HORSE at the Month of Sundays (matinee show), The Bungalow, Paisley. Sunday 10th May, 2026.

I was especially excited for this gig, being able to catch Horse in such a small venue. It was quite a coup for The Bungalow to rein her in, especially as she recently sold out The Barrowland. 

We had 'unreserved' seating tickets, so we headed down early and parked nearby on George Street. The queue at 12.35 pm only had about half a dozen people waiting. A little after 1pm, the staff lifted the shutter and let us in. Tickets checked, a 'D' marked in turquoise pen on the back of one hand, we headed in to choose where to sit. 

No. That wasn't happening. All the tables had reservation laminates on them, surnames added in marker pen. What we had to do was play a game of "Find Your Table". We lucked out with a spot near the front with an unhindered view. 

The hour before showtime flew by. I read a little, 'Shazam'd the preshow music, and watched the fun and games play out as people sat at the wrong tables. It seems some in Paisley can't read. Shocker! It all got sorted, and it turned out that a couple of tables at the front remained empty. Maybe the respective parties didn't realise and sat elsewhere.

One of the No-Shows

We were so close to the front that we could almost taste Horse's chewing gum. Indeed, she referred to us as being in her pebble-dash zone, meaning saliva spit, not an explosive rear evacuation. 

Horse explained that she didn't usually play the guitar on stage, though she often wrote her songs with one. This added pressure: she couldn't use her hands while she sang, except to play the guitar. She also needed to tune the guitar between songs, much to everyone's amusement, especially when bassist Lorny T had to step in to correct her when she'd tuned it in the wrong key. 

This was Jenny Clifford's fourth outing on guitar (and vocals) with Horse. She seemed much more relaxed than she had been at the Barrowlands.

The set was advertised as being an hour long, but was actually closer to two, not that anyone was complaining. Consisting of classic singles, B-sides, album tracks and one cover, she captivated us with her voice and music. The atmosphere felt so intimate, the audience mostly behaved, and it was a genuinely lovely experience. Horse comes across as such a lovely, gifted person. 

After the show, I pinched a setlist from the stage. We could have waited in the merch queue for an autograph and/or a selfie, but didn't. I was happy with my souvenir. 

Once again, Horse did us proud. Writing this several hours later, I'm still feeling giddy (up).

Setlist:  

Ticket Price: (unreserved seating) 2 x £26 plus Booking Fee £5 & eTicket fee £0.50 = £57.50 from Tickets Scotland. 

VIDEOS

Never Not Going To

And She Smiled

You Could Be Forgiven

The Speed of the Beat of my Heart

PHOTOS 

Preshow Music:

Benny And The Jets by Elton John

Out Of Touch by Daryl Hall & John Oates

More Than A Woman by Bee Gees

Africa by Toto

Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Tom's Diner (featuring Suzanne Vega by DNA

Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac

Use Me by Bill Withers

Changes by David Bowie

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush

Don't Stand So Close to Me by The Police

Rocket Man by Elton John

Girls by Sugababes

Outro Music

Move Over Darling by Doris Day (band dance along)   

Horse, "The Same Sky – 30th Anniversary Tour", Theatre Royal, Glasgow. Sunday 5th June, 2022

I fell in love with this album when it came out in 1990 playing the cassette constantly on a loop. The songs were beautiful, touching and catchy. Horse's vocal range was fantastic. Later, I got to see her perform live at the Tramway (Saturday, April 9th, 1994) when she and her band appeared second on a bill that included Ed Alleyne-Johnson, Gin Blossoms and Texas.  It was an amazing night. Looking back at the acts appearing on the other nights of Sound City '94, they would all have been great. The Thursday gig had Oasis as the opening act!

Thirty years later, coincidentally, I revisited the same sky having picked it up cheaply on CD from Music Magpie, again finding enjoyment from listening to it over and over. When Regular Music announced Horse was playing an anniversary show in Glasgow to celebrate the album, it was a no-brainer to get tickets. Then along with everything else, it got rescheduled. 

After the pomp and spectacle of Queen and Adam Lambert, this was always going to be a more low-key kind of show. It was in a posh theatre, there was no stage set to speak of except a dark backdrop with her seahorse logo (which at times reminded me of the tail of a chest buster from Alien) plus a few lights. Mostly, it was about the music.

With the theatre half empty at first, the first act, Terry Logan, came on and introduced the evening, playing two numbers, neither of which were particularly bad. She then introduced the main support, The Eves, who played as a duo tonight. The pair reminded me of two musically-talented Primary School teachers putting on a show for the kids. Pleasant tunes, pleasant costumes, pleasant songs. Marissa reminded me of Sara from Sara n Junbug in voice but without the tattoos or the rapping. During their last song, Horse and her band paraded on stage behind them for a lark, wearing face masks depicting the duo. 

During the interval, the place filled more completely as the Horse faithful took to their seats. And Horse delivered for them in spades. If anything, her voice is even better now than it was all these years ago. She is so comfortable on stage and creates a cosy atmosphere. Everyone is enjoying themselves, both on stage and in the audience. She plays through the album in the correct order (she doesn't like the shuffle function - she put effort into thinking about how the album should flow), with Careful, accompanied by the string section being particularly good. She also reads dedications to some of her most devoted fans. 

Having played the entire album in full, she moved on to other material,  covering a Glen Campbell song and "Could it be Magic" by Barry Manilow, playing her favourite songs from her other work. She even went live on Facebook to share the night with her fans who couldn't make it.

At the end, the other acts came back on to singalong and they finished lining up and kicking their legs to what I thought was the This is Your Life theme (correct me if I'm wrong).

The only fan to stick out tonight was the one being wafted by the woman sitting to my wife's left, a proper Southern belle if ever I did see one. My, she waved that thing like she was having continuous hot flushes (which wouldn't have been possible given her age, unless she'd really gone to town on the HRT). 

Sorry, I don't have a setlist.

Not a lot of photos as it didn't seem appropriate to go overboard in such a venue.

Ticket Price £34 each 

(booking fee £7.80, transaction fee £2.85)

Terry Logan

The Eves

Horse showing off her Lifetime Achievement Award.