S05E20 – Do Bears (with Rowan Atkinson)

And now for an interesting little footnote in Kate Bush’s discography, her duet with comedian Rowan Atkinson, Do Bears. On April 4, 5, and 6, 1986, Kate Bush took part in the first live show for a then-new British charity event that would soon become a yearly institution: Comic Relief. She sang two songs, a solo piano version of Breathing (which was discussed in this episode) and a humorous duet with Rowan Atkinson, Do Bears…? Kate’s performances of both songs were filmed for a special edition of the BBC program Omnibus, which was broadcast on April 25, 1986. Meanwhile, the audio for her performances was released on an LP called Utterly Utterly Live at the Shaftesbury Theatre: Comic Relief. In this episode, Cecilee gets to talk with Jack Wranovics, a Kate fan from California, who was last on the show to discuss Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake. Jack and Cecilee talk about this song and also the atmosphere of the late 80s and the obsession with what Jack calls “charity chic”: charity events, such as Live Aid, Band Aid, and Comic Relief, involving celebrities raising money for a good cause. We also talk about Kate’s place in British pop culture at the time and our own thoughts on this song! Song clip played and video mentioned: Do Bears (live at Comic Relief, 1986)