Kate Bush was left "heartbroken" after announcing the tragic death of a close friend during a Christmas Day swim.
This comes after the singer's friend, Matthew Upham who was an antiques dealer, went missing at a beach with another man in Budleigh Salterton in Devon. Sky News reported that HM Coastguard had responded to reports of "people in difficulty" in the water, before the search was called of later that day.
Following this, Kate Bush paid tribute to her friend on her website.
“As you might have heard on the news, Matthew Upham was one of the swimmers who went missing in the sea in Devon on Christmas Day", the singer wrote.
She continued: “Matthew was one of my very dearest friends. I’d known him for thirty years. He was one of those people who touched everyone he met. He was extraordinarily kind, thoughtful and lived life to the full. He was also a great deal of fun. His family are heartbroken and along with many of his friends, so am I".
“Matthew was one of my very dearest friends. I’d known him for thirty years. He was one of those people who touched everyone he met. He was extraordinarily kind, thoughtful and lived life to the full. He was also a great deal of fun. His family are heartbroken and along with many of his friends, so am I".
Matthew Upham's family also paid tribute with a post shared via the Matthew Upham Antiques Instagram account.
“Matthew is deeply loved and will be forever missed. We would like to express our sincere and heartfelt thanks to the emergency services who responded, particularly the RNLI and coastguard, for their dedication, professionalism, and tireless efforts during this extremely difficult time. We are profoundly grateful for their compassion and support".
Last month, Kate Bush saw another spike in her streaming figures following the premiere of the fifth and final season of Netflix hit, Stranger Things.
This comes after the singer's 1985 hit, 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)' featured in the premiere, causing a huge increase in the singer's figures, a feat previously achieved in 2022, when Bush's song featured in season four of Stranger Things.
Following its recent inclusion in Stranger Things, the streams increased by an incredible 153%. The track which reached one billion streams in September 2023 has now surpassed that number, hitting 1.5 billion streams. More on this report from Nova here.
