Monday, August 26, marks the 10th anniversary of the starting date of Before The Dawn, the 22 live shows by Kate Bush that were her first concert performances since 1979.

As I wrote in this blog post, when I got the completely unexpected notification about these shows, I knew I had to go – and I did. I saw three of the shows, and even now, 10 years later, they are still among the best live performances I’ve ever seen. Not just for the quality of the music, but for the incredible staging, theatricality, and attention to detail.

In 2016, Kate released a live album of the show’s music. At least three of the shows were filmed, according to people who had their seats at the shows moved to accommodate the equipment. Supposedly the filming was for a DVD, but nothing has been released. There are rumours that Kate was dissatisfied with the quality of some of the images, and decided not to go ahead with the DVD.  She’s a perfectionist (in a good way) so those rumours might well be true.

Personally, and selfishly, I have mixed feelings about a DVD. The show was brilliantly imagined to fill the whole stage, so unless the film was taken from a single fixed point for the entire show, that scope wouldn’t be captured. The quick-cut/closeup/back-and-forth style of most concert films wouldn’t work at all to convey what this show was like. But on the other hand, the incredible costumes, sets, and musical performances need to be seen in action to be fully appreciated.

Kate hasn’t played live at all since those shows, so now I feel even more grateful that I had the time and the resources to get to see Before The Dawn. (And I did finally pay off the debts I racked up for the trip, although it took a while.) Over the past decade I’ve wondered whether other artists might follow her model of playing a run of shows in one location instead of touring. Some acts have done extended residencies in Las Vegas and the like, but the model hasn’t really caught on in the industry, despite the advantages of less travel and more predictability and control for the artist and the show.

I doubt, though, that anyone would have imagined 10 years ago that Kate would become a top-selling artist again thanks to a TV series. I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if that success generated offers to her to tour or to play live. But one thing I’ve learned from several decades of being a Kate fan is that she does what she wants to do, and if she wants to do something, she does it when she wants to do it.

If Kate wants to do more live shows, she’ll do them her way, on her schedule. And if she doesn’t do more live shows, more power to her for making that choice. Before The Dawn was an astounding artistic accomplishment, and those shows will always be an integral part of her artistic legacy.