Kate Bush given permission to use James Joyce quotes
7th April 2011
Singer-songwriter Kate Bush has been given permission to use parts of James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses on her upcoming album - 20 years after she first asked the author's estate for permission to reference the work.
The forthcoming studio album, Director's Cut, will include a number of old songs given a fresh twist.
Despite re-using old material, Bush sees the album as an entirely new work and says the centrepiece of the recording will be a re-working of 'The Sensual World'.
'Originally when I wrote the song 'The Sensual World' I had used text from the end of Ulysses,' Bush said.
'When I asked for permission to use the text I was refused, which was disappointing,' she added.
However, the James Joyce estate has granted her permission this time around.
'I am delighted that I have had the chance to fulfil the original concept,' Bush concluded.
Ulysses is considered one of the seminal works of modernist literature and was issued in audio format - on 22 CDs - by Naxos Records in 2004.