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09th Jul 2022

Why Thor’s Taika Waititi is ‘really annoyed’ at Stranger Things for including Kate Bush song

Kieran Galpin

He also revealed that Thor: Love and Thunder was supposed to include Kate Bush songs

Despite the overwhelmingly positive reception, director and actor Taika Waititi has taken issue with the inclusion of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill.

In a new interview with NME, the 46-year-old voice of Korg spoke on how Netflix has single-handedly “ruined” the song for him. When asked whether Thor: Love and Thunder would “do for Guns N’ Roses what Stranger Things did for Kate Bush”, Waititi did not hold back.

He explained: “I love that show, but as someone who feels a real ownership of Kate Bush music…

“I’m really annoyed! I’ve become one of those old a**eholes who’s like: ‘These kids never listened to Kate Bush, they’ve heard one song on a TV show! They don’t know Kate Bush! I know Kate Bush!”

It seems his distaste for the inclusion goes beyond his personal feeling for Bush’s music, as he suggested he’d worked on a dance scene using Kate Bush’s This is Woman’s Work.

“Before Stranger Things! Yeah, there were a bunch of Kate Bush songs I wanted to have in there. We were gonna have ‘This Woman’s Work’, which was gonna be great for [a scene with] Natalie Portman’s character,” he said. “There was actually gonna be a lot of ABBA in the film as well…”

Someone seriously needs to edit the film with ABBA tracks included because imagine watching Korg singing Chiquitita when his best-bud Thor needs a pick-me-up.

Despite Waititi’s displeasure at its inclusion, Running Up That Hill has climbed the charts decades after its initial release. Beating out Harry Styles, Kate Bush now reigns supreme once more.

Posting to her website after the song’s revival, Bush, 63, wrote: “The Duffer Brothers have created four extraordinary series of Stranger Things in which the child actors have grown into young adults. In this latest series the characters are facing many of the same challenges that exist in reality right now.

“I believe the Duffer Brothers have touched people’s hearts in a special way, at a time that’s incredibly difficult for everyone, especially younger people.

“By featuring Running Up That Hill in such a positive light – as a talisman for Max (one of the main female characters) – the song has been brought into the emotional arena of her story. Fear, conflict and the power of love are all around her and her friends.

“I salute the Duffer Brothers for their courage – taking this new series into a much more adult and darker place. I want to thank them so much for bringing the song into so many people’s lives.

“I’m overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving and it’s all happening really fast, as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force.

“I have to admit I feel really moved by it all.

“Thank you so very much for making the song a No 1 in such an unexpected way.

“Kate.”

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