Words by Millie Thomas 

At the end of May this year, heads were turned, and the season for binge-watching commenced as the fourth season of Stranger Things was released on Netflix. This new season did not disappoint, providing a powerful storyline with the work of amazing actors and actresses such as Winona Ryder, Millie Bobby Brown, Joseph Quinn and many more. Though as the series progresses it is shown that this was not the only factor making this season so unique. A choice for the soundtrack really ignited a spark for the series, bringing together music fans from all over the world. As the fourth episode of the season hits (named as ÔÇÿDear BillyÔÇÖ) a throwback song from the 80s is reintroduced to our era. Kate BushÔÇÖs ÔÇÿRunning Up That Hill (A Deal With God)ÔÇÖ track made in 1985 is played as the favourite song of Max Mayfield (played by Sadie Sink). This song holds an important role for Max in the battle with Vecna, the show’s rival, during the majority of the season.┬á

Kate Bush was delighted to give permission to Stranger Things to use her song as she is said to be a big fan. This has since worked in her favour as the iconic tune is now currently being streamed worldwide due to the feature. ÔÇÿRunning Up That Hill( A Deal With God)ÔÇÖ first debuted on the 17th of August 1985 and reached No.9 on the UKÔÇÖs Official Singles Chart. However, after the release of the new season of Stranger Things, Kate BushÔÇÖs single hit No.1 on the 17th of June 2022 – that is a difference of 36 years and 10 months! The song from the album ÔÇÿHounds of LoveÔÇÖ now sits at over 598 million streams on Spotify, which is over 400 million streams higher than her previous hit song ÔÇÿWuthering HeightsÔÇÖ. ÔÇÿWuthering HeightsÔÇÖ is what Kate Bush originally debuted within 1978 at the age of 19, hitting No.1 in the charts in no time and even earning her the title of becoming the first female artist to achieve a No.1 in the UK with a self-written song.┬á

As well as the newfound popularity on Spotify, ÔÇÿRunning Up That Hill (A Deal With God)ÔÇÖ has also become a sensation on the social media platform TikTok, which is what most likely encouraged the number of streams after the show was released. Over 2.8 million videos were created using the song, and the videos have been viewed and liked by even more. Popular trends of these TikTok videos include people cosplaying as the characters, acting out the scenes from Stranger Things, sharing the song with parents and even containing recommendations of other Kate Bush songs. This isnÔÇÖt the first time an older song was made famous again by TikTok either. Fleetwood Mac ÔÇÿDreamsÔÇÖ (1977) rose to fame on the app recently and had also gained a lot of popularity as a result. Furthermore, other songs included on the Stranger Things season four soundtrack, such as ÔÇÿCalifornia DreaminÔÇÖÔÇÖ by The Beach Boys and ÔÇÿPass The DutchieÔÇÖ by Musical Youth were also trending majorly on Spotify and TikTok as a result of the features. Popular platforms such as TikTok and Netflix really enable the ideal advertisement for music made years ago because of current teens and young adults looking to relate and find comfort in such songs.┬á

Overall, I would say that the soundtrack of Stranger Things has got to be the best show soundtrack of the year as it has brought together all different age groups by providing older songs life in our new generation.