Hue and Cry are all set to roll back years at Rewind
Hue and Cry’s Greg Kane has promised fans a journey through their greatest hits when they perform at Rewind later this year.
Speaking exclusively to the PA, Greg said he and brother Pat were looking forward to the 80s revival festival, which takes place at Scone Palace in July.
“There will be all the hits,” he said. “Ballads like ‘Violently’, the pop stuff like ‘Looking for Linda’ [and] ‘Ordinary Angel’, the funk stuff like ‘Labour of Love’ [and] ‘Strength to Strength’ and a bit from [second album] ‘Remote,’ then we usually play a cover.
“The last time we did these festivals Prince had just died so we were playing ‘1999’ for a while. Then we did a bit of Luther Vandross – we were doing ‘Never Too Much,’ which was great fun.”
“The 80s gets a bit of kicking when people [think] back but for us, in the middle of it, there was a lot of great funk and pop going around and that’s what we’re tapping into.”
Hue and Cry enjoyed success in the 80s and had three hit singles – ‘Labour of Love’, ‘Looking for Linda’ and ‘Violently’. But despite their fame, Greg admits they are looking forward to seeing some of the other acts on the bill.
Looking at who the duo will be performing ahead of Greg notes he’s on stage before The Selecter (“Fantastic, I’ll get to see them”), Bob Geldof’s Boomtown Rats (“He should be waving his finger at Nigel Farage”), Wendy James and A Flock of Seagulls, adding that combination of artists should make for an “interesting” day overall.
He said: “A Flock of Seagulls are quite dark, I quite like them. And Wendy James, I remember her working with Nick Cave, so she’s quite dark [too]. That’s good, I don’t mind it when it gets a bit dark.”
While Rewind is all about reminiscing, Greg says he and Pat are not content to simply bask in former glories and are still making new music and playing to live audiences
He revealed he’s been tasked to come up with something new but at the same speed as ‘Labour of Love,’ which went to number six in the singles chart.
He explains: “I’m doing a funk thing next week for a project and the client wants funk at 123bpm [beats per minute]. Labour of Love has 123bpm, so has Alexander O’Neal’s ‘Fake,’ so I’m having a wee funk day today. We do 30 gigs a year all around Britain and 500 to 600 people always come to see us and we have a good night.
“We can do that with an eight-piece band or we can do that just as a duo with a handful of guitars and a piano.
“We’re very lucky – we’ve got a dedicated bunch of people who come and see us, so we are in a good place at the moment.”
The Rewind Festival runs from July 20 to July 22.
See www.scotland. rewindfestival.com for ticket information and to see who else is on the bill.
Rewind have announced more names at their Scone and Cry will take to the Rewind stage in July Palace summer festival. The 80s extravaganza will have DJ sets from the decade’s iconic stars and have live comedy.
Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp is set to perform a special 80s DJ set.
Also in the extra entertainment will be comedy from Reginald D Hunter, Daisy Earl and Janey Godley.