Last night the best girlfriend and I went to see perennial favourites Hue and Cry. On the day they launched their new album “Open Soul“, a good natured crowd of ca 1000 punters in their early forties gathered in the exceptionally beautiful Bush Hall to celebrate the Kane Brothers’ remarkable career.  13 albums over a 21 year career ain’t bad, and the songwriting has never been better. So what if nobody under forty knows them: at least the gigs are peaceful. And so was last night’s: a happy, peaceful crowd that knew all the lyrics by heart danced, cried and hopped around to the Kane’s impressive band of musicians. Pat Kane’s Glaswegian twang needed a bit of translating from time to time, but the brothers were definitely in good mood, and the suited Pat wriggled himself happily around his microphone cable. Accompanied by a funky trio of bass, guitar and drums and the luxury of horn and saxofone, the band was tight and, as the best girlfriend said ‘quite funky’. High praise indeed.

The new album was showcased, but always interspersed with the highlights of Hue and Cry’s impressive back catalogue. ‘Looking for Linda’, ‘Ordinary Angel’, a raucous ‘Labour of Love’, ‘Stars Crash Down’ were greeted with enormous cheers, and even the new Single, ‘The last Stop’ was celebrated. When the Kane’s suddenly started to channel Beyonce with an amazing version of ‘Crazy in LOve’ everybody started to go wild.  Finishing the regular set with ‘Labour of Love’ and then giving a little more measured encore ended an excellent gig. Me, I din’t get my ‘under neon’, but the best girlfriend ever commented that this was probably the best gig she’s seen in a long time.

I think I might agree…