Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl Genre Baroque pop
art rock | Recorded 1984 Length 3:02 | |
B-side "The Handsome Cabin Boy"
"Jig of Life"
"Burning Bridge"
"My Lagan Love" Released 24 February 1986 (1986-02-24) | ||
"Hounds of Love" is the title track of the studio album called Hounds of Love and also from The Whole Story greatest hits album by Kate Bush, the third of the album's four singles. The single was released on 24 February 1986, and reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. British band The Futureheads covered the song in 2005, scoring a UK top 10 hit with it.
Contents
Overview
The song is about being afraid to fall in love; in the song this feeling is compared to being chased by a pack of hounds. The music video (directed by Bush herself) was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's film The 39 Steps and Hitchcock also features in the video (a nod to the director's famous cameo appearances in his movies).
The versions worldwide differ slightly: the US single mix included an additional chorus just after the second chorus. The words "it's in the trees, it's coming!" heard at the beginning of the track are sampled from the British 1957 horror film Night of the Demon and are mouthed by an actor from the film, Reginald Beckwith, who plays a medium channelling a character played by Maurice Denham, who provides the voice.
In October 2004, Q magazine placed this song at No.21 in its list of the 50 greatest British songs of all-time.
The song was performed live for the first time as part of the 2014 Before the Dawn residency, where the lyrics were slightly altered.
Track listings
All songs written and composed by Kate Bush, except "The Handsome Cabin Boy," which is a traditional composition.
The Futureheads version
"Hounds of Love" was recorded in 2004 by the English post-punk band The Futureheads for their self titled debut album, and was released as a single in 2005. The single peaked at #8 on the UK charts in its first week and was named Best Single of 2005 by NME. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 89 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Track listings
Other cover versions
"Hounds of Love" was covered in 1998 by the Australian band Bluebottle Kiss on their EP Tap Dancing on the Titanic. In 2005 the Australian pop band Frente! added the song to their Try To Think Less EP. Indie rockers Ra Ra Riot performed "Hounds of Love" as a WOXY.com Lounge Act in 2007. Australian band The Church released a cover version of the song on their Coffee Hounds single in 2009. Thirty Seconds to Mars covered the song in 2010. Beth Sorrentino covered the song on Hiding Out. Faroese singer Eivør cover the song in 2010 that appeared on her album Larva. Chicago Power-pop band, The Moviegoers covered the song in 1998 as part of the Kate Bush Tribute Album, I Wanna Be Kate. Patrick Wolf did a version of this single.