Kate Bush responds to powerful Stranger Things season 4 scene

Sadie Sink as Max sitting at a grave in Stranger Things
Stranger Things season 4 saw a harrowing scene for Max... (Image credit: Netflix)

Stranger Things season 4 had fans stunned with a powerful scene involving Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) set to Kate Bush's iconic track Running Up That Hill, and now the artist has commented on the use of her song.

In the terrifying scene, Max is sitting with her friends when she's taken by Stranger Things season 4's new villain Vecna, who preys on teens who have suffered trauma, using his psychic powers to enter their minds while they're at their most vulnerable.

Unfortunately for Max, she was a prime target after losing her stepbrother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) last season during the Starcourt Mall showdown against the Mind Flayer, and Vecna used Billy to taunt her and lure her in after she visited his grave.

Using quick thinking, Max's friends were able to get inside her head themselves by putting on her headphones and getting her to listen to her favourite song, Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill which gave her the strength to break free and run towards her friends as the track played, finally free of Vecna's grasp.

It was a very powerful moment for Stranger Things fans and Kate Bush has also had her say on the scene, where she thanked the series for giving the song "a new lease of life".

Her statement read: "You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of Stranger Things has recently been released on Netflix. It features the song, Running Up That Hill which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show — I love it too!"

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Kate added that the show had got the song back into the charts, saying: "Because of this, Running Up That Hill is charting around the world and has entered the UK chart at No. 8. It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song. I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July."

The first seven episodes of Stranger Things season 4 are now available, but fans will have to wait until July 1 to see the conclusion of this season, with plenty more drama and scares to come.

Stranger Things is available exclusively on Netflix.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.


She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress