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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA<\/span> hush falls across the crowd, only disturbed by the lightest of breezes and the lone call of a gull on the air. The feeling of anticipation builds as close to a thousand people clad in red dresses wait on bended knee, eyes trained towards the ground, standing by for their cue. And then, finally, it comes \u2013 the tinkling opening piano notes that signify we are about to begin. The world seems to hold its breath, just for a moment.<\/p>\nAs the unmistakable falsetto warble of British songstress Kate Bush rings out across the impromptu 520-metre-long concrete stage, setting the scene \u2013 not quite the \u201cwily, windy moors\u201d, but close enough \u2013 every single member of the assembly slowly raises one arm in unison. Every single person bends their arm backwards, then forwards, then pulls it back down. Turns their head to the side. Looks back to centre. Drags a hand emotively in front of their face. For the next four minutes and 28 seconds, the real world does not exist. For the next four minutes and 28 seconds, we are all transported into the world of \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d.<\/p>\n
This is \u201cThe Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever\u201d \u2013 or, as it\u2019s more colloquially known, Kate Bush Day \u2013 a beautiful, bonkers annual tribute to the cult musician\u2019s most famous song. Inspired by the original event first held in Brighton as part of Brighton Fringe in 2013, the brainchild of performance collective Shambush, this particular iteration is being held in the seaside town of Folkestone, Kent, on its handily capacious Harbour Arm jutting into the English Channel.<\/p>\n
The concept has proven so popular that it\u2019s subsequently spawned countless copycats around the world, having taken place in Australia, Canada, the US, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Croatia, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Mexico, Italy and Israel.<\/p>\n
But, though now embraced by multiple nationalities, The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever is perhaps an example of British eccentricity at its finest: an event that invites anyone and everyone to drape themselves in scarlet and perform a coordinated, choreographed dance routine en masse to recreate the iconic 1978 \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d music video in which Bush wore a long red dress and whirled around Salisbury Plain. (And when I say anyone, I mean anyone<\/em>. In the past, I\u2019ve seen hench, bearded men pirouetting in skin-tight strapless gowns, and dogs swaddled in scarlet being gently swayed by owners in matching outfits.)<\/p>\nWhy do we do this? If you even have to ask the question, the whole thing\u2019s possibly not for you. A better question might be, \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Folkestone-based Kate Bush Day is happening today, 20 July, but I first came across this display of wholesome quirkiness in 2023, the year after I\u2019d moved here from London. A self-confessed Kate Bush superfan, I couldn\u2019t believe my luck. I\u2019d landed in a town populated by enough over-enthusiastic weirdos that not only did such an event exist, but it was the source of immense excitement. I turned up that first year on two hours\u2019 sleep with a raging hangover \u2013 no way was I going to miss this <\/em>\u2013 to find that here were my people, hundreds of them, all giddily pouring onto the Harbour Arm. I hadn\u2019t had time to fully learn the dance and was mainly winging it, raggedly wafting my arms around in time to the music, but it hardly mattered. It was such a pure, unadulterated delight to move in unison with that swelling crowd, to feel part of something far greater than myself. The joy in the air was palpable; my face hurt from smiling so much. By the end of that first dance, I felt like a new woman, practically vibrating with energy and goodwill.<\/p>\n\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Folkestone’s \u2018Wuthering Heights\u2019 event attracts thousands of people each year (Helen Coffey)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cI must say, 2023 was quite a surprise,\u201d says Toby Cotton, a Folkestone local who now organises the entire event in his spare time alongside fellow residents Jo Blach and Issy Oakes. \u201cWe weren\u2019t expecting that <\/em>many people.\u201d<\/p>\nThe first Folkestone Kate Bush Day took place in 2018, masterminded by a man called Pete Burkinshaw. He\u2019d come across the Brighton event and was convinced that Folkestone, with its growing community of creatives and artists, was just the kind of place where the template would work. That inaugural year, around 150 to 200 people showed up. The following year garnered 300 participants. Then, the pandemic forced a three-year hiatus as Covid restrictions prevented big gatherings. Pete passed the organisational baton to Toby, and in 2023 \u2013 the year I attended for the first time \u2013 more than a thousand Kates descended upon the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was so much bigger after the pandemic because we were looking for excuses to get together in big groups again \u2013 to get together with lots of other people, all enjoying the same thing,\u201d posits Toby. \u201cAnd it turned out Pete was right: Folkestone is<\/em> a good place to do it, the sort of place where people would embrace such a thing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\nThe joy in the air was palpable; my face hurt from smiling so much<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
