Rejoice, for Kate Bush has risen again. Heart-popping excitement (my own, and maybe yours too) greeted the musician’s surprise appearance last week on Radio 4’s Today programme, speaking to presenter Emma Barnett.

Bush, 66, was talking about her new four-minute animation, Little Shrew. Inspired by the horrors of war, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict in particular, playing through it is the track Snowdrop from her 2011 album 50 Words for Snow featuring her son Bertie’s vocals. The animation is heartfelt, exquisitely done (Bush would like donations to be made to the War Child charity). Bush also spoke about how she had “lots of ideas” for a new album.

With that, the interview was over, leaving me almost fitting in the kitchen. A new album? Barnett audibly gasped when Bush said it, though, with all due respect, she needs to get over herself – acting as if she’s Kate Bush’s best friend. Fact is, I am Kate Bush’s best friend, even though I’ve never met her. In my soul, where it matters, Kate Bush and I are best friends. Which admittedly looks strange written down, verging on troubling, but fellow Bush-heads might know what I mean.

What is it about Bush and her fans, and her female fans in particular? One radio interview and we’re transported into Kate-mode, which, for me, means going about my normal day (walking the dog; prodding at the supermarket........

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