'The loneliness became desperate': Kate Bush describes 'cruel' bullying during her teenage years at Catholic girls' school in newly resurfaced essay
She is fiercely guarded about her private life.
But a newly resurfaced essay sees Kate Bush talking candidly about her teenage years, admitting she was cruelly bullied by her classmates at her Catholic girls' school.
The now 58-year-old musician penned an intimate account of her school days in Bexley, south-east London for a 1982 issue of Flexipop! - a short-lived music magazine.
Teen torment: A newly resurfaced essay sees Kate Bush, pictured in 1978, talking candidly about her teenage years, admitting she was cruelly bullied by her classmates at her Catholic girls' school in London
The 34-year-old article has been reprinted in a new book detailing the history of the cult magazine - Flexipop! The Book.
The essay sees the Wuthering Heights hitmaker describe herself as a 'closet hooligan' who was tormented at St Joseph's Convent Grammar School.
'I was too shy to be a hooligan but inside I had many hooligan instincts,' she wrote. 'I became very shy at school. There were people who picked on me and gave me a very hard time. It was a very cruel environment and I was a loner.'
Honest chat: The now 58-year-old musician, pictured in 2014, penned an initiate account of her school days in Bexley, south-east London for a 1982 issue of Flexipop! - a short-lived music magazine
Admitting she was sometimes physically abused by the bullies, Kate, who began composing songs aged 10, went onto write that 'even after I left school there were times when the loneliness became desperate.'
The essay also sees the star detail her crushes on boys, especially boys much older than herself.
'It was terrible. I used to think they were so beautiful. But I'd never get anywhere with them. Just the old fantasy trip of getting off on someone was what it was about.'
Rebel inside: The essay sees the Wuthering Heights hitmaker describe herself as a 'closet hooligan' who was tormented at St Joseph's Convent Grammar School
Kate was signed by EMI Records at the age of 16 after a family friend brought the aspiring singer to the attention of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, who arranged for the 15-year-old to record her first demo.
It wasn't until 1977 that the 19-year-old released her debut single - Wuthering Heights, which was a smash hit worldwide and earned the young star the honour of becoming the first woman to reach number one in the UK charts with a self-penned song.
The 58-year-old delighted her fans when she returned to the stage for the first time in over three decades in 2014.
She released Before The Dawn last year, which features recordings from her 2014 Eventim Apollo London residency of the same name.