After the revelation of 2023\u2019s Kate Bush Day, I decided that only one thing could further elevate the experience \u2013 becoming a lead dancer. While there are videos of the choreography online and a few public practice sessions in the run-up to the event so that people can learn the routine, on the day itself, around 10 \u201chead Kates\u201d are stationed along the Harbour Arm. Standing on small podiums and facing the crowd, they perform the dance in mirror image so that everyone else can follow them.<\/p>\n
As a natural performer (OK, show-off) whose signature karaoke song already happened to be \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d, I felt it was quite possibly my destiny to be up there among those hallowed men and women. Thankfully, it\u2019s not the kind of gig that requires any kind of formal audition process \u2013 more a casual chat down the pub \u2013 and, lo and behold, by 2024\u2019s gathering, I had secured my spot.<\/p>\n
What transpired was, genuinely, one of the most lovely, heart-warming and life-affirming days of my life thus far. Though an English summer is never bankable, 2024\u2019s Kate Bush Day was blessed with a chicory flower-blue sky and blazing sun. The sea was at her most enchanting: calm and smooth as a millpond, in her signature shade of dazzling teal.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Helen Coffey (right) takes her role as Kate leader very seriously (Helen Coffey)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nFrom 10am, the most eager Kates had already started arriving. They flocked into the Goods Yard, Folkestone Harbour’s outdoor street food plaza, ready to limber up with a warm-up session and begin doing practice runs to check they\u2019d nailed every step. Ninety minutes later marked the official Procession of the Kates. It\u2019s quite possibly the closest I\u2019ll ever come to feeling like a celebrity \u2013 holding a red placard emblazoned with the words \u201cFollow me, I\u2019m Cathy!\u201d aloft as I led hundreds of people in red dresses behind me, like a bizarre Pied Piper.<\/p>\n
And then, at 12pm, it was time. We sank to our knees; quiet descended; time stood still. I could feel, quite literally, a thousand eyes on me as those first lyrics blasted out of the speakers. As I gently raised my arm, so did the sea of scarlet in front of me. As I lowered it, they followed suit. I felt imbued with the kind of power normally reserved for gods or dictators.<\/p>\n\n
\nI felt imbued with the kind of power normally reserved for gods or dictators<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
That first rendition passed by in a blur. I was so focused on not messing up the moves and leading my flock astray \u2013 and on not spinning so vigorously that I\u2019d topple from my tiny platform \u2013 that I barely registered what was happening until the very end. The last minute and 20 seconds is really just freestyle, an excuse for everyone to skip and sway and undulate to the impressively long instrumental outro in whatever way they see fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cFancy doing all that again?\u201d asked Toby over the mic. A cheer went up. \u201cI\u2019ll take that as a yes!\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, I made a conscious effort to reside in the moment. With every step, I took a mental snapshot: the sharp, eye-popping contrast between the blue-green of the water and the human wall of red; the way the throng moved so beautifully as one, as if we were all part of a single, throbbing organism. But, mainly, I homed in on the faces in front of me. Every single one of them was beaming, infused with an almost holy glow of exultation. And, indeed, it did feel somehow sacred, strange as that may sound. How often, after all, do we ever come together with strangers and do something as a collective? How often do we take a moment out of our frantic, busy lives to do a silly, frivolous thing \u2013 just for fun, just because it makes our hearts feel full?<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Helen channels her inner Kate Bush (Helen Coffey)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nWhen I ask Toby why he loves it, he gives a simple yet similar answer. \u201cIt creates such a lovely atmosphere \u2013 there\u2019s really this sense that everybody\u2019s doing something for no other reason than that they want to do something fun together,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
And if that\u2019s not reason enough to put on a ridiculous outfit, learn a ridiculous dance and screech from the top of your lungs that \u201cIt\u2019s ME, I\u2019m Cathy, I\u2019ve come hoooome!\u201d \u2013 well, I don\u2019t know what is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more A hush falls across the crowd, only disturbed by the lightest of breezes and the lone call of a gull on the air. The feeling of anticipation builds as close to a thousand people clad in red dresses wait on bended knee, eyes trained towards the ground, standing by for their cue. And then, finally, it comes \u2013 the tinkling opening piano notes that signify we are about to begin. The world seems to hold its breath, just for a moment. As the unmistakable falsetto warble of British songstress Kate Bush rings out across the impromptu 520-metre-long concrete stage, setting the scene \u2013 not quite the \u201cwily, windy moors\u201d, but close enough \u2013 every single member of the assembly slowly raises one arm in unison. Every single person bends their arm backwards, then forwards, then pulls it back down. Turns their head to the side. Looks back to centre. Drags a hand emotively in front of their face. For the next four minutes and 28 seconds, the real world does not exist. For the next four minutes and 28 seconds, we are all transported in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}