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Cover of Hounds of Love by Kate Bush — Cover: Hounds of Love

Song · Kate Bush

“Hounds of Love” by Kate Bush

From the album Hounds of Love (1985)

“Hounds of Love” by Kate Bush appears on 16 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1999 and 2025. It was first released in 1985 on the album Hounds of Love. Its best result is #62 on the KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,284 alternative song of all time.

16countdowns

8stations

#62best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1999–2025years charted

Watch

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love - Official Music Video

Video from YouTube (KateBushMusic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

The title track of Kate Bush's fifth album, Hounds of Love (1985), opens with a voice out of an old horror film, Maurice Denham's lines from the 1957 chiller Night of the Demon, before the drums come charging in. Bush wrote it at home early in the album's making and produced it herself, and the song turns a chase by a pack of hounds into a picture of someone running scared from love. Stuart Elliott and Charlie Morgan's drums pound like pursuit, Jonathan Williams's cello saws through the storm, and Julian Mendelsohn mixed.

Released as a single in February 1986, it reached 18 in Britain. Bush directed the video herself, borrowing from Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, Hitchcock lookalike and all, and Q later ranked it among the greatest British songs. She didn't play it live until her 2014 Before the Dawn residency.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

#2,284 of all time

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	1096	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
1999	413	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)	1002
2000	1098	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	1104	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	1103	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2003	1088	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2004	1088	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	1088	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2018	782	The Current	The Current's 893 Essential Songs	892
2019	352	KEXP	KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time	627
2020	634	WXPN	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time	2020
2021	853	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s	909
2022	62	KEXP	KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022)	491
2023	188	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s	850
2024	842	WYEP	WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years	1049
2025	135	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs	800

Also listed as: Hounds Of Love.

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