Hammer Horror (song)



"Hammer Horror" was Kate Bush's third single release and first single from her second album Lionheart. It was released on 27 October 1978. Following the top ten success of her first two singles, the song charted at a much lower No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart. The parent album, released a few weeks later, was unaffected and charted in the top 10. "Hammer Horror" proved to be a temporary blip as Bush's next single returned her to the top 20. In other countries it fared better, such as Ireland, where it reached No. 10. In Australia, Kate Bush devised the dance routine for the song in her Melbourne hotel room, and performed the song on the television show, Countdown.

The song references Hammer Films, a company specializing in horror movies. However, Bush conceived of the song after viewing the film Man of a Thousand Faces, a biographical film about Lon Chaney starring James Cagney. "The song was inspired by seeing James Cagney playing the part of Lon Chaney playing the hunchback," Bush stated in 1979. "He was an actor in an actor in an actor, rather like Chinese boxes, and that's what I was trying to create." The story of the song concerns an actor who gets thrust into the lead role of The Hunchback of Notre Dame after the original actor dies in an accident on the film set. The guilt-ridden narrator of the song ends up being haunted by the ghost of the jealous original actor, who was a former friend. A promotional video was made for the single featuring Bush and a black-masked dancer performing the song against a black background.

The B-side of the song was "Coffee Homeground", which also featured on Lionheart.

Track listing
All tracks written and composed by Kate Bush.

7" vinyl
 * 1) "Hammer Horror" – 4:38
 * 2) "Coffee Homeground" – 3:39

7" vinyl (Japan)
 * 1) "Hammer Horror" – 4:15
 * 2) "Coffee Homeground" – 3:39

Personnel
Musicians
 * Stuart Elliot – drums, percussion
 * Del Palmer – bass ("Hammer Horror")
 * David Paton – bass ("Coffee Homeground")
 * Kate Bush – vocals, harmony vocals, piano
 * Ian Bairnson – electric and acoustic guitar ("Hammer Horror"), rhythm guitar ("Coffee Homeground")
 * Duncan Mackay – synthesizer
 * Andrew Powell – harmonium ("Hammer Horror")

Production
 * Andrew Powell – producer
 * Kate Bush – assistant producer
 * Patrick Jaunead – assistant engineer
 * David Katz – orchestra contractor
 * Jon Kelly – recording engineer
 * Nigel Walker – assistant engineer, mixing, mixing assistant