Hue and Cry

Hue and Cry are a pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the 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. A new single "The Last Stop" was released as a digital download on 25 August, and a new album "Open Soul" will be released on 8 September 2008.

Career

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 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). Although "Ordinary Angel" was released during the group's chart spell, it only managed No. 42, despite an appearance on TV's "What's That Noise?" with Craig Charles. "Remote" was re-released in 1989 as a double album, including "The Bitter Suite", a live recording.

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. "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 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 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.fact|date=August 2008

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 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 — 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 set in front of 25,000 at Glasgow's Hogmanay party. Their concerts in 2006 and 2007 sold out and received critical acclaim for the performance and quality of the new tracks. 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. These gigs were recorded for a possible live album. 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.

On 15th September 2008 they release their "Open Soul" album, for which recording and mixing finished in 2007. This new single "The Last Stop" on digital download was released on 1 September and coincided with the 20th anniversary of the release of their biggest selling album to date "Remote". Their 'Open Soul' tour has dates in Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, London, Manchester and Sheffield, beginning on 11 September 2008.

Discography

Albums

* 1987 "Seduced and Abandoned" #22 UK
* 1988 "Remote" #10 UK
* 1989 "Remote/The Bitter Suite" #10 UK
* 1991 "Stars Crash Down" #10 UK
* 1992 "Truth & Love" #33 UK
* 1993 "Labours of Love - The Best of Hue and Cry" #27 UK
* 1994 "Showtime!"
* 1995 "The Best of Hue and Cry"
* 1995 "Piano & Voice"
* 1996 "JazzNotJazz"
* 1999 "Next Move"
* 2005 "The River Sessions: Volume 1"
* 2008 "Open Soul" - UK #130cite journal
title = Official Album Chart for the week ending 27 September 2008
journal = ChartsPlus
issue = 370
pages= 5-8
accessdate = 2008-09-24
publisher = IQ Ware Ltd
location = Milton Keynes] - Scottish Albums Chart #42cite journal
title = The Official Scottish Album Chart for the week ending 27 September 2008
journal = ChartsPlus
issue = 370
pages= 5-8
accessdate = 2008-09-24
publisher = IQ Ware Ltd
location = Milton Keynes]

ingles

* 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"

References

External links

* [http://www.hueandcry.co.uk Official site for Hue and Cry - No Half Measures Management]
* [http://hueandcry.ning.com the Hue And Cry Music Club]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=B63rx284c051a allmusic: Hue and Cry]
* [http://www.youtube.com/hueandcrymusic Hue And Cry on You Tube]
* [http://www.myspace.com/hueandcryuk Hue And Cry on MySpace]
* [http://www.bebo.com/hueandcry Hue And Cry on Bebo]
* [http://www.http://www.ilike.com/artist/Hue+%2526+Cry Hue And Cry on iLike]
* [http://www.http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6217781778 Hue And Cry on Facebook]
* [http://www.theplayethic.com/pages/796770/index.htm Pat Kane's "The Play Ethic"]