Hue and Cry biography
Hue and Cry is a pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the brothers Pat Kane (vocals) and Greg Kane (Music/Production). They had a number of modest hits in the UK Singles Chart in the late 1980s, and early 1990s, and have released sixteen albums from 1987 to date.
Career
Their first single "Here Comes Everybody" was released on a small Glasgow-based independent label, Stampede in 1984. While not a chart hit, it attracted the interest of Virgin Records' subsidiary Circa who signed the duo in 1986.
Their debut single for Circa, "I Refuse", reached number 85 in the UK Singles Chart. Their second single 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" (1989, UK No. 15) and "Violently (Your Words Hit Me)", an EP that reached No. 21 - both from their second album
Remote (1988, UK No. 10).
Remote was re-released in 1989 as a double album, including "Bitter Suite", a live recording.
In the 1990s the brothers embarked upon a period of musical experimentation. Their 1991 album Stars Crash Down (UK No. 10) pushed the boundaries of the pop genre, embracing folk, country, Latin and quartet jazz. Truth & Love (1992, UK No. 33) 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 jazz arranger and composer, Richard Niles. This produced the album Showtime! and the single "Just Say You Love Me". Pat Kane continued to work with Niles sporadically on many live concerts for BBC Radio 2 with the BBC Big Band. In 1996 Hue and Cry signed to the Scottish jazz and classical record label, Linn Records, for an intended trilogy of albums. First came JazzNotJazz, an album that mixed jazz with non-jazz sounds. The album was recorded in a week during the Glasgow Jazz Festival, enlisting the services of some of the jazz musicians 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.
The 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.
In April 2005 Hue and 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.
The band followed this up with dates in Scotland, a piano-vocal spot in support of Jamie Cullum at the 'Live on the Lawn' festival in Aberdeenshire, and a set in front of 25,000 at Glasgow's Hogmanay party. Their concerts in 2006 and 2007 sold out. The band also performed two nights at the West End festival in Glasgow in 2007, where they showcased piano-vocal versions of new and old songs. They also played Retrofest at Culzean Castle on 2 September 2007, and headlined the Darvel Music Festival on 5 October. The duo showcased new tracks at a gig in Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms on 12 July 2008. At this time the duo also allowed fans exclusive access to them with the Hue And Cry Music Club through the official website.
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