Hammer Horror (song)

"Hammer Horror" is a song by Kate Bush, released as first single from her second album Lionheart. It was released on 27 October 1978. The song peaked at No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] The parent album, released a few weeks later, was unaffected and charted in the top 10. "Hammer Horror" proved to be a temporary blip, for Bush's next single returned her to the top 20. In other countries it fared better, such as Ireland and Australia, where the song reached No. 10 [2] and No.17 respectively.

"Hammer Horror"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album Lionheart
B-side"Coffee Homeground"
Released27 October 1978
RecordedJuly–September 1978
Genre
Length4:39
4:25 (edit)
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Kate Bush
Producer(s)Andrew Powell
assisted by Kate Bush
Kate Bush singles chronology
"The Man with the Child in His Eyes"
(1978)		 "Hammer Horror"
(1978)		 "Wow"
(1979)
Music video
"Hammer Horror" on YouTube

Whilst in Australia during a promotional tour, Kate Bush devised the dance routine for the song in her Melbourne hotel room, and performed the song on the television show Countdown.[3]

The song references Hammer Films, a company specializing in horror movies. However, Bush conceived of the song after viewing the film Man of a Thousand Faces, a biographical film – not produced by Hammer – about Lon Chaney starring James Cagney. "The song was inspired by seeing James Cagney playing the part of Lon Chaney playing the hunchback", Bush stated in 1979. "He was an actor in an actor in an actor, rather like Chinese boxes, and that's what I was trying to create." The story of the song concerns an actor who gets thrust into the lead role of The Hunchback of Notre Dame after the original actor dies in an accident on the film set.[4] The guilt-ridden narrator of the song ends up being haunted by the ghost of the jealous original actor, who was a former friend. A promotional video was made for the single featuring Bush and a black-masked dancer performing the song against a black background.

The B-side of the song was "Coffee Homeground", which also featured on Lionheart.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Kate Bush.

7" vinyl

  1. "Hammer Horror" – 4:38
  2. "Coffee Homeground" – 3:39

7" vinyl (Japan)[5]

  1. "Hammer Horror" – 4:15
  2. "Coffee Homeground" – 3:39
Tracklist and black background on back cover
UK variant of standard back cover

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts
Chart (1978–79) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 17
Ireland (IRMA)[2] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 25
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 25
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 21
Spain (AFE)[10] 35
UK Singles (OCC)[1] 44

References
  1. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  2. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hammer Horror". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. "Countdown [Australia]".
  4. "Cloudbusting / Music / Hammer Horror". Gaffa.org. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  5. "Kate Bush = ケイト・ブッシュ* - ハンマー・ホラー = Hammer Horror (Vinyl)". Discogs. 20 January 1978. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 50. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Kate Bush" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  8. "Kate Bush – Hammer Horror" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  9. "Kate Bush – Hammer Horror". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  10. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
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