Greased-up naked men, Al Murray on the drums, Jimmy Carr telling jokes over Russian folk music...it's business as usual at a Horne Section gig. Creator Alex Horne talks to Emma McAlpine about his jazz comedy shindig.
The Horne Section (from left): Mark Brown, Alex Horne, Joe Auckland, Ben Reynolds, Will Collier
There’s something a bit different about Alex Horne today and I can’t place it at first. Beard? Check. Uniform checked shirt and jeans? Present and correct. But he’s looking a little...unsteady. “I’m trying to get used to these shoes”, he says. Horne has bought some adult-sized Heelys it turns out, trainers with hidden wheels underneath. You may have come across children wearing them, incomprehensibly gliding down the street. Horne is far from gliding. We are in the Invisible Dot office (half production company/half performance space) in Camden Stables Market and the wooden floor seems to have had a recent hose-down, not ideal for Heely practice. Although there is definitely something of the big kid in Horne (which anyone who has seen the childlike enthusiasm and obsession he puts into his solo shows can vouch for), it turns out this is (in the loosest possible sense of the word), work.
Horne is here to rehearse for some upcoming shows at the Lyric Theatre and providing he masters the shoes, they could make an appearance as well. Cunningly titled The Horne Section, these jazz-infused comedy gigs have been growing in popularity since their debut at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe, transferring to London’s Soho Theatre, the Union Chapel and now the Lyric. Consisting of Horne and five band members (a trumpeter, saxophonist, pianist, drummer and bassist), the shows are a mixture of improvised comedy, set pieces and musical flair. Special guests feature on every bill and the band is integrated in any number of ways from backing poetry and one-liners to full-blown musical medleys. Part of the show’s appeal is its spontaneous, somewhat ramshackle quality and I’m keen to know how much of it is rehearsed.
“There's a structure.", says Horne. "We know what we're going to do in terms of the order but the band doesn’t know what I'm going to say. The idea is to keep it fresh and make them laugh. In Edinburgh, we had a five minute chat with the comedians beforehand and it's still the same with certain acts now. Mark Watson we know will do a bit of stand-up and play the drums, Tim Key we've got a few more ideas because he's done it so many times and Jeremy Lion is fairly straight-forward because he does a set musical number. Horne acts as both musician and compere, occasionally playing his namesake instrument, the French horn, although he insists he isn’t musical. “I can only play up to Grade 3.” He grew up with both the trumpeter, Joe Auckland, and drummer, Ben Reynolds, and planned to do a show with them years ago, but the timing was never right.
“We always wanted to perform together but kept putting it off because it seemed unfeasible until we were flexible in our jobs. Then I did a slot at Ronnie Scott's jazz club for the saxophonist Mark who runs a night there, and it went really well, doing the comedy and jazz thing. So we took that as our impetus and decided to perform in Edinburgh.”
The concept was ambitious and he admits the initial practice sessions were challenging. “The first rehearsal was chaotic because we were all trying to say what we thought was funny. Then I had to sing in front of them, which was really horrible! They quite wanted me to sound as bad as I did though, so that was fine.” After one notable disaster (“We did a song about the number six in the Canal Cafe and it was awful because it was just a straight song sung badly by me.”), it started to come together. Initially, Horne hoped to get a few comedy friends on board but the show’s unique format has appealed to plenty more than he bargained for.
“Jimmy Carr keeps coming back and wanting to do it which is really nice and Al Murray worked well – he’d lost his voice on the day so ended up playing the drums. Big spectacle acts like New Art Club and Stomp! are always good, or stand-ups who are confident enough in what they do to have fun with the idea, like Tim Vine.”
Over the next few months, the Lyric shows will see a real variety of acts performing, including one of Horne’s favourites, Bruce Airhead and his extraordinary giant balloon antics. “I'm really looking forward to seeing him again, because he uses the music well and it's a surprising finale. And hanging out with him backstage is funny. Most of the time, he just has his pants on and is greasing himself up. To be honest though, for me some of the best bits are the improvised musical sections.”
At this point, the band members start to arrive and photographer Alex and I are treated to a mini set, including at one point, what sounds like the Eastenders theme tune. “Can you do Animal Hospital?” I randomly venture. Quick as a flash, saxophonist Mark rattles it off, note perfect and suddenly, I see exactly what Horne means.
Photo credit: Alex Brenner
The Horne Section is at the Lyric Theatre (Shaftesbury) on fortnightly Mondays from 31st January-28th March. Click here to see line-ups.
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