Bush Breaking 12-Year Album Drought

By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. and Lars Brandle, N.Y.

Pianist/songwriter Kate Bush will break a 12-year album drought this fall with the double-disc set "Aerial." The album will arrive Nov. 7 in Europe via EMI and a day later in North America via Columbia. First single "King of the Mountain" will be available Sept. 27 at a host of digital download sites.

The artist, now 47, exploded onto the British singles chart with her debut 1978 hit "Wuthering Heights," which held the top spot for four weeks and went on to become an international breakthrough. She went on to have a string of hits with "Babooshka," "Running Up That Hill" and "Don't Give Up", a duet with Peter Gabriel.

But she disappeared from the spotlight following her 1993 album "The Red Shoes," which debuted at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 28 on The Billboard 200. Since then, the next phase of Bush's recording career has been the focus of routine speculation, while her influence was clearly heard in the music of Tori Amos, PJ Harvey and Bjork.

In October 2001, the artist whet the appetite of her devoted fanbase during a presentation at the annual Q Awards in London. While delivering her acceptance speech after winning the publication's accolade in the classic songwriter category, she told the audience, "I am actually making an album, [but] it's just taking longer than I thought," she said.

Three of the artist’s albums -- "Never For Ever," "Hounds Of Love" and "The Whole Story" -- have reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom.