‘Stranger Things’ Creators Surprised by Kate Bush Song Explosion
Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer admitted he had no idea that the show's use of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" would lead to an explosion of interest in the singer and her song.
The 1985 track appeared in the show's fourth season in May, leading to an almost 10,000% increase in streaming. It went on to top the charts in eight countries – including Bush's native United Kingdom, where it remained at No. 1 for three weeks. Bush is thought to have made more than $2 million as a result of its resurgence.
It's a heartwarming success story for an artist who's been making critically acclaimed music for decades, but it was far from premeditated — and neither Duffer nor his brother and showrunning partner Ross expect to repeat it.
"I've even seen articles that are like, 'What will be Stranger Things' next Kate Bush moment?' There won't be another one!" Duffer told the Hollywood Reporter. "If we attempt that with another song, it will fail. Ross, our music supervisor and I all had a list of possible songs we wanted, and 'Running Up That Hill' was all of them.
"I'd be lying if I said I knew it was going to resonate in the way it did," Duffer continued. "I think the reason why is because [Bush] was so ahead of her time. It feels very modern. And so kids are hooked on it."
Noting the song's success on TikTok, Duffer added, "I don't even really understand what TikTok is. I emailed Kate Bush, 'Apparently you're big on TikTok.' She was like, 'Yeah, I've heard!'"