I’ve never heard Kate Bush mention the group Fox as an influence but I bet that if you’d gone into her bedroom in 1975 (and I bet you’d love to), along with the Alphonse Mucha poster on the wall and the dog-eared paperback of “Wuthering Heights” on the bookshelf, you’d find their debut album on her record player.

They’re almost forgotten now but I’ll eat my hat if the teenage Kate wasn’t a big fan of their plush, poppy psychedelia and their lead singer Noosha Fox wasn’t the virtual template for her style. Not only did she have a similar high-pitched vocal style but she also put on the same sort of wide-eyed, ethereal bohemian wispiness that was all silk dresses and theatrical hand movements. While singles like “Imagine Me, Imagine You” were jaunty, glittery pop there’s a decided Kate Bush-y vibe on their first album with ornate, spacey tracks like “Red Letter Day” which have the sort of flowery imagery (the song mentions unicorns!) and magic fairy dust that was sprinkled all over Kate’s early oeuvre. Even song title like “Patient Tigers” and “Pisces Babies” sound like something she’d write in her more purple velvet moments.

Download: Imagine Me, Imagine You – Fox (mp3)
Download: Red Letter Day – Fox (mp3)
Buy: “Fox” (album)

I can’t remember if I ever fancied Noosha but I know plenty of boys did (in reality she was an Australian folk singer named Susan Traynor). A lot of arty and quirky girl singers came along post-punk, but in 1975 she was pretty unique next to the likes of Suzi Quatro, Lynsey de Paul and Kiki Dee. But I’m pretty sure that when Kate Bush saw this on Top of The Pops she must have taken notes.

Clare Grogan and Alison Goldfrapp got a lot from her too.