Kate Bush has conducted a rare interview with Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, thanking fans who have pushed her song ‘Running Up That Hill’ to number one in the charts. 

The song, originally released in 1985, has found a new lease of life after its inclusion in season four of Netflix’s runaway hit Stranger Things, which has introduced it to a host of young fans. 

‘Well it’s just extraordinary,’ Bush told Barnett. ‘I mean, you know, it's such a great series, I thought that the track would get some attention. But I just never imagined that it would be anything like this. It's so exciting. But it’s quite shocking really, isn't it? I mean, the whole world's gone mad.

‘What’s really wonderful I think is this is a whole new audience who, in a lot of cases, they've never heard of me and I love that. The thought of all these really young people hearing the song for the first time and discovering it is, well, I think it's very special.’

In the wide-ranging interview on the song and its impact, Bush also discussed the 1980s’ nostalgia stoked by Stranger Things. ‘I mean, there was some great music in the 80s, but I think it's an incredibly exciting time we're in now I mean, okay, so it's an awful time on a lot of levels for people. Very difficult. But it's also a time when incredible things are happening. Technology is progressing at this incredible rate. That's pretty overwhelming, really. But, you know, there's so many advances in medicine and there are positive things, you just have to look a bit harder to find them at the moment, I think.’

She also reflected on her relationship with Stranger Things: ‘Our friends kept saying have you seen Stranger Things when the first series came out. So eventually we just thought OK let’s just watch it and we've binge watched it and then saw every series ever since.

‘It's lovely because in a similar way to Harry Potter, where in those early films they were just little kids, and then as the film has progressed, it becomes heavier and darker. And those little kids turn into really talented, young, adult actors. And you have a different connection with something that's moved through years really of watching them grow.’

The newfound success of the song comes 44 years after Bush last hit number on in the UK with her debut single ‘Wuthering Heights’. 

As well as topping the charts in the UK, the song is number one in Norway, Sweden, Australia, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Austria, while giving Bush her first ever top 10 hit in the US. 

Watch the video for 'Running Up That Hill' below. 

Listen to Woman’s Hour on Radio 4 weekdays at 10am and on BBC Sounds.