Bush had suggested she might tour in support of The Red Shoes and deliberately aimed for a "live band" feel, with less of the studio trickery that had typified her last three albums (which would be difficult to recreate on stage).

This was a troubled time for Bush, who had suffered a series of bereavements including the loss of her mother, Hannah, who died in 1992 and the death of her favoured guitarist, Alan Murphy.

"[3] Many of the people she lost are honoured on the ballad "Moments of Pleasure", as well as director Michael Powell, with whom she had discussed working shortly before his death in 1990.

"And So Is Love" features guitar work by Eric Clapton; Gary Brooker (from the band Procol Harum) and Jeff Beck also participated in the recording sessions.

A short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve, written and directed by Bush, and starring herself and English actress Miranda Richardson, was released the same year.

It featured six songs from the album: "Rubberband Girl", "And So Is Love", "The Red Shoes", "Moments of Pleasure", "Eat the Music" and "Lily".

[8] Chris Roberts, writing for Melody Maker, praised The Red Shoes as "an utter masterpiece" and felt that, apart from the "misguided" "Eat the Music", Bush is "on form like the Bible is well-known" with an album of "heartbreakingly beautiful ballads" and the rest "sunrise and Santa Claus, miles of muses".