Linda Hoyle -

Linda Hoyle (born April 13, 1946) is an English jazz-rock/soul singer who fronted the 1968–70 Affinity lineup and sang on their classic album. In 1971, she cut the Vertigo solo disc Pieces of Me.

Background

Linda Hoyle was born Linda Hoile on April 13, 1946, in Hammersmith, London, England. Her father, Gordon “Dick” Hoile, worked for Sun Life Insurance and maintained a collection of jazz 78s centered on Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and other prewar players. Marjorie “Madge” Penfold Hoile worked as a shorthand typist for the Kensington and Chelsea police service. Wendy Hoile, Linda’s younger sister, later recorded and toured as singer–guitarist Blanch Carter.

Hoyle learned ukulele and guitar with Wendy, and the sisters sang harmony at family gatherings. Hoyle gave her first public performance at age ten with “Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye” in a talent show at St. Peter’s Primary School. She continued at Chiswick County School for Girls, where she sang harmony with classmates. A family friend introduced Hoyle to Billie Holiday at age sixteen, after which she bought The Billie Holiday Story and learned the recordings note for note. Hoyle spent a year as a trainee laboratory technician at Hammersmith Hospital after secondary school. She then completed a three-year teacher-training course at Wall Hall College of Education in Hertfordshire.

A former schoolmate studying at Sussex University introduced Hoyle to pianist Lynton Naiff and the US Jazz Trio in 1967. Naiff invited her to sing at a Sussex coast nightclub with drummer Mo Foster and double-bassist Nick Nicholas. Hoyle subsequently travelled from Watford to Sussex University on weekends and developed a personal relationship with Naiff. She completed Wall Hall but declined the teaching position offered after graduation and chose professional work with the Sussex musicians.

The Sussex musicians formed Affinity in 1968 with singer Hoyle, bassist Mo Foster, drummer Grant Serpell, guitarist Mike Jopp, and keyboardist Naiff. Affinity used a rented bungalow near Brighton for summer rehearsals and took the band name from the 1961 Oscar Peterson album Affinity. The group made the first London appearance on October 5 at the Revolution Club in Bruton Place, Mayfair. Ronnie Scott heard a tape from a BBC Jazz Club broadcast and took Affinity under management. Scott booked the group at the Frith Street jazz club opposite performers including Stan Getz, Les McCann, and Horace Silver. Philips signed Affinity to new progressive imprint Vertigo in 1969 after the Ronnie Scott engagement. A misspelling of Hoile as Hoyle entered general use in the Affinity period and became Linda’s professional surname.

John Anthony produced the self-titled Affinity album at Trident and Island Studios in London. Hoyle wrote lyrics for the Mike Jopp composition “Night Flight” and the Lynton Naiff composition “Three Sisters.” Vertigo released the album and two Affinity singles across 1970 as the band toured Britain and continental Europe. Hoyle also recorded the Shredded Wheat television jingle “There Are Two Men in My Life” with Foster and Jopp on acoustic guitars. She left Affinity in February 1971 after prolonged road work and the end of her relationship with Naiff. Hoyle sang the final Affinity concert of her tenure on February 10 at Bournemouth Winter Gardens. Ronnie Scott then proposed a solo project with Nucleus keyboardist Karl Jenkins. Hoyle and Jenkins wrote most of the material for her first solo album, Pieces of Me.

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