The chart history of Kate Bush’s viral Stranger Things hit Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)

Kate Bush is undoubtedly one of the most singular talent to ever emerge from British pop music. An auteur in the truest sense, Bush’s music is as unwieldy and ever-shifting like this wind; never content to stay in the same place for long. Sometimes, the clarity of her vision is so strong, you feel yourself getting swept away.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you’re probably well aware that one of Bush’s best known tracks – the throbbing Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – has been featured heavily in the fourth season of Netflix drama Stranger Things, and is currently experiencing a massive revival with Gen Z, many of whom will be experiencing the track, and Bush herself, for the first time.

Running Up That Hill constitutes one of the emotional lynch pins of the new season, intrinsically linked to the journey of Max (Sadie Sink) and her battle with the wicked Upside Down demon Vecna.

Here at Official Charts, we’re all for the re-discovery of brilliant, brave pop music and Running Up That Hill’s renaissance is the perfect time to re-assess the track’s chart history here in the UK… as it could return to the Official Singles Chart Top 40 for the first time in over a decade.

MORE: Kate Bush’s Official UK Chart history in full What’s the history behind Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) on the UK’s Official Charts?

Running Up That Hill was the lead single from Bush’s fifth album, Hounds of Love. It represented her reaching her creative and commercial zenith; much like its parent album, the single was written and produced entirely by Bush herself, with the help of the Fairlight CMI synthesiser.

The song debuted at an important time in its singers career; previous record The Dreaming hadn’t been as commercially successful as her first albums, and lacked a raft of singles to be played on the radio (Bush herself has classed the wildly-experimental album as her “she’s gone mad” record and…yeah, fair enough).

A pulsating New Wave banger inspired by the notion that if a man and woman traded places for a day they would understand each other and their relationship better, Running Up That Hill returned Bush to the UK Top 10 for the first time in half a decade, and became her second highest-ever charting hit here, peaking at Number 3 (strange and malformed debut single Wuthering Heights is her first and only Number 1 here).

In 2012, Running Up That Hill would re-enter the Top 10 at Number 6, after being featured in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games hosted in London (Bush herself apparently declined an in-person appearance, but did release an updated and re-mastered new mix of the song for the occasion). 

Running Up That Hill has notched up over 43 million streams since records began. This year alone, it’s gained over 3 million streams, with this number surely set to rise this week.

What’s the impact of Stranger Things season 4 on Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)?

The true impact of Running That Hill’s moment in the sun is yet to be calculated in full, but it’s fair to say that it’s a very exciting time to be a Kate Bush fan, old or new.

The track has been featured all over social media since the new season’s debut last week, and is currently blowing up on TikTok, a sign that it’s been well and truly accepted by Gen Z.

But can Running Up That Hill return to the UK Top 40 for the first time in a decade? Be sure to keep an eye on OfficialCharts.com for all the latest news on the track’s journey – this week’s Official Singles Chart will be revealed, as always, live on BBC Radio 1 on the Official Chart Show at 5:45pm.

Whatever happens, though, it’s great to know that now an entirely new generation has been introduced to Kate Bush and her mad, magic approach to pop music.