"One of music's most reclusive and enigmatic figures has re-emerged into what some have seen as a rich era for British female singer-songwriters. Bush's new double album, Aerial, is due out in November, only her eighth after three decades in the business. It will be treated with due reverence."

"Kate Bush's celebrated full return to the stage after a 35-year absence is proving that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Eight positions of the current British albums chart are occupied by the art-rock icon's albums, according to The New York Times, which sets a new record for the artist, whose 1978 debut single "Wuthering Heights" made her the first female in British charts history to have a self-written Number One. In addition to being the only woman in U.K. charts history to have that many albums in the Top 40, Bush is now trailing Elvis Presley and the Beatles for having simultaneous Top 40 records; Presley had 12 at one point in his career, while the Beatles, at another time, had 11."

"I didn't realise how commercially successful she might be. I thought of her more really, I suppose, in the terms of someone like Joni Mitchell — the level of a lady who's very talented, but would appeal to a more esoteric audience. But she had different ideas."

"For me, it's not important how well the songs will be received because I think she's already an amazing influence in what she's done. I listen to her stuff a lot while I sketch and I think there is a weird sense of emotional encouragement in her work. There's something therapeutic in her voice and in her attitude, so that sometimes just listening to it can encourage you or give you some kind of energy."

"I know this may give her a mystique and make the press all the more curious about her, but that's not the intention; it's not a ploy to get her more attention. She genuinely doesn't see why people should be interested in her personal life and she certainly doesn't like going out to clubs or trendy restaurants. It's just not her."

"I think she is still relevant. It's nice to see people reinvent themselves. She was a great performer and a great singer. I like that song, you know the one, "It's me, I'm Cathy…" I love that song. I remember listening to it growing up."

"To me, Kate Bush will always represent the age of exploring your sexuality, when you change from a girl to a woman. I guess that's what I found fascinating about Kate, she totally stuck out. She created her own look and sound. There's a timelessness to her music."

"One of the main things that brings people to the Brontë Museum from all over the world is Kate Bush. We have copies of her No 1 hit single "Wuthering Heights" in our collection of Brontë-related items. People often arrive at the Brontë novels through that song."

"They got alchemy. They turn the roses into gold They turn the lilac into honey They're making love for the peaches. And they'll do it, Do it for you."

"What a lovely afternoon On a cloudbusting kind of day. We took our own 'Mystery Tour' And got completely lost somewhere up in the hills. And we came up on a bee-keeper, And he said "Did you know they can change it all?""

"I don't know you, And you don't know me. It is this that brings us together."

"I know it works for me. As we cross the bridge — the burning bridge — With flames behind us, We front the line. It's you and me, baby, against the world."

"It's not easy for me To give away a secret — It's not safe..."

"This little girl inside me Is retreating to her favourite place. Go into the garden. Go under the ivy, Under the leaves, Away from the party. Go right to the rose. Go right to the white rose (For me.)"

"I'm reeling in the music, And I've only had a few... And I'm afraid by the way we grow old... My darling..."

"Warm and soothing That's how I remember home. Walking into arms through the back door Hearing voices I know well and long for."

"December will be magic again. Don't miss the brightest star, Kiss under mistletoe, I want to hear you laugh, Don't let the mystery go now."

"See how I fall like the snow, Come to cover the lovers, (But don't you wake them up) Come to sparkle the dark up, With just a touch of make up. Come to cover the muck up. Ooh with a little luck — December will be magic again."

"December will be magic again. Take a husky to the ice While Bing Crosby sings White Christmas. He makes you feel nice. December will be magic again."

"When the fantasy bells Of the universe ring You can fly through the sky On a dragonfly's wing. There is magic within There is magic without Follow me and you'll learn Just what life's all about."

"When you reach for a star Only angels are there And it's not very far Just a step on a stair Take a look at those clowns And the tricks that they play In the circus of life Life is bitter and gay There are clowns in the night Clowns everywhere See how they run Run from despair ..."

"Oh! Don't you throw my love away, I need your loving, I need your loving..."

"Passing through air. You mix the stars with your arms. Walking through there. The doom of eternity balms. Skies of grey are not today."

"I feel so sorry for you, Believing because they control. And of all the guardian angels They chose me to save your soul! Oh, I'm just trying to explain, I'm a disbelieving angel."

"So much for all the prayers you've learned. They are no help to basic needs. And all the worlds they've shown you Just make you even greedier."

"There's someone who's loved you forever but you don't know it. You might feel it and just not show it."

"Aren't we all the same? In and out of doubt. I can see angels standing around you. They shimmer like mirrors in Summer. But you don't know it. And they will carry you o'er the walls. If you need us, just call."

"Only you can do something about it. There's no-one there, my friend, any better."

"And I'd never know where you'd gonna be next But I'd know that you'd surprise me."

"When we got on top of the hill, We saw Rome burning. I just let you walk away. I've never forgiven myself."

"Excuse me I'm sorry to bother you, But don't I know you? There's just something about you. Haven't we met before? We've been in love forever."

"You were playing in the snow You were banging on the doors You climbed up on the roof Roof of the world You were pulling up the rhododendrons Loping down the mountain They want to know you They will hunt you down Then they will kill you Run away, run away... We found your footprints in the snow We brushed them all away... You're the wild man."

"Lying in my tent I can hear your cry Echoing round the mountainside You sound lonely"

"I am ice and dust. I am sky. I can see horses wading through snowdrifts. My broken hearts, my fabulous dances. My fleeting song, fleeting. The world is so loud. Keep falling. I'll find you."

"I was born in a cloud... Now I am falling. I want you to catch me. Look up and you'll see me. You know you can hear me. The world is so loud. Keep falling. I'll find you."

"All of the birds are laughing Come on let's all join in."

"I can't hear a word you're saying Tell me what are you singing In the sun"

"Oh the dawn has come And the song must be sung And the flowers are melting. What kind of language is this?"

"All the time it's a changing And all the dreamers are waking."

"Bright, white coming alive jumping off of the aerial All the time it's a changing, like now..."

"We dive deeper and deeper Could be we are here Could be in my dream It came up on the horizon Rising and rising In a sea of honey, a sky of honey."

"The stars are caught in our hair The stars are on our fingers A veil of diamond dust Just reach up and touch it The sky's above our heads The sea's around our legs In milky, silky water We swim further and further..."

"Could be in a dream Our clothes are on the beach These prints of our feet Lead right up to the sea No one, no one is here No one, no one is here We stand in the Atlantic We become panoramic..."

"Not one of us would dare to break The silence And, oh how we have longed For something that would Make us feel so..."

"Somewhere in between The waxing and the waning wave Somewhere in between What the song and the silence says Somewhere in between The ticking and the tocking clock Somewhere in a dream between Sleep and waking up Somewhere in between Breathing out and breathing in Like twilight is neither night nor morning"

"This is where the shadows come to play twixt the day And night Dancing and skipping Along a chink of light"

"It was just so beautiful."

"Every sleepy light Must say goodbye To the day before it dies In a sea of honey A sky of honey Keep us close to your heart So if the skies turn dark We may live on in Comets and stars."

"Who knows who wrote that song of summer, That blackbirds sing at dusk, This is a song of colour, Where sands sing in crimson, red and rust, Then climb into bed and turn to dust."

"So all the colours run See what they have become A wonderful sunset"