The Red Shoes (song)
"The Red Shoes" is a song written and performed by English musician Kate Bush. It was the fourth single released from her seventh studio album, The Red Shoes (1993). The single was released in April 1994 and reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.
| "The Red Shoes" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() CD single, part one | ||||
| Single by Kate Bush | ||||
| from the album The Red Shoes | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 5 April 1994 | |||
| Genre | Baila[1] | |||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kate Bush | |||
| Producer(s) | Kate Bush | |||
| Kate Bush singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "The Red Shoes" on YouTube | ||||
Background and content
The song is about a girl who puts on a pair of enchanted ballet slippers and can't stop dancing until she breaks the spell. It is inspired by a character in the Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger film The Red Shoes.
Release
"The Red Shoes" was released on 7-inch vinyl, cassette, and CD on 5 April 1994.[2] "You Want Alchemy" is the B-side song on all formats except the second part of the CD single. The second part of the CD single was released six days after the first part[3] and features a 10-minute remix by Karl Blagan of "The Red Shoes", renamed "Shoedance", as well as remixes of "The Big Sky" and "Running Up That Hill".
Critical reception
Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel wrote, "The mandola, the whistles and various curious instruments on the driving title track really recall the fever-dream quality of the 1948 ballet film The Red Shoes, the album's namesake."[4]
Track listings
All songs were written by Kate Bush.
7-inch and cassette single
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Red Shoes" | |
| 2. | "You Want Alchemy" |
CD1
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Red Shoes" | 4:02 |
| 2. | "You Want Alchemy" | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Cloudbusting" (video mix) | 6:57 |
| 4. | "This Woman's Work" | 3:32 |
CD2
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shoedance" (The Red Shoes dance mix) | 10:08 |
| 2. | "The Big Sky" (special single mix) | 4:40 |
| 3. | "Running Up That Hill" (12-inch version) | 5:43 |
Personnel
- Kate Bush – lead and backing vocals, keyboards
- Paddy Bush – mandola, tin whistle, musical bow, backing vocals
- Del Palmer – Fairlight CMI programming
- Danny McIntosh – guitar
- Gaumont d'Olivera – bass guitar
- Stuart Elliott – drums, percussion
- Colin Lloyd Tucker – backing vocals
Charts
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[5] | 21 |
References
- "Baila Music from Sri Lanka: The Gypsies".
- "Single Releases". Music Week. 2 April 1994. p. 21.
- "Single Releases". Music Week. 9 April 1994. p. 23.
- Gettelman, Parry (3 December 1993). "Kate Bush". Orlando Sentinel.
- "everyhit.com search results for Kate Bush". Retrieved 18 December 2008.
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