The Red Shoes (song)
| "The Red Shoes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 CD single, part one | ||||
| Single by Kate Bush | ||||
| from the album The Red Shoes | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 5 April 1994 | |||
| Genre | Baila[1] | |||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kate Bush | |||
| Producer(s) | Kate Bush | |||
| Kate Bush singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "The Red Shoes" on YouTube | ||||
"The Red Shoes" is a song written and performed by English musician Kate Bush. It was the fourth single released from her seventh studio album, The Red Shoes (1993). The single was released in April 1994 by EMI. The song peaked at No. 21 and spent 3 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
Background and content
The song is about a girl who puts on a pair of enchanted ballet slippers and can't stop dancing until she breaks the spell. It is inspired by a character in the Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger film The Red Shoes. Speaking to Melody Maker in 1993, Bush revealed, "It's just taking the idea of these shoes that have a life of their own. If you're unfortunate enough to put them on, you're going to dance and dance. It's almost like the idea that you're possessed by dance. Before I had any lyrics, the rhythm of the music led me to the image of, oh, horses, something that was running forward, and that led me to the image of the dancing shoes. Musically, I was trying to get a sense of delirium, of something very circular and hypnotic, but building and building."[2]
Release
"The Red Shoes" was released on 7-inch vinyl, cassette, and CD on 5 April 1994.[3] "You Want Alchemy" is the B-side song on all formats except the second part of the CD single. The second part of the CD single was released six days after the first part[4] and features a 10-minute remix by Karl Blagan of "The Red Shoes", renamed "Shoedance", as well as remixes of "The Big Sky" and "Running Up That Hill".
Critical reception
Chris Roberts from Melody Maker said, "'The Red Shoes' meets its jigging ambition and sticks a flag on top, making her dance till her legs fall off."[5] Another editor, Peter Paphides, commented, "Only as a grown-up will I be able to fully apprehend the texture and allegorical resonance of the themes dealt with in 'The Red Shoes'. Until then, I'll content myself with Tori Amos and Edie Brickell."[6] Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel wrote, "The mandola, the whistles and various curious instruments on the driving title track really recall the fever-dream quality of the 1948 ballet film The Red Shoes, the album's namesake."[7] Mark Sutherland from Smash Hits gave it two out of five, adding that "loads of spooky 'ethnic' noises and tribal beats make for a very weird single, but not a very good one."[8]
Track listings
All tracks are written by Kate Bush
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Red Shoes" | |
| 2. | "You Want Alchemy" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Red Shoes" | 4:02 |
| 2. | "You Want Alchemy" | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Cloudbusting" (video mix) | 6:57 |
| 4. | "This Woman's Work" | 3:32 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shoedance" (The Red Shoes dance mix) | 10:08 |
| 2. | "The Big Sky" (special single mix) | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Running Up That Hill" (12-inch version) | 5:43 |
Personnel
- Kate Bush – lead and backing vocals, keyboards
- Paddy Bush – mandola, tin whistle, musical bow, backing vocals
- Del Palmer – Fairlight CMI programming
- Danny McIntosh – guitar
- Gaumont d'Olivera – bass guitar
- Stuart Elliott – drums, percussion
- Colin Lloyd Tucker – backing vocals
Charts
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 21 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] | 54 |
References
- ^ "Baila Music from Sri Lanka: The Gypsies".
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (6 November 1993). "Heaven's Kate". Melody Maker. pp. 36–37.
- ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 2 April 1994. p. 21.
- ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 9 April 1994. p. 23.
- ^ Roberts, Chris (30 October 1993). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 32. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ Paphides, Peter (9 April 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 27. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ Gettelman, Parry (3 December 1993). "Kate Bush". Orlando Sentinel.
- ^ Sutherland, Mark (30 March 1994). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 53. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "everyhit.com search results for Kate Bush". Retrieved 18 December 2008.
- ^ "European Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 18. 30 April 1994. p. 14. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
