Entertainment

Arts Q&A: Celtic FC came in with mother's milk for Scottish pop brothers Hue and Cry

Jenny Lee puts performers and artists on the spot about what really matters to them. This week, Scottish pop duo Hue and Cry

Pat and Greg Kane, better known as Scottish Pop duo Hue and Cry, play Belfast's Empire Music Hall on March 2
Pat and Greg Kane, better known as Scottish Pop duo Hue and Cry, play Belfast's Empire Music Hall on March 2 Pat and Greg Kane, better known as Scottish Pop duo Hue and Cry, play Belfast's Empire Music Hall on March 2

1. When did you think about a career in music and what were your first steps into it?

Pat Kane (PK): When I sang with my brother in the front room of our house, all of us playing a cover of The Jam’s hit, Start. I thought, that sounds a bit like the real thing. I wonder if I could do this?

Greg Kane (GK): I've always loved playing music. I possess the 'practice makes perfect' mindset that all dedicated musicians must have to succeed in music. So my first step to a career in music was to dedicate myself to listening, practising and performing to the best of my abilities as consistently as I could.

2. Best gigs you've been to?

PK: American pop group Was (Not Was) at Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow in the early 90s. It was like Steely Dan fused with the Temptations – just genius. Tom Waits at the Edinburgh Playhouse in the late 80s, promoting the Rain Dogs album and Chaka Khan, The Blue Note, New York in the mid-90s.

GK: Lee Fields and the Expressions, in Glasgow this year; Willie Nelson and The Specials, back in 1982.

3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band?

PK: Earth, Wind & Fire – every god-damned one of them.

GK: The Oscar Peterson Trio.

4. The record you’d take to a desert island?

PK: Frank Sinatra's Only The Lonely.

GK: Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life.

5. And the book you'd take to a desert island?

PK: James Joyce’s Ulysses.

GK: How To Build A Raft, For Dummies.

6. Top three films?

PK: The Master, AI and Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend.

GK: Alien, In The Heat Of The Night and ET.

7. Worst film you've seen and why?

PK: Some Transformers movie. They are not so much acted as inhabited. It's like watching 90 minutes of merchandise promo.

GK: I quite like bad films, they're fun to watch.

8. Favourite authors?

PK: American novelist Don DeLillo, Elizabethan poet John Donne and French philosopher Gilles Deleuze.

GK: I spend most of my reading time studying manuals and instruction books on software and music, so I don't have any attention span left to read novels.

9. Sport you most enjoy and top team?

PK: I like football and Celtic FC came in with my mother's milk.

GK: I enjoy sport at an amateur level. I play football, golf and enjoy running. I’m not very competitive though – I find very competitive sports people to be self-obsessed bores.

10. Ideal holiday destination?

PK: Morocco.

GK: North of Scotland.

11. Pet hate?

PK: Racism, heedless and greedy capitalism, machismo.

GK: Bulls**t.

12. What’s your favourite:

Dinner? PK: Thai green chicken curry; GK: Beef and broccoli.

Dessert? PK: Creme brulee; GK: Key lime pie.

Drink? PK: Belgian lager; GK: Cider

13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?

PK: My partner Indra Adnan.

GK: I’m lucky enough to have quite an active and varied social scene. I have about 10 different people I can text for a pint. No besties, but all great friends.

14. Is there a God?

PK: No, not as a transcendent being; but I deeply respect the beliefs of those who think there is.

GK: I think there have been over 2,000 gods. Just pick the one the suits you, I say.

:: Hue & Cry play Belfast's Empire Music Hall on Friday March 2. Tickets from Thebelfastempire.com