Hue and Cry burst onto the UK music scene in the late 1980's with the outstandingly successful albums ‘Seduced and Abandoned’ and ‘Remote’. This period saw the band produce some of their most auspicious hit singles such as ‘Labour of Love’, ‘Violently’, and ‘Looking for Linda’. Their award winning style of intellectual, yet appealing pop songs, fused with their unique brand of soulfulness gave rise to their continued success as the band advanced ‘full-steam-ahead’ into the nineties, releasing acclaimed work which includes the chart‐storming Top Ten album ‘Stars Crash Down’.
Pat and Greg Kane made a triumphant return in 2008 with their first pop album in sometime ‐ the much applauded ‘Open Soul’ which boasted a combination of the band’s classic ‘pop-soul’ sound, coupled with fresh and on occasion ‘stripped down’ production. Extensive UK touring supported the release of ‘Open Soul’, and in February 2009 the band released of a definitive selection of their earlier work including hits, rare mixes, extended versions and B‐sides, entitled ‘The Collection’.
2009 marked the release of ‘Xmasday’ which contained a vibrant mixture of brand new Hue and Cry festive tracks along with some classic songs and seasonal favourites. To complement the release of the album Hue and Cry presented the immensely successful ‘History City Weekend’ in their home town -an intimate ‘piano & vocal’ show, followed the following evening by a ‘full-on’ 7 piece band spectacular. Due to the phenomenal success of this weekend, the band released ‘Bitter Suite Again’, a live CD & DVD follow up to ‘Bitter Suite’ (platinum, best-selling album originally released in 1989).
2012 heralded the release of the album ‘Hot Wire’ which featured a collection of brand new material inspired by the sounds of New Orleans funk, influenced by the brother’s love of early 70’s Funk and Soul. The album as you would expect blended sharp political and social commentary with seductive harmonies and funk rhythms. The success of the album lead to a high profile tour of the UK which closed on a high at the prominent Isle of Wight Festival.
The year also played host to some fantastic highlights, including a recording with the influential taste maker Jools Holland, for his BBC Radio 2 program, a session for the BBC 6 Music 10th Anniversary Special playing alongside James Taylor and his Fantasy Funk Band.
With countless radio appearances across the length and breadth of the UK Pat and Greg also appeared on national television with interviews on BBC 1 – Breakfast News, ‘Live with Gabby’ – Channel 5 and a performance on Celebrity Big Brother for E4. To document the year Hue and Cry released ‘Live Wire’ – a limited edition flight case crammed full of live footage, recordings, exclusive merchandise and unique memorabilia.
In 2013 Hue and Cry joined forces with Go West and The Christians as part of a spectacular, one off UK tour. Billed together for the first time ever, the tour was a huge success. Once the tour came to an end Pat and Greg returned to the studio to record ‘Remote: Major To Minor’ to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the release of their seminal album Remote. Released in 1988 the album went onto sell more than 300,000 copies and put Hue and Cry firmly on the map.
2014 saw the release of Remote: Major To Minor a multi-media celebration of the seminal Hue and Cry album ‘Remote’ produced as a stunning limited edition 48 page book containing three CD’s and a DVD worth of fantastic content. Each full colour hard backed book, candidly charts the formative years of Hue and Cry and the recording of the original ‘Remote’ album as told by brothers Pat and Greg Kane, are individually hand signed, numbered and personalised by the band themselves.
To coincide with the release, Hue and Cry appeared at the o2, ABC (Glasgow) for the sold out Hue and Cry Remote Weekend. Performed across two evenings the brother performed an intimate ‘stripped back’ performance of the album ‘Bitter Suite’, in its full entirety, joined on stage by musicians from their current line-up, with a special guest appearance by violinist George Futter, who appeared on the original recording of ‘Bitter Suite’. On the second evening the full-on 8 piece band took to the stage to perform the original recording of Remote from start to finish. With ‘stripped’ dates throughout the year, 2014 closed on a high.
2015 will see Pat and Greg taking to the stage with their full band line up as part of this year’s collection of Rewind festivals (Scotland, North, South), alongside announcements of both ‘stripped’ and ‘full band’ dates throughout the year. With a return to the studio to work on the first new collection of songs since the album ‘Hot Wire’ – this year is promising to be an eventful one.
To date, Hue and Cry have performed alongside some of the most prolific names in the business including U2, James Brown, Van Morrison, Madonna and Al Green, as well as playing to thousands on their own headline tours and by their own admission Hue and Cry have no intention of slowing down.
Hue and Cry have been influenced by some of the greatest vocal talents of all time. One of their greatest icons is the legendary Frank Sinatra, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2016.
To coincide with this, Hue and Cry have recorded an album of their favourite Sinatra numbers (September Songs), which includes classics such as ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ and ‘You Make Me Feel So Young’, to rarer tracks such as ‘Gentle On My Mind’ and ‘I Wish I Were In Love Again’.
To finish off a beautiful evening. Hue and Cry will also perform a selection of their own classic tunes, including ‘Labour of Love’, ‘Violently’ and ‘Looking for Linda’.
Catch Hue and Cry at Flintshire's number one night club The Tivoli Venue on the 18th February 2016
The Tivoli Venue,
Brunswick Road, Buckley,
Flintshire CH7 2EF
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