Kate Bush Announces Rarities Collection, Shares Video for “Rocket Man” Cover

I remember buying this when it came out as a single by Elton John. I couldn’t stop playing it—I loved it so much. Most artists in the mid-seventies played guitar but Elton played piano and I dreamed of being able to play like him.

Years later in 1989, Elton and Bernie Taupin were putting together an album called Two Rooms, which was a collection of cover versions of their songs, each featuring a different singer. To my delight they asked me to be involved and I chose “Rocket Man.” They gave me complete creative control and although it was a bit daunting to be let loose on one of my favourite tracks ever, it was really exciting. I wanted to make it different from the original and thought it could be fun to turn it into a reggae version. It meant a great deal to me that they chose it to be the first single release from the album.

That meant I also had the chance to direct the video which I loved doing—making it a performance video, shot on black-and-white film, featuring all the musicians and … the Moon!

Read Bush’s full statement on her website and watch the video for her cover of “Rocket Man” below. Further down, you can hear Paste archival audio of John performing the beloved tune circa 1986.