Kate Bush asks visual artists to respond to Running Up That Hill for charity auction

Kate Bush is harnessing the power of her global hit Running Up That Hill in collaboration with leading visual artists to raise money for children caught up in global conflicts.

- Caroline Davies

The singer-songwriter invited 52 British artists to respond to the line “If I only could, I’d make a deal with God” from her 1985 anthem for this year’s War Child Sound & Vision fundraiser. Maggi Hambling, once described as the “original bad girl of art” and Peter Doig, whose paintings have sold for millions, are among those to contribute works interpreting the lyric.

All of the works will feature in an online auction at givergy.com from 28 October to 13 November. Bids will start at £100 and sales will support War Child’s charity work, protecting, educating, and standing up for children living in war zones.

A physical exhibition, curated by Art on a Postcard and sponsored by DHL, will go on display at the Iconic Images Gallery in Piccadilly, London, from 4 to 8 November.

Running Up That Hill is one of Bush’s best-loved songs and is taken from her fifth studio album, Hounds of Love. Hailed as “one of the greatest songs of all time” by Rolling Stone magazine in 2021, it became a hit all over again in 2022 when it was featured in the Netflix series Stranger Things. It then set a chart record by becoming a UK No 1 single 37 years after its first release.