills than me could add the info about the remake of the song. Ms Bush herself has said that she found the 1978 recording much too old-fashioned by now, and wanted a re-made version: http://children.ofthenight.org/cloudbusting/music/wuthering_heights_new_vocal_.html (BTW, it is indeed MILES better, not so "muffled" in sound anymore) -andy 80.129.73.125 22:06, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

I put all of the text "the novel of the same name" inside the link to Wuthering Heights. I felt that just having the word "novel" in there made it look like it was a link to the page for novel. Hammerite 18:42, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Removing Within Temptation
I am removing Within Temptation as a band which has done a cover of Wuthering Heights. None of their fans seems to know about it, and there are no independent sources on the net confirming that they have indeed recorded the song. They did make a cover of Running Up That Hill, though, which may explain the confusion. I may be wrong, of course, but I doubt it. --Thf1977 08:54, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps more could be discussed about the two different videos issued for the said track as not many people know about the second video

Also Placebo didnt cover this, they also only covered Running Up That Hill. Im not taking it off in case I'm wrong, but a simple Google search will tell you the same thing I should think :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.65.133.3 (talk) 13:41, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

Tupac?
Is that bit about Tupac Shakur vandalism? As much as I think its probably total bullsh*t doubt its veracity, I hesitate to delete it on the chance that someone meant it genuinely. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 167.83.10.20 (talk) 18:37, 5 April 2007 (UTC).

It is true http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcz1yV6vRks --J2 21:34, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

NPOV issue?
"Wuthering Heights eventually lost its crown...". "To lose the crown" ... well I do not think this is a neutral POV? -andy 91.32.76.200 16:22, 25 May 2007 (UTC)


 * It's only really a case of questionable POV if you think it implies that the writer (me) was pleased to see "Wuthering Heights" at No.1 and sad when it was no longer there. Yes I did feel that way although I did not intend the wording of the article to reflect this, and in any case I thought that "Matchstalk Men..." which took over at the top, was a better record. Any No.1 record "loses its crown" when it falls from the top, whether it's a good record or a crap one. It's just an expression. Personally I think many people make too much of the POV issue, and though there are no hard feelings, this has to be one of the pettiest examples I've yet come across.

Release date
I've actually put this on the Kate Bush discussion, but perhaps feel that it's more appropriate here. The Whole Story album states that the single was released originally in November '77. Does this mean that it was re-released in early '78? I'll look into it a bit more, but if anyone knows right off, then that'd be handy. It would also mean that the song was originally a flop and should be mentioned in the article in some way.--Tuzapicabit (talk) 22:25, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

I believe the original early pressings were made in 1977 when it was released to radio, but EMI didn't want it to get lost in the Christmas market, so the full release came in the new year. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.161.64.66 (talk) 21:50, 12 July 2009 (UTC)


 * The article had previously said 5 January 1978 but has been changed to 20 January - I wonder though if that is a difference between UK and US releases ? -- Beardo (talk) 05:38, 20 January 2018 (UTC)


 * Note the article this: "The single was initially scheduled for 4 November 1977. However, Bush was unhappy with the cover and insisted it be replaced. Some copies of the single had already been sent out to radio stations, but EMI relented and put back the single's launch until the New Year." So no surprise there is confusion over whether it was a 1977 single or a 1978 single. Certainly it was a hit only in 1978. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:53, 10 July 2021 (UTC)

The guitarist on this track is Ian Bairnson, not David Gilmour
I'd edit this myself, but I'm lazy and forgot my login. Please refer to the article for The Kick Inside. There is an external link to an interview with the engineer who recorded this album, and he clearly states that the lead guitarist was Ian Bairnson, best known for his work with the Alan Parsons Project. In fact, he expresses regret at not having mixed Bairnson's solo higher. I don't think he'd be apologizing about it to this day if it wasn't really Bairnson playing on that track. In theory Gilmour *could* have played on The Kick Inside - he had just finished the Animals tour with Pink Floyd - but he was probably off on his yacht, taking a holiday before recording his first solo album later that year. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.243.131.36 (talk) 08:17, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Out of lip-sinc
in the other [videoclip], the singer lip-syncs in an outdoor environment while wearing a red dress, the aricle says. It's At 0.48 and 3.00 it's clearly not sync. Also there are cuts to a more total shot, at moments the lip-sync seems to (start) fail, as if the director wants to hide errors. Anyway, it's not that important, but then it should not be written. It's just a play-back, not the best example of lip-sync. Propose to delete the words. -DePiep (talk) 12:53, 29 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Fair enough. Changed.--Tuzapicabit (talk) 15:09, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

Re-recording
The article briefly mentions that KB re-recorded the song in 1986 but gives no explanation. I vaguely remember that there was some issue with rights to the song which required it to be re-recorded but I can't find any info and may be mistaken. Some people prefer the original and some the re-recording, but the article would be improved by an explanation of why it took place. --80.176.142.11 (talk) 16:16, 1 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Not aware of any issues since Bush wrote the song and was on the same record label. It was only the vocals the were re-recorded, so it's unlikely.--Tuzapicabit (talk) 09:22, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

