1. Installed mysql fresh with apt-gets (https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-a-remote-database-to-optimize-site-performance-with-mysql)
2. Edited etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d
1. Replaced bind-address = 127.0.01 with bind-address = xx.xx.xx.xxx (my Linode host address)
3. Ran: sudo service mysql restart from terminal (returned without errors)
4. Tried to connect to xx.xx.xx.xxx from Sequel Pro, which resulted in following connection timeout message:
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Unable to connect to host xx.xx.xx.xxx, or the request timed out.
Be sure that the address is correct and that you have the necessary privileges, or try increasing the connection timeout.
MySQL said: Can’t connect to MySQL server on ‘xx.xx.xx.xxx’ (4)

netstat:

Did you open the port in your firewall?