Hue and Cry

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This article is about the pop group. For the 1947 comedy film, see Hue and Cry (film).
Greg Kane and Pat Kane of Hue & Cry (1994)
Greg Kane and Pat Kane of Hue & Cry (1994)

Hue and Cry are a pop group formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by brothers Pat Kane (vocals) and Greg Kane (keyboards). They had a number of modest hits in the UK singles chart in the late 1980s, and early 1990s, and have released eleven albums from 1987 to date, selling over two million copies worldwide.

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[edit] History

Their first single "Here Comes Everybody" was released on a small Glasgow-based independent label, Stampede. While not a chart hit, it attracted the interest of Virgin Records' subsidiary Circa who signed the duo in 1986. Around the same time, the Kane brothers contributed a track ('Dangerous Wreck') to a compilation cassette entitled Honey at the Core which featured then up-and-coming Glasgow bands, including Wet Wet Wet and Deacon Blue.

Their debut and, to date, biggest hit was "Labour of Love" (1987, UK No.6), from the debut album Seduced and Abandoned (1987, UK No.22).

Other UK Top 40 hits included "Looking for Linda" (a UK No. 15 hit) and "Violently (Your Words Hit Me)", an EP that reached No. 21 - both from their second album Remote (1988, UK No.10). Although "Ordinary Angel" was released during the group's chart dominance, it only managed No. 42.

In the 1990s the brothers embarked upon a period of musical experimentation. The 1991 album Stars Crash Down pushed the boundaries of the pop genre, embracing folk, country, Latin and quartet jazz. It was a step too far for their record company Circa who dropped them. Truth & Love (1992) was released on the brothers' own short-lived label, Fidelity.

Hue and Cry had a brief chart revival in 1993 with the release of the Circa compilation album Labours of Love - The Best of Hue and Cry (UK No.27), which included a Joey Negro remix of "Labour of Love" (UK No.25).

1994 saw a successful collaboration with master jazz arranger and composer Richard Niles. This produced the album Showtime! and the popular single "Just Say You Love Me". Pat Kane continued to work with Niles sporadically on many live concerts for BBC Radio 2 with Niles' own band Bandzilla and the BBC Big Band.

In 1996 Hue & Cry signed to Scottish jazz and classical label Linn Records for an intended trilogy of albums. First came JazzNotJazz, an album that mixed jazz with non-jazz sounds (hence the title!) The album was recorded in a week during the Glasgow Jazz Festival, enlisting the services of some of the jazz giants visiting the city. They included Michael Brecker (tenor sax) and Randy Brecker (trumpet) - who had played on the Remote album - as well as guitarist Mike Stern (sidesman with Miles Davis), drummer Danny Gottlieb (Pat Metheny) and saxophonist Tommy Smith.

Next Move (1999) was even more radical, embracing drum 'n' bass, R&B and Nuyorican latin-funk. The album contained a controversial cover of Prince's "Sign 'O' the Times", which they stripped bare and built up again as an aggressive bebop number.

Financial problems meant the brothers' intended third album on Linn Records would never see the light of day, and Pat and Greg concentrated on their solo projects - Pat with his writing and solo performing, and Greg with his music production and DJing.

In April 2005 Hue & Cry made a comeback when they won the fourth-week heat of the ITV1 pop-competition show Hit Me Baby One More Time with a rendition of "Labour of Love" and a cover of Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love". They were beaten in the final by Shakin' Stevens — however, according to Pat Kane, they came close runners-up.

The band followed this up with sell out dates in Scotland, a well received piano-vocal spot in support of Jamie Cullum at the 'Live on the Lawn' festival in Aberdeenshire, and a show stealing set in front of 25,000 at Glasgow's Hogmanay party.

In 2008 they plan to release the eagerly awaited Open Soul album. Recording and Mixing finished in July 2007. This will coincide with the 20th anniversary of their biggest album to date "Remote", and Hue and Cry also intend to continue touring the UK. Their performances in 2006 and 2007 sold out quickly and received critical acclaim for the performance and quality of the new tracks. The band also performed two sell out nights at the West End festival in Glasgow in 2007 where they showcased stripped down piano-vocal versions of new and old songs. These gigs were recorded for a possible live album. The boys also played Retrofest at Culzean castle on 2nd September 2007 and headlined the Darvel Music Festival on 5th October 2007.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

  • 1986 "Here Comes Everybody"
  • 1987 "I Refuse" #85 UK
  • 1987 "Labour of Love" #6 UK
  • 1987 "Strength To Strength" #46 UK
  • 1988 "I Refuse" #47 UK
  • 1988 "Ordinary Angel" #42 UK
  • 1989 "Looking For Linda" #15 UK
  • 1989 "Violently" (EP) #21 UK
  • 1989 "Sweet Invisibility" #55 UK
  • 1989 "Peaceful Face" #83 UK
  • 1991 "My Salt Heart" #47 UK
  • 1991 "Long Term Lovers of Pain" (EP) #48 UK
  • 1991 "She Makes A Sound"
  • 1992 "Profoundly Yours" #74 UK
  • 1993 "Labour of Love (re-mix)" #25 UK
  • 1994 "Just Say You Love Me"
  • 1994 "Cynical"

[edit] External links

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