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Kate Bush Day returns as The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever 2023 to take place on Folkestone's Harbour Arm

16:00, 24 February 2023

updated: 17:11, 24 February 2023

Dust off your red dress - Kate Bush Day is back.

The event celebrating the iconic singer, in which fans recreate the video for her 1978 hit Wuthering Heights, is to return after a four-year absence.

The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, Folkestone Harbour Arm, Folkestone. Picture: Andy Jones
The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, Folkestone Harbour Arm, Folkestone. Picture: Andy Jones

Folkestone Harbour Arm announced the The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever - affectionately known as 'Kate Bush Day' - will take place on Sunday, July 30.

It will be the third time the town has hosted the event, with the 2018 and 2019 festivities proving a big success.

Hundreds of red dress-wearing, black wig-donning fans of the Bexleyheath-born musician descended on the harbour - before the pandemic forced a hiatus.

Of this year's event, organisers say: "We're delighted to be able to announce that, after four years of hibernation, The Most Wuthering Heights Day ever will return."

The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, Folkestone Harbour Arm, Folkestone. Picture: Andy Jones
The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, Folkestone Harbour Arm, Folkestone. Picture: Andy Jones

But while the date and location has been confirmed, they say more information will follow in the coming months.

Wuthering Heights was Bush's debut single and remains one of her top two biggest hits, along with Running Up That Hill.

She was inspired to write it after watching the 1967 BBC adaptation of Emily Bronte's 1847 novel, writing the lyrics - sung from the perspective of heroine Catherine Earnshaw - in just a few hours.

The song stayed at number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and received widespread critical acclaim, with Pitchfork naming it the fifth greatest song of the 1970s.

A day affectionately known as 'Kate Bush Day' will return to Kent after a four-year break. Picture: Chris Davey
A day affectionately known as 'Kate Bush Day' will return to Kent after a four-year break. Picture: Chris Davey
Kate Bush lookalikes during the warm-up at the Most Wuthering Heights Day event on Folkestone Harbour Arm. Picture: Chris Davey
Kate Bush lookalikes during the warm-up at the Most Wuthering Heights Day event on Folkestone Harbour Arm. Picture: Chris Davey

Meanwhile, her 1985 track Running Up That Hill recently enjoyed a resurgence, topping the charts around the world after appearing on Netflix show Stranger Things.

The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever - which honours the song and the singer - started in 2013 with Shambush! in Brighton, which attempted to set a world record for the highest number of people dressed as Kate Bush in one place.

The idea caught on, and now, events are held around the world including in Adelaide, Perth, Northern Rivers, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Montreal, Atlanta, Berlin, Uppsala, Wellington, Hobart, Amsterdam and Dublin.

When Folkestone joined in the fun in 2018, it was the first town - rather than city - to take part.

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