“Looking for Linda” by Hue and Cry

“Looking for Linda” is based on a real-life encounter that Pat Kane, one of the members of Hue and Cry, actually had with a lady named Linda. It was a chance meeting, i.e. the two of them crossing paths on a train in Scotland. 

And to some extent, that is why the lyrics of this narrative are so specific. But that said, this piece isn’t necessarily easy to understand. However, as implied in the second verse, what Linda was dealing with, most simply put, appears to be an abusive lover.

And by the looks of things the lyrics are embellished, considering how Pat has described the encounter in his own words. For instance, going back to the second verse, “some guy” is depicted as “holding (Linda) back from the window”. But the way Pat personally told the story is as if Linda was sorta fleeing from her lover, and as such he didn’t actually appear to be present. 

Also, the third verse reveals that the two of them made out. But in reality they only communicated for about 15 minutes, and again, based on the story as told by Pat, nothing like that seems to have transpired.

Song’s Title (“Looking for Linda”)

Meanwhile, the title of the track seems to point to the idea of the vocalist actually “looking for Linda”. Or explained otherwise, once again Linda is a real-life person whose name is actually Linda. And it seems that Pat had looked forward to re-meeting which, even after this song blew up, hasn’t proven to be the case. 

And to clarify, even though the lyrics give the impression that they had sort of this brief fling which, by implication, the vocalist is hoping to develop into a full-fledged romance, it does not seem that’s how their interaction played out in real life. So in reality, Pat more simply wants to know how Linda’s story turned out, as in if she was actually able to overcome the harrowing ordeal she was going through at the time.

Hue and Cry

Hue and Cry are a sibling act from Scotland consisting of Pat Kane and his younger brother, Greg Kane. The act’s heyday dates back to the late-1980s/early-1990s. Around this time, a couple of their LPs broke the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. One of those projects, 1988’s “Remote”, is from where “Looking for Linda” is derived. 

“Looking for Linda”

The official release date of the song, via a subsidiary of Virgin Records, was during January of 1989.

“Looking for Linda” also marks one of Hue and Cry’s best chart showings as far as songs go, in that the track peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart.

This track was written by the aforementioned sibling duo of Pat and Greg. And its producer is James Biondolillo. The director of the song’s music video is one Niven Howie.

According to Pat, since this song blew up a number of women have approached him claiming to be the titular “Linda”. However, they all proved to be impersonators. The reason is because none of these posers ever got “the detail of” of he and Linda’s “meeting quite right”.