Hounds of Love (song)

"Hounds of Love" is a song written, produced and performed by the English singer Kate Bush. It is the title track and the third single released from her No. 1 studio album Hounds of Love (1985). The single was released in the UK on 17 February 1986. The single peaked at No. 18 and spent 5 weeks in the UK Singles Chart. ^[3]

"Hounds of Love"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album Hounds of Love
B-side	"The Handsome Cabin Boy" "Jig of Life" "Burning Bridge" "My Lagan Love"
Released	17 February 1986 (1986-02-17)[1]
Recorded	1984
Genre	Art pop baroque pop progressive pop new wave[2]
Length	3:02
Label	EMI
Songwriter(s)	Kate Bush
Producer(s)	Kate Bush
Kate Bush singles chronology
"Cloudbusting" (1985) "Hounds of Love" (1986) "The Big Sky" (1986)
Music video
"Hounds of Love" on YouTube

It was performed live for the first time as part of the 2014 Before the Dawn residency, in which the lyrics were slightly altered.

Overview

Bush wrote the title track at her house early on in the recording process for Hounds of Love.^[4] Lyrically, the song uses the imagery of an individual being chased by a pack of hounds as a metaphor for an aversion to love.^[5] The words heard at the beginning of the track were sampled from the British 1957 horror film Night of the Demon and spoken by Maurice Denham.^[6]

In October 2004, Q magazine placed this song at No. 21 in its list of the 50 greatest British songs of all time.^[7]

Music video

A music video was made for the song, which Bush herself directed. It was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's thriller film The 39 Steps (1935) and a Hitchcock lookalike also features in the video (a nod to the director's famous cameo appearances in his movies).

Track listings

All songs written and composed by Kate Bush, except "The Handsome Cabin Boy", which is a traditional composition. "Alternative Hounds of Love" is not a remix, but an early version, with slightly different lyrics.

7-inch single (UK)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	3:05
2.	"The Handsome Cabin Boy"	3:10

7-inch single (US)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	3:01
2.	"Burning Bridge"	4:38

12-inch single (UK)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Alternative Hounds of Love"	3:44
2.	"Jig of Life"	4:06
3.	"The Handsome Cabin Boy"	3:10

12-inch single (US)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Alternative Hounds of Love"	3:44
2.	"Burning Bridge"	4:38
3.	"My Lagan Love"	2:31

Personnel

• Kate Bush – vocals, Fairlight CMI, Yamaha CS-80
• Stuart Elliott – drums
• Charlie Morgan – drums
• Jonathan Williams – cello

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart[8]	84
Europe (European Top 100 Singles)[9]	63
German Singles Chart[10]	68
Irish Singles Chart[11]	12
UK Singles Chart[12]	18

Chart (2022)	Peak position
UK Download Chart[13]	71
UK Sales Chart[14]	72

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[15]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

The Futureheads version

"Hounds of Love"
Single by the Futureheads
from the album The Futureheads
B-side	"Man Made (A Mistake)" "Decent Days and Nights"
Released	21 February 2005 (2005-02-21)[16]
Genre	Indie rock
Length	3:05
Label	679 Recordings
Songwriter(s)	Kate Bush
Producer(s)	Paul Epworth
The Futureheads singles chronology
"Meantime" (2004) "Hounds of Love" (2005) "Area" (2005)
Music video
"Hounds of Love" on YouTube

"Hounds of Love" was covered by English post-punk band the Futureheads for their self-titled debut album and was released as a single in February 2005. The single peaked at No. 8 on the UK charts in its first week^[17] and was named Best Single of 2005 by NME.^[18] In October 2011, NME placed it at No. 89 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[19]

Music video

The music video for the Futureheads version was filmed at a public park in Los Angeles at night. Various dog breeds run around the band throughout the video. The video was finished by Sunrise.

Track listings

7-inch vinyl single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	Kate Bush	3:05
2.	"Man Made (A Mistake)"	The Futureheads	2:37

CD single #1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	Kate Bush	3:05
2.	"Hounds of Love" (Phones' Wolves at the Door remix)	Kate Bush	5:18

CD single #2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	Kate Bush	3:05
2.	"Decent Days and Nights" (acoustic)	The Futureheads	2:39
3.	"Hounds of Love" (Mystery Jets' Pirate Invasion mix)	Kate Bush	4:24
4.	"Man Made (A Mistake)"	The Futureheads	5:13
5.	"Hounds of Love" (music video (data track))	Kate Bush

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Irish Singles Chart[11]	26
UK Singles Chart[17]	8

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
UK Singles (OCC)[20]	200