Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer emailed Kate Bush to tell her she was “big on TikTok” after he featured her track in the show.
Eighties pop icon Kate has seen a huge resurgence in popularity after Matt and his brother Ross, known professionally as the Duffer Brothers, used her song Running Up That Hill in the latest season of the sci-fi series.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Matt revealed it was never their intention that the song, first released in 1985, would blow up like it has done.
“I’ve even seen articles that are like ‘What will be Stranger Things’ next Kate Bush moment?’ There won’t be another one!” he exclaimed. “If we attempt that with another song, it will fail.
“I’d be lying if I said I knew it was going to resonate in the way it did. I think the reason why is because she was so ahead of her time. It feels very modern. And so kids are hooked on it. I don’t even really understand what TikTok is. I emailed Kate Bush, ‘Apparently you’re big on TikTok.’ She was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve heard.'”
The song peaked at number three in Kate’s native Britain when it was first released, and only hit number 30 across the pond.
However, it fared a lot better after featuring in Stranger Things – reaching number one in the U.K. and three in America. It also hit the top spot in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden, among other countries.
