"Them Heavy People" is a song written and recorded by
Kate Bush, from her debut album ''
The Kick Inside''. It was issued as a single in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
only with the title "Rolling the Ball" reaching number 3, its only release worldwide as an
A-side.
The song is about religion, and the teachings of
Jesus and
Gurdjieff, among others. The song expresses an insistent desire to learn as much as possible, while she is still young.
A
Seiko logo appears on the insert's back side, which makes it Bush's only commercial release featuring any kind of product endorsement. Bush also appeared in TV commercials and print ads for the brand in Japan.
A live recording of this song was the lead track on the ''
On Stage''
EP which reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in 1979. In the Netherlands, the EP was listed as ''Them Heavy People'' in the Top 40 chart, making it basically an A-side. It peaked at number 17 in 1979.
Bush performed "Them Heavy People" on several TV programmes including her only appearance on ''
Saturday Night Live'' in the US and the short-lived ''
Revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
'' in Britain.
The song was parodied in a performance by
Pamela Stephenson in an episode of
Not the Nine O'Clock News in a version titled "Oh England – My Leotard".
Charts
References
Further reading
Them Heavy People Kate's words about the song
External links
*
1978 singles
Kate Bush songs
Songs written by Kate Bush
1978 songs
EMI Records singles
Song recordings produced by Andrew Powell
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