Covering Kate Bush is dangerous. You’re basically asking for trouble because her fans are protective and her vocal range is, frankly, inhuman. Most people fail. They try to out-sing her or they make it a weird EDM remix that loses the soul of the original. But then there’s the Placebo Running Up That Hill cover.
It’s dark. It’s slow. Honestly, it’s a bit miserable, but in that specific way only Brian Molko can pull off.
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When Placebo dropped this as a B-side for "Special Needs" back in 2003, nobody expected it to become a definitive version of the track for an entire generation. It wasn't just a cover; it was a total reconstruction. They stripped away the Fairlight CMI synth-pop energy of the 1985 original and replaced it with a crushing, industrial-lite atmosphere that feels like a panic attack in slow motion.
The weird history of Placebo Running Up That Hill
You've probably heard it on a dozen TV shows. It’s the go-to song for "edgy teen drama" or "supernatural tragedy." It showed up in The O.C., it was in The Vampire Diaries, and it even haunted a promo for Big Brother.
Why? Because it captures a mood Kate Bush didn't intend.
Kate’s original is a plea for empathy—a "deal with God" to swap places with a partner to understand them better. It’s soaring. It’s hopeful, in a weird way. Placebo’s version sounds like the deal already went wrong. Brian Molko’s nasal, androgynous delivery makes the lyrics feel more like a desperate demand than a curious wish.
When they recorded it, the band was in a transitional phase. They were moving away from the glam-punk of Without You I'm Nothing and leaning into the polished, darker textures of Sleeping with Ghosts. This cover acted as a bridge. It proved they could be atmospheric without losing their bite.
Why the tempo change matters
If you play them side-by-side, the difference in BPM (beats per minute) is jarring.
Kate Bush’s original sits around 108 BPM. It’s got a driving, rhythmic pulse that makes you want to move. Placebo slows it down significantly. By dropping the tempo and layering in those buzzing, distorted guitars, they changed the genre entirely. It’s no longer art-pop. It’s "doom-pop."
The drums are clinical. Cold.
Instead of the warm, tribal percussion of the '80s, you get this metronomic thud that feels like a heartbeat under stress. It changes how you hear the lyrics. When Molko sings "It doesn't hurt me," you don't believe him for a second. That's the magic of the performance. It's a lie set to music.
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The Stranger Things effect and the 2022 resurgence
We have to talk about 2022.
When Stranger Things Season 4 dropped, Kate Bush became the biggest artist on the planet again. It was wild to see. But a funny thing happened on TikTok and Spotify: people started rediscovering the Placebo version too.
Search volume for Placebo Running Up That Hill spiked alongside the original. Younger listeners, who were maybe too young for the 2003 release, found the darker version more "aesthetic." It fit the mood of the early 2020s—isolating, slightly melancholic, and deeply moody.
It’s interesting how a song can have two completely different lives.
- 1985: The synth-pop masterpiece.
- 2003: The cult-classic indie cover.
- 2022: The viral rebirth of both.
Placebo didn't try to compete with the 1985 production. They knew they couldn't. Instead, they leaned into their own identity. If you listen to the live versions from their tours around that time, Molko often looks like he's barely holding it together while singing it. It’s visceral.
Comparing the vocal delivery
Let's get technical for a second, but not too boring.
Kate Bush uses her voice as an instrument. She jumps octaves. She uses breathy whispers and powerful belts. Brian Molko does the opposite. He stays in a relatively narrow range, letting the inflection and the "sneer" do the heavy lifting.
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He emphasizes the "if I only could" with a sense of defeat.
In the original, that line feels like a challenge to the universe. In the Placebo version, it feels like a realization that the deal with God is never going to happen. It's the difference between "I want to try" and "I know I can't."
The production choices
The track was produced during the Sleeping with Ghosts sessions. The band worked with Jim Abbiss, who has worked with everyone from Arctic Monkeys to Adele. You can hear his touch in the way the electronic elements are blended with the organic.
There’s a specific "hum" in the background of the track. It’s a low-frequency drone that stays constant. This creates a sense of dread that isn't in the original. Most covers fail because they just copy the arrangement. Placebo threw the arrangement in the trash and started from scratch.
They used:
- Heavily processed digital drums.
- A signature Gibson SG guitar tone through distorted amps.
- Minimalist piano chords for the hook.
It’s actually a very simple recording. There isn't much "fluff." Every sound has a purpose.
Is it the best Kate Bush cover ever?
That’s a big claim. You’ve got Maxwell’s "This Woman’s Work" and Future Islands doing "The King of Mountain." Those are great.
But Placebo Running Up That Hill holds a special place because it actually managed to chart and become a staple of alternative radio. It’s rare for a cover of such a legendary song to become "the" version for a specific demographic. For many people who grew up in the early 2000s, this was the song. They didn't even know it was a cover at first.
That’s the hallmark of a successful reimagining.
It has to stand on its own. If you took away the knowledge that Kate Bush wrote it, the song would still sound like a "Placebo song." It fits their themes of identity, struggle, and gender-fluidity perfectly. It fits the "Placebo World" like a glove.
How to appreciate it now
If you’re a fan of the original, you might hate it. That’s fair. It’s a totally different vibe.
But if you want to understand why it works, you have to listen to it late at night. Alone. Preferably in the rain. It’s not a "sunny day" song. It’s a "staring out the window of a bus" song.
The influence of this specific cover can be seen in how modern "slowed and reverb" remixes work on social media. Placebo was doing that before it was a trend. They understood that slowing a pop song down exposes the sadness hidden in the lyrics.
Actionable steps for music fans
If you want to dive deeper into this specific corner of music history, don't just stop at the Spotify stream.
- Watch the live versions: Check out Placebo’s performance at the Festival d'Eté de Québec or their 2003 live sets. The energy is much more aggressive than the studio recording.
- Listen to the B-sides: The Special Needs single where this first appeared has other gems. It shows the mindset the band was in.
- Check out the "Covers" album: Placebo eventually released an entire album of covers (including tracks by Depeche Mode and Pixies). It's a masterclass in how to steal a song and make it yours.
- Compare the lyrics: Read the lyrics without the music. See how the meaning shifts when you imagine Molko’s voice versus Bush’s. It’s a cool exercise in how vocal tone changes narrative.
Placebo took a 1980s pop staple and turned it into a gothic anthem. They didn't do it by being louder; they did it by being quieter and more intense. It’s a lesson in restraint. Whether you prefer the original's soaring hope or Placebo's crushing weight, you can't deny that the cover is a piece of art in its own right. It’s one of the few times a cover has actually managed to live alongside the original without being overshadowed by it.