The Whole Story is the first compilation album by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush and her first greatest hits album worldwide. Released on 10 November 1986, it earned Bush her third UK number-one album and went on to become her best-selling release to date, being certified four-times platinum in the United Kingdom.
The album includes 11 of Bush's singles. It also includes "Experiment IV", which had been released as a single three weeks earlier; it also reached the UK top 30. A remix of Bush's debut single "Wuthering Heights" (1978) with newly re-recorded vocals opens the album. The album mix of "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" features on this release rather than the single version.
A home video compilation of the same name was released simultaneously, which includes the promotional videos for each song on the album. It was nominated for the Best Concept Music Video at the 1988 Grammy Awards.
In 2014, during Bush's Before the Dawn residency at the Hammersmith Apollo, The Whole Story charted at number 8 in the UK. Following a resurgence of popularity for "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" in 2022, The Whole Story peaked at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart.
Track listing
Video
Personnel Kate Bush – keyboards, vocals, producer Ian Cooper – cutting engineer Jon Kelly – producer Andrew Powell – producer
Charts
Weekly charts + 1986–1987 weekly chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (1986–1987) Peakposition Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 28 European Albums (Music & Media) 11 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 30 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 38UK CDs (Music Week)1
+ 1995 weekly chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (1995) Peakposition French Albums (IFOP) Select "Kate BUSH" from the drop-down menu and click "OK". 9
+ 2003 weekly chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (2003) Peakposition
+ 2014 weekly chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (2014) Peakposition
+ 2022–23 weekly chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (2022–23) Peakposition
Year-end charts + 1986 year-end chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (1986) Position UK Albums (Gallup) 16 + 1987 year-end chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (1987) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 91 European Albums (Music & Media) 38 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 75 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 44 UK Albums (Gallup) 57 + 2014 year-end chart performance for The Whole Story Chart (2014) Position UK Albums (OCC) 66
Bibliography
Certifications and sales
References