Kate Bush pays tribute to late collaborator Del Palmer

Kate Bush has paid tribute to her longtime collaborator Del Palmer, who passed away earlier in January at age 71.

Palmer contributed to albums including 1985's Hounds of Love, 1989's The Sensual World, 1993's Red Shoes and 2005's Aerial, mostly as a bassist and engineer. You can hear his bass on Bush's hit "Running Up That Hill."

In a statement posted to her website, Bush, who was also in a relationship with Palmer into the '90s, writes, "It's hard to know what to say… He was a big part of my life and my work for many years."

"It's going to take a long time to come to terms with him not being here with us," Bush continues. "He was incredibly creative — talented in lots of different ways. He was a brilliant musician, bass player, a great artist — he was always drawing. Once he covered a whole recording consul in cartoons. It took him days and it looked absolutely stunning. He taught himself to be a recording engineer, engineering several of my albums and later releasing his own."

Bush concludes, "I'm going to miss him terribly."