Aug 27, 2014 13:05 By Mark Jefferies

The star kicked off the first show of her Hammersmith Apollo residency last night and thanked her son Bertie, without whom it wouldn’t have been possible

Mum and son

Singer Kate Bush has dubbed her son Bertie “my chief consultant, my editor, my confidant” and said her live shows would never have got off the ground without his help.

In programme notes for her first shows in 35 years, acclaimed artist Kate tells her fans of her closeness with her 16-year-old son.

She said: “Without my son Bertie, this would never have happened. Without his encouragement and enthusiasm, particularly in the early stages when I was very frightened to commit to pushing the ‘go’ button, I’m sure I would have backed out.

“Throughout he has been my chief consultant, my editor, my confidant. In order for him to be part of this, which has always part of the deal, he has had to work really hard in order to keep his school commitments as well as his commitments to the show.

Explosive first show

“He is a very talented actor and beautiful singer, as you will witness and he brings something special to the show through his presence. Thank you Bertie. Thank you so much.”

The 56-year-old British star appeared alongside Bertie at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on Tuesday night – the scene of her last live show in 1979.

A three-hour set which was given a standing ovation kicked off a run of 22 shows , titled Before the Dawn, which sold out almost instantly when tickets went on sale.

Backed by seven musicians, Bush opened the show with Lily, from the 1993 album Red Shoes.

Stunning

The show also included the 1985 single Running Up That Hill and, from the Hounds of Love album and hits like King of the Mountain and Cloudbusting.

Singer Kate also admitted in the programme she cancelled planned London gigs at a venue “similar in size to an aircraft hanger” because she “felt physically sick seeing how big a space this was”.

She then discovered Hammersmith Apollo, now called Eventim Apollo, was free.

“The reason I wanted to have one venue for the shows was so that we could be ambitious with theatrical ideas, knowing that we wouldn’t have to pack it all up and move. The space could become ours and we could create ‘worlds’ within that space.”

Tears, goose bumps and spine-tingling electricity filled the Hammersmith Apollo on Tuesday evening, when Kate Bush took to the stage to launch her long-awaited set of live gigs – her first in 35 years.

It had been a long time coming – and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

The concert was described by BBC 6Music DJ Lauren Laverne as a ”wonderful mix.”

“intimate, adventurous, avant-garde but entirely unpretentious, so clever but so warm and inclusive,” she said.