"Suspended in Gaffa" is a song recorded by English

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

singer

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

. It was released as the fourth single from her fourth studio album ''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by hi ...

'' (1982). "Suspended in Gaffa" was released as a single in continental Europe and Australia, but not in the UK. The song lyrics are about seeing something one really wants (

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

in this case), then not being able to see or experience it ever again. The "gaffa" of the title and chorus refers to

gaffer tape Gaffer tape (also known as gaffer's tape, gaff tape or gaffa tape as well as spike tape for narrow, colored gaffer tape) is a heavy cotton cloth pressure-sensitive tape with strong adhesive and tensile properties. It is widely used in theatre, p ...

, the strong matte black tape used by technicians in the film and concert industries. The B-side is the original mix of " Ne t'enfuis pas", which is misspelled on the sleeve as "Ne T'en Fui Pas". In some countries, the B-side was "Dreamtime" (which originally appeared as the B-side to "

"). A music video for the song was produced. It features Bush performing an

interpretive dance Interpretive dance is a family of modern dance styles that began around 1900 with Isadora Duncan. It used classical concert music but marked a departure from traditional concert dance, as a rebellion against the strict rules of classical ballet ...

in a barn.

Personnel

– vocals, piano, strings * Del Palmer – bass guitar * Stuart Elliott – drums, sticks *

Paddy Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

– mandolin, strings *

Dave Lawson David Alexander Webster Lawson (born 25 September 1978) is an Australian actor and TV personality. Early life Lawson grew up in the Bayside area of Melbourne and completed his secondary education at Haileybury College. He performed in the ...

– synclavier

Charts

Covers

A cover of "Suspended in Gaffa" appears on Syracuse-based

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard. History Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and ve ...

's debut album '' The Rhumb Line''. The song was also covered by

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

band

The Figgs The Figgs are a rock ‘n’ roll band formed in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1987. Originally known as The Sonic Undertones, their output includes thirteen studio albums and multiple EPs and singles. They’ve served as the backing band for r ...

on their 2019 album ''Shady Grove''.

In popular culture

Rec.music.gaffa has been the name for the Kate Bush

Usenet newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are not only discussion groups or conversations, but also a repository to publish articles, start ...

since 16 August 1985, and is now resident at

Google Groups Google Groups is a service from Google that provides discussion groups for people sharing common interests. Until February 2024, the Groups service also provided a gateway to Usenet newsgroups, both reading and posting to them, via a shared user ...

and other Kate-Bush-related websites. "Kate Boosh" by Brooklyn-based rapper Himanshu "Heems" Suri samples the two-line post-chorus vocal of this song and co-opts it as a chorus. The song appears on Suri's 2012 mixtape ''

Nehru Jackets The Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, with a mandarin collar, and with its front modelled on the Indian achkan or sherwani, a garment worn by Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister of India from 1947 to 1964. History ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suspended In Gaffa 1982 singles Kate Bush songs Songs written by Kate Bush 1982 songs