The Horne Section

The Horne Section
The Horne Section playing live in Buxton, May 2019
Background information
GenresMusical comedy
Years active2010–present
Members
  • Alex Horne
  • Joe Auckland
  • Mark Brown
  • Will Collier
  • Ben Reynolds
  • Ed Sheldrake
Past members

The Horne Section is a British musical comedy band,[1] appearing sporadically on radio, television, podcast, and stage. Led by frontman and comedian Alex Horne, the band comprises Joe Auckland (trumpet/banjo), Mark Brown (saxophone/guitar), Will Collier (bass/guitar), Ben Reynolds (drums) and Ed Sheldrake (keys). The band specialises in comedy/spoof songs[2] in a variety of genres.[3][4] The band is made up of professional musicians, including two childhood friends of Horne, and first performed together in May 2010,[5] with the current line-up finalised during 2012. The Horne Section have performed at the Edinburgh Festival,[6] as well as touring the UK,[7] and celebrity guests at their shows have included Harry Hill, Simon Amstell, Jimmy Carr, Tim Minchin, Josie Long, Al Murray, and John Oliver as well as musicians including Neil Hannon[8] and Suggs.[citation needed] Their BBC Radio 4 series – Alex Horne Presents the Horne Section – ran for three series from 2012 to 2014. The band have also released five albums.

The Horne Section performing for an audience of children in 2012

The band featured in The Horne Section Christmas, a nine-minute Christmas-carol themed TV special, shown on Sky Arts in 2015.[9] In April 2018 they recorded a two-hour live show at the London Palladium entitled The Horne Section Television Programme, featuring celebrity guests including Sue Perkins and Nadine Coyle, and broadcast on Dave on 24 May 2018.[10][deprecated source][11] A Channel 4 six-part programme The Horne Section TV Show was released on 3 November 2022, and is a mostly scripted comedy about the band, combining elements of musical comedy, talk show and sitcom.[12][13]

Horne and the band have often appeared on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown as the dictionary corner guest, and chaired Never Mind the Buzzcocks in November 2012. The Horne Section were the 'house band' for The Last Leg of the Year on New Year's Eve 2018,[14] 2019,[15] 2020 and 2021, where they contributed backing music as well as playing a number of their own songs. They provided music for The Last Leg: Locked Down Under and Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer in 2020 and joined Crouch again in 2021 for Crouchy's Year-Late Euros: Live. The band created the theme music for Horne's Taskmaster, as well as for The Guardian's cricket podcast The Spin.[16]

The Horne Section Podcast has run since 2018. It was in the top 10 most streamed podcasts from the Deezer platform in 2018,[17][18] and in April 2019 it was nominated in the 'Best Comedy' category of the British Podcast Awards.[19] The podcast has featured a range of guests including comedians (Greg Davies, Roisin Conaty, Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar, Adam Buxton), presenters (Richard Osman, Susie Dent, Angellica Bell), sportspeople (Chris Hoy, Lizzy Yarnold), performance poets (Rob Auton, Tim Key, Scroobius Pip), and musicians (Jessie Ware, David Arnold, Robbie Williams).[20]

  1. ^ "About - The Horne Section". Thehornesection.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  2. ^ Catterall, Ali; Robinson, John; Virtue, Graeme; Howlett, Paul; Arnold, Ben; Wright, Jonathan; Harrison, Phil (24 May 2018). "Thursday's best TV: Humans; Million Pound Menu; Missions". The Guardian.
  3. ^ "9 recommended podcasts to listen to this week". inews.co.uk. 8 February 2018.
  4. ^ Times, The Sunday (27 May 2018). "What's on TV on demand". Thetimes.co.uk.
  5. ^ "The Horne Section: Wisecracks, drum solos and unusual celebrity star". Independent.co.uk. 30 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  6. ^ "What is an Alex Horne Section?". The Big Issue. 22 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Comedian Alex Horne on why he's thrilled he gets to muck around on tour". Metro.co.uk.
  8. ^ "The Horne Section". 2 September 2011.
  9. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Comedians' Christmas bonanza : News 2015 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Taskmaster Alex Horne on loving his job: 'Comedy is so worthwhile, it makes people happy'". Dailystar.co.uk. 1 May 2018.
  11. ^ "The Horne Section Television Programme : Reviews 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". Chortle.co.uk.
  12. ^ Tinson, Emma (14 April 2022). "Taskmaster's Alex Horne confirms new Channel 4 show". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  13. ^ Heritage, Stuart (3 November 2022). "The Horne Section TV Show review – this riotously fun sitcom is an utter delight". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  14. ^ "IMDB Last Leg of the Year 2018". IMDb.com.
  15. ^ "IMDB Last Leg of the Year 2019". IMDb.com.
  16. ^ John, Emma; Mitchell, Alison; Ronay, Barney; Lemon, Geoff; Jein, Geoff (16 September 2019). "The Spin Podcast - Mon 16 Sep". The Guardian.
  17. ^ "The best new podcasts of 2018". Theweek.co.uk. 16 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Deezer reveals boom in podcast listening". Radiotoday.co.uk. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Nominations 2019". British Podcast Awards.
  20. ^ "Robbie Williams - The Isolation Specials #4". Play.acast.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.