The Horne Section is a British musical comedy band, appearing on radio, television, podcast, and stage. Led by frontman and comedian Alex Horne, the band comprises Joe Auckland (trumpet, banjo, vocals), Mark Brown (saxophone, guitar, vocals), Will Collier (bass, guitar, vocals), Ben Reynolds (drums, vocals) and Ed Sheldrake (keyboards, piano, vocals). The band specialises in comedy/spoof songs in a variety of genres. The band is made up of professional musicians, including two childhood friends of Horne, and first performed together in May 2010, with the current line-up finalised during 2012. The Horne Section have performed at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as touring the UK, 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 and Suggs. 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 of music.
The Horne Section Podcast has run since 2018. It was in the top 10 most streamed podcasts from the Deezer platform in 2018, and in April 2019 it was nominated in the 'Best Comedy' category of the British Podcast Awards. 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).
The band featured in The Horne Section Christmas, a nine-minute Christmas-carol themed TV special, shown on Sky Arts in 2015. 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. 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.
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, 2019, 2020 and 2021, where they contributed backing music as well as playing a number of their own songs. They provided music for the lockdown-themed series 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 Guardians cricket podcast The Spin.
Album discography These albums (and the single "Grandaddy") are distributed by the group's Bandcamp page. The third album was released on 5 June 2020 featuring songs from the isolation podcasts. The band also have a Patreon which gives subscribers to commission short songs and have shout-outs. +Released Music featured2010The Horne Section Journey To Happy, The Horne Section, Battleships, Advice For A Student, The Hair Suite, Sidemen, The Egg Sketch, Friends Forever
(Album also features poetry and a conversation with Tim Key. The pianist is former member Joe Stilgoe.)2018Three Great Songs and Eight More Songs Chinese Five Spice, Chris Hoy Loves A Saveloy, Drum and Bass, Happy Accident, If I Were, Is it the Police?, Less is More, Record Player, Seasons, Small Talk, Hardness of Water
(Alex Horne performs a spoken-word narration about the album and songs, with piano accompaniment, between each track.)2020The Most Beautiful, Talented People In The Whole World Introduction, Summer Banger (2020), Hear the Word (Joe), Pam Ayres Eats Pom Bears, Savvy, Joan Armatrading, I Smell a Rat, Those Were the Days, Shredded Wheat, One Lump or Two, Crossed Wires, Newton's Laws, Road Safety, Hear the Word (Alex), Time Wasting, Blessings, Manifesto, Phobias, The President, Hear The Word (Ed), Children Say The Funniest Things, I Smell a Rat (Club Mix), Spool Fools, Hat Mancock, I Miss People, The Angry Chef, Hear the Word (Ben), Monkey Music2020The Horne Section Christmas Family Album Introduction, Fiddly Christmas, Being With You, Buckaroo Intro, Buckaroo, Cabbage, Christmas Number 2, Connect 4 Intro, Connect 4, Dinosaur, Guess Who Intro, Guess Who, Head Shoulders Etc., Manger Danger, Monger, Midnight Intro, Midnight, Monday Tuesday..., Noel, A Thing, There Was A Dog, Midwinter Monkey2021ULTRABULK Donkeys, No Chairs, Ain't Got No Scruples, Flies On You, Um Bongo, Worm, Love Triangle, Time v Persons, Legacy, Ten Million Henrys, A Lesson In Humility, Mumford, Midnight Feast, Drive On, Sensible Guy, Potaconut, The Mighty Andrew Marr, Midnight Farts, Funny Old Game, UFO Jingle (Extended Version), I Am Funny, 12 Days Of Yoga
Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section was a BBC Radio 4 show that ran from 2011 to 2014 and was broadcast in the 6.30pm weekday comedy slot. The programme followed a similar format to the live Edinburgh festival shows with Horne and the band performing songs and jokes in front of a live audience, with assistance from a special guest - usually from the world of comedy. The pianist during series 1 was former member Joe Stilgoe, and from series 2 onwards was Ed Sheldrake.
Pilot (2011)
EpisodeGuestBroadcastMusic featured1.0 (Pilot)Benedict Allen14 Mar 2011Ode to Kim's Retirement, I Got Rhythm, Song for Richard (Just Doing My Job), Let the Credits Roll
Series 1 (2012)
EpisodeGuestBroadcastMusic featured1.1David O'Doherty5 Mar 2012Those Were the Days (Of the Week), Sidemen, Spotlight on a Musical Instrument (piano), Latin Song + Italian Music Terms Song, Everybody Speaks English, Let the Credits Roll1.2Nick Helm12 Mar 2012Bald Man, One Man and His Dog, The Attenboroughs, Dinosaur Song, Love Holds the Power (Helm), Spotlight on a Musical Instrument (trumpet), Friend Forever (Rebel’s Song)1.3Isy Suttie19 Mar 2012Ode to Jens’ Beard, Groupies, The Hardness of Water, The Maiden and the Slovenian Prince (Suttie), Battleships, Spotlight on a Musical Instrument (double bass), Party for all Human Kind1.4Kevin Eldon26 Mar 2012Ode to Tash’s Fashion Sense, Coles' Law, English Food, CABBAGE, Eggy Pop, Potholing Song (Eldon), Spotlight on a Musical Instrument (drums), Kitchen Drums, Horne Section Diet
A bonus episode recorded from the Edinburgh Festival was broadcast later that year.
