Kate Bush reaches new heights as Running Up That Hill is UK’s biggest summer hit

Kate Bush’s record-breaking hit Running Up That Hill was the UK’s biggest song of the summer for 2022, according to the Official Charts Company.

Originally released in 1985 as the lead track on her Hounds Of Love album, the new-wave song had a global resurgence in popularity after it was featured in the fourth series of Stranger Things.

The song recorded 762,000 chart units over the summer period from the first week of June to the last week of August, the Official Charts Company has said.

It also secured the most streams of any song this summer with 86.6 million and the most digital downloads with more than 42,000.

In June, the British singer-songwriter broke a trio of chart records with the song including the longest time taken for a single to reach number one, after the 1980s track finally reached the top spot 37 years after it was released.

She also claimed the title of the longest gap between number one singles, as her only other chart-topping moment was 44 years ago with her debut single, Wuthering Heights, in 1978.

To round off her trio of records, the song’s summer success made her the oldest female artist ever to score a UK number one as she was 63-years-old at the time.

The revival of the song has meant Bush has seen off competition from music superstars including Harry Styles, George Ezra and Beyonce in the Official Songs of the Summer 2022 chart.

Styles has ranked second in the summer chart with his smash hit As It Was, which holds the title of the longest-running number one single of the year so far.

The former One Direction singer has also placed at number 10 in the chart with Late Night Talking and number 22 for Music For A Sushi Restaurant.

LF System’s Afraid To Feel takes third place while Ezra’s Green Green Grass secures fourth.

London-born singer-songwriter Cat Burns’ Go comes in at number five, US singer Lizzo’s About Damn Time at six and David Guetta, Becky Hill and Ella Henderson’s Crazy What Love Can Do at seven.

The lead single from Beyonce’s new album Renaissance, titled Break My Soul, claimed eighth place and Burna Boy’s Last Last took the ninth spot.