In a best female artist category crammed with 20-something talent, the 53-year-old Bush stands out. The singer had a long-awaited musical comeback last year with an acclaimed album, 50 Words for Snow.
When she last won the best female award, in 1987, her fellow contenders included Kim Wilde and Joan Armatrading.
This time they are Adele and Jessie J, both 23, Florence Welch, 25, and Laura Marling, 21.
Adele has two further nominations - best album for 21 and best single for Someone Like You - and is tipped by bookmakers’ to win all three. It was her appearance at the 2011 Brit Awards that set in train her extraordinary year of record-breaking success.
Jessie J also has three nominations, the others being best breakthrough act and best single for Price Tag.
Ed Sheeran, the singer-songwriter who built his fanbase via Facebook and YouTube, leads the Brit Awards nominations.
The 20-year-old is shortlisted in four categories: best male, best breakthrough act, best album for + and best single for The A-Team, the acoustic song that he recorded in a student flat and put out with a video he made for less than £20.
The Brit Awards will take place on February 21, with Adele and Florence and the Machine among the performers. Bush is unlikely to attend - her public appearances are rare and she has admitted to feeling “petrified” at the prospect of returning to the stage.
She last performed a full concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1979, a year after the release of Wuthering Heights. She continued to release albums, including Hounds of Love (1985) and The Sensual World (1989).
Last year, after a lengthy absence, she released two albums: Director’s Cut, a compilation of re-worked material, and 50 Words for Snow.
Although she has been portrayed as an eccentric recluse, Bush insists she simply chooses to live quietly in Berkshire with her family.
