It was released in the UK as the lead single from Bush's fifth studio album, Hounds of Love, on 5 August 1985 by EMI Records.

In 2022, after it was featured in the fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things, "Running Up That Hill" reached number one in eight countries, including the UK.

She performed it in 1987 at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball, accompanied by the Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, and in 2014 at her Before the Dawn concerts.

In 2021, Rolling Stone placed "Running Up That Hill" at number 60 in its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

"Running Up That Hill" features synthesisers, guitar, bass, a driving drum beat and the balalaika, a Russian string instrument.

[10] In 1983, Bush moved from London to rural Sevenoaks, where she set up a songwriting room with a piano, a Fairlight CMI synthesiser and an eight-track recorder.

[12] In early 1984, Bush moved to her new studio at East Wickham Farm in her childhood home of Welling, Kent, where she recorded the final version of "Running Up That Hill".

[12] The drummer, Stuart Elliott, overdubbed a snare to strengthen the Linndrum, and added fills at the end combined with sounds from the Fairlight.

[16] To evade Equity union rules against moonlighting, Hervieu said she could not appear in the West End musical Barnum because of illness, for which she was fired from the play.

[15] Bush debuted "Running Up That Hill" in a performance on the BBC One talk show Wogan, to an estimated audience of nine million.

Mojo wrote later: "Particularly in the context of a cosy mainstream show, there was something distinctly ritualistic about the whole affair, certainly in keeping with the song's magickal theme.

[21] "Running Up That Hill" gained renewed attention in May 2022 after it featured in the fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things.

[41] "Running Up That Hill" became popular with Generation Z, who were not born when the song was released, and it appeared in videos on the social media platform TikTok.

"[43] In 1985, Smash Hits named "Running Up That Hill" its "single of the fortnight" and praised its "melodic strength" and "coolly restrained performance".

[51] Reviewing Hounds of Love in 2016, the Pitchfork critic Barry Walters wrote that "Running Up That Hill" had "brought to the mainstream gender-equality issues that female-led post-punk acts like Au Pairs had been thrashing out for years in the underground".

"[52] The AllMusic journalist Amy Hanson wrote: "Always adept at emotion and beautifully able to manipulate even the most bitter of hearts, rarely has Bush penned such a brutally truthful, painfully sensual song.

[56] In 2021, Rolling Stone placed "Running Up That Hill" at number 60 in its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

"[7] In 2024, the Rolling Stone journalist Rob Sheffield wrote: "Her classic synth-goth anthem sounded ahead of its time in the eighties.

"[17] Bush performed "Running Up That Hill" in 1987 at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball, accompanied by the Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and Tony Franklin on fretless bass.

[61] On 20 August, 2022, Partridge joined the British rock band Coldplay to perform "Running Up That Hill" at Wembley Stadium, London.

[61] The American rock band Faith and the Muse included a goth-style cover of "Running Up That Hill" on the 2001 compilation album Vera Causa.

[62] The British rock band Placebo included a version of "Running Up That Hill" on their 2003 compilation album Covers,[63] which reached number 44 on the UK singles chart.

[62][64] Guitar World said Placebo's version is often credited as "defining" cover, describing it as a "glistening ‘00s update" with a "pulsating heartbeat bassline" and "quivering vocal" that "evokes the sense of a protagonist on life support, bargaining with supernatural forces".

[65][66] The American singer Emma Ruth Rundle and members of the bands Mastodon, Yob and Old Man Gloom performed a version on YouTube during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.

[67] The German singer Kim Petras recorded a cover for Amazon Music's playlist for 2022 Pride Month,[68] which reached number 100 on the UK singles chart.