The song was re-recorded because Kate Bush didn't like her vocal on the original recording, it sounded too child-like to her. She stated that at the time.Ugo1970 (talk) 13:37, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

"Mispronunciation of title word"
...really? I just hear her singing it in a Home Counties accent :p Either way, it's unsourced, save for a link confirming the existence of the Italian edition. Sordyne (talk) 21:24, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Well, for the "unsourced" claim you may actually be right, because the interview I mention happened in 1978 and it's nowhere to be found (RAI didn't often keep archive materials). But I do remember Kate stating in that interview that she didn't know about the correct pronunciation. Ugo1970 (talk) 14:43, 16 April 2011 (UTC)


 * I just read that paragraph while listening to the song, she does not mispronounce it, and it's nothing like the "Wathering" claimed in the para. I'll remove that para as unsourced. DuncanHill (talk) 01:48, 12 May 2011 (UTC)


 * Surely Bush's exuberant, even eccentric, vocal style lends itself to all kinds of "mis-pronunciations"? Martinevans123 (talk) 19:17, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

China Drum
I was just wondering why the China Drum cover that made it to #65 in the UK charts was not on the covers list. I know it wasn't the best selling recording but it was certainly a staple of 90s alternative discos and the version that first got me interested in KB. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.105.160.33 (talk) 15:32, 8 May 2012 (UTC)

Lyrics Section
Can someone point out to me the moment in the chorus where the phrase "Let me in! I'm so cold!" is sung? So far as I've ever heard it, or seen the lyrics laid out, it goes: "Heathcliff! It's me, Cathy, I've come home! I'm so cold. Let me in your window (with melisma)." Not nitpicking, but those just aren't the lyrics. o0drogue0o 11:30, 19 October 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by O0drogue0o (talk • contribs)

Inspired by 1967 BBC mini-series
Here is why this song wasn't inspired by the 1970 film with Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff, as the article previously stated.

Some statements by Kate Bush about the origin of the song:
 * "And ah, and really what sparked that off was a TV thing I saw as a young child."
 * "Well, it was originally from a TV series years ago and I'd just caught the very end of it. And it was like really freaky, cause there's this hand coming through the window and whispering voices and I've always been into that sort of thing you know and it just hung around in my head."
 * "I developed a kind of fascination with Cathy after I saw the last 10 minutes of the television series where she was at the window and cutting herself with the glass. It always stuck in my brain."

Why the BBC mini-series of 1967 was most likely her inspiration:
 * Kate Bush said the song was inspired by a television series. The only TV adaptation of WH she could have meant is the 1967 BBC series. The film featuring Timothy Dalton came out in 1970 and I guess it wasn't shown on TV until a few years later.
 * Kate Bush said she saw the series as a young child. She would have been 9 years old when the TV series came out and almost 12 when the film started its run in cinemas.
 * The 1970 film doesn't show a hand coming through a window, whispering voices and Cathy cutting herself with the glass - at least not in the last ten to twenty minutes. The 1967 series shows all those things.
 * In the TV series Cathy's spirit says something like: "I'm Catherina Earnshaw. I've come back home. I got lost in the moors. Let me in!" which is strikingly similar to Kate Bush's lyrics.

You can watch the scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrXlc_Df9J0#t=1509 It starts at about 24:00. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.188.190.49 (talk) 14:19, 22 April 2014 (UTC)

Time signatures
I have been unable to find a valid source to add the follwing fact: the song shifts time signatures from 4/4 to 2/4, 3/4, and back to 4/4.Design (talk) 08:05, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

U.S. Chart Performance
Why is there no mention of the song's performance on the United States' charts? Gil gosseyn (talk) 05:32, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Apparently the single failed to chart in North America, although I can't immediately find a WP:RELIABLE source for that. Muzilon (talk) 02:42, 23 September 2021 (UTC)
 * The song reached number 8 on the Bubbling Under chart in November 1978, charting for one week total. The stat likely isn't in the article because Billboard's web archive only goes as far back as 1992 (iirc) for the Bubbling Under chart, making finding older charts difficult.
 * I'm total shit at CSS so I haven't added this to the article itself, but the link below is to Joel Whitburn's book 'Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Hot 100, 1959-1981'. It lists the chart performance of "Heights" on page 26. Someone who knows what they are doing can add this information. :)
 * https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnsbub0000whit/page/26/mode/2up TempestOfDust (talk) 06:27, 25 June 2022 (UTC)
 * How about the Canadian charts? Muzilon (talk) 22:43, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Wuthering Heights (song). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://www.webcitation.org/624oXLzG8?url=http://www.everyhit.com/record4.html to http://www.everyhit.com/record4.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 18:33, 30 June 2017 (UTC)