EpisodeGuestBroadcastMusic featured1.5 (ES)Al Murray & Tim Key2 Sep 2012Rolling Up to Edinburgh, Connect 4, Song for Swanee Whistle, Pancake Day, Incy Wincy Spider (Murray), Scottish Medley
Series 2 (2013) EpisodeThemeGuestBroadcastMusic featured2.1GamesDanny Baker24 Feb 2013Chess, The Classified Scores, Chris Hoy Loves a Saveloy, Writers' Corner: Cricket Match, Flash Bang Wallop (Baker), Musician Under a Microscope (Ben), Ready to Run2.2BodyPhill Jupitus and Lady Lykez3 Mar 2013Light Musical Exercise, Joe’s Diet, Musician Under a Microscope (Joe), Focus on a Note (A), Dream Man (Joe), Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (Jupitus), They've All Grown Up in the Beano (Jupitus), Shampoo Promises, Catarrh, Just a Man with a Beard2.3LoveCharlie Baker10 Mar 2013Twister, Chat Up Lines Song, Spotlight on a Musical Instrument (flute), Drum & Bass, Bognor Girl, Love Song Medley2.4DestinyNick Mohammed17 Mar 2013Bouncer from Neighbours, Focus on a Note (E), How They Met Ed at the Disco Party, Card Magic Music, Dream Man (Mark), Allergies, Tribute Band Tribute, Deliverance Duel2.5ChildrenDoc Brown24 Mar 2013Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, He Weed in His Mouth, Watershed, Writers' Corner: The Dragon, Parenting Rap (Brown), Top Ten Musical Notes, Bagface, New Alphabet Song, Whale Rap (Brown), Alex’s Reggae Song2.6SeasonsMatt Lucas and Liane Carroll31 Mar 2013Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons Pizza, Focus on a Note (C), Doodlebot, Hip Hop Song (Lucas), Baked Potato Song (Lucas), Seasons, Dream Man (Ben), Fly Me to the Moon (Ping Pong), Spotlight on a Musical Instrument (triangle), Irish Medley
A New Year's Eve Special episode was broadcast at the end of 2013.
EpisodeGuestBroadcastMusic featuredNYESMilton Jones, Jenny Bede & Beardyman31 Dec 2013This Is Not the Show (This Is Just the Intro), Manger Danger, Chinese Five Spice, Christmas Jumper (Bede), No-L, Party Like We're Parents, Brussels Sprout Blues (Beardyman), Long Old Sign
Series 3 (2014) EpisodeThemeGuestBroadcastMusic featured3.1TechnologySara Pascoe & James Acaster6 May 2014Henry Hoover, Record Player, Sara Pascoe: The Musical, Purse Thief, Folk Song, Mariachi Music (Acaster), I’m Your Teasmade, Autotune3.2HomeTom Basden13 May 2014Song for Suzie, Yonder Hill, A Musician’s Life, Writer's Corner: "My Life in the Premier League" by Wayne Rooney, Jacques Villeneuve, Tom's songs (Basden), Squirrel Song, Radiator Wisdom3.3FashionMarcus Brigstocke & Vula Malinga20 May 2014Working on My Twerking, Ed’s Supermarket Song, Marcus’s song, Coleman's, Car Song, Jazzy Vula Malinga, Alex’s Duet with Vula, First Dance Song, Happy Accident3.4ShoppingAdam Buxton & Pete Grogan27 May 2014Song for Simon, If I Were, Thailand, Adam’s songs, Thick & Creamy (Milk advert), Cheese Dreams, I Ain’t Got No Story to Tell, Biscuits Sea Shanty3.5TudorsCariad Lloyd & Gwyneth Herbert3 Jun 2014Small Talk (from Milk the Tenderness), Cariad’s song, Time Wasting (Will’s Inspirational Motivational Song), Gwyneth’s song, Marching Nursery Rhyme, Prequel to Copacabana, Song for Alex’s Son (When You’re 6 Foot 4), Woody’s Weigh-In, Tudors vs Vikings3.6AliensTerry Alderton10 Jun 2014Fortune Teller, Aliens Exist, Is it the Police?, Don’t You Want Me 2 (Do You Still Not Want Me?), Terry’s song, Spanish Flu, Ed’s Dilemma, The Fly, Is it a Gun?, Ode to Tim the Manly Man
Television appearances
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (2013–present)
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is a panel show combining the longstanding Channel 4 game format of Countdown with the lively comedy style of 8 Out of 10 Cats. Each episode introduces a celebrity guest as an assistant to etymologist Susie Dent in 'dictionary corner'. Alex Horne was previously a contestant on the main Countdown programme in 2008, and as the author of a book on 'Wordwatching' was a strong candidate for the role. More unusually, he brought his backing band, and The Horne Section contributed various comedy song (and dance) items to the show, as well as stylistic parodies of the 30-second Countdown music.
The Horne Section have appeared in a number of episodes (with one appearance as Rachel Riley's assistants) over the course of the show, listed below with reference to the 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown episodes page. The saxophonist 'Pedro' (Pete Grogan) appeared where shown as a deputy for one of the wind players.