I AM - HOME - HORSE

(2026 Edit - this post is from the archive and was first published on 6 July 2013 at 18:06. Things, facts and views may have changed since then. Removed are dates and links to a previous tour. ).

That Scottish singer with a voice of and unusual name and a voice like pure gold is back with another single and album!  Yes,  Horse Macdonald has released a single called I Am which has been lovingly remixed by Rocket Science, the team who mixed the new forthcoming album 'HOME', and is now available to download here.   Top telly chat show host Graham Norton has already given it the tune his seal of approval by playing on his Radio 2 weekend show!

For those of you who don't know, I've been a fan of Horse for many a year,  since I worked at a radio station in Sussex and heard the lovely song God's Home Movie. I was amazed by the moving song, but moved to tears by a voice that is pure, unique, and so achingly beautiful that one could listen to it every hour of every day for a decade and still not grow tired of it.  But don't just take my word for it,  Q Magazine said she was 'One of the finest singers in Britain". Iain Banks confirmed she has "A voice like folds of very rich chocolate", and the Scotsman says "Her voice wraps us up like a great big duvet".   She's opened and toured with the likes of Tina Turner, BB King, Bryan Ferry and Burt Bacharach.  Will Young has covered one of her songs to critical acclaim. Her first record deal was with EMI/Capital circa 1990, and since then she's released eight albums, her ninth comes out in August  - download 

God's Home Movie

HOME - the ninth Horse album launched on 5th August.

Horse says, "I'm truly proud of this album and delighted to announce it will be officially released on Monday, 5th August. If you can't wait for the download, a physical CD is available for pre-order here, with the opportunity to have it signed with a personal message from me." 

You'll also be able to see her live in Brighton on Saturday, 3rd of August, for an appearance on the women's stage at Brighton Pride. 

Next will be the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where Horse will be doing a very special acoustic performance at the famous Assembly Rooms on George Street, on Sunday, 4th August.   This will be the launch for the new album HOME, officially released the next day on 5th August.  During that show, Horse will play a few favourite Horse songs, but the main focus is on the songs from the new album. 

Tron Main Theatre, Mon September 9th  Horse will be doing her first masterclass with an audience, where she'll share some of her vast knowledge both as performer and writer, stories from he travels and experience. 

We are seven.......

A simple child that lightly draws its breath,

and feels its life in every limb,

What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage Girl:

She was eight years old, she said.

her hair was thick with many a curl

that clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,

and she was wildly clad:

her eyes were fair, and very fair;

Her beauty made me glad.

“Sisters and brothers, little Maid,

How many may you be?”

“How many? Seven in all,” she said,

And, wondering, looked at me.

“And where are they? I pray you tell.”

She answered, “Seven are we;

And two of us at Conway dwell,

And two are gone to sea.

“Two of us in the church-yard lie,

my sister and my brother;

and, in the church-yard cottage, I

dwell near them with my mother.”

“You say that two at Conway dwell,

and two are gone to sea,

yet ye are seven! I pray you tell,

sweet Maid, how this may be.”

Then did the little Maid reply,

“Seven boys and girls are we;

two of us in the church-yard lie,

beneath the church-yard tree.”

“You run about, my little Maid,

Your limbs they are alive;

If two are in the church-yard laid,

then ye are only five.”

“Their graves are green, they may be seen,”

the little Maid replied,

“Twelve steps or more from my mother’s door,

and they are side by side.

“My stockings there I often knit,

my kerchief there I hem;

and thereupon the ground I sit,

and sing a song to them.

“And often after sunset, Sir,

when it is light and fair,

I take my little porringer,

and eat my supper there.

“The first that died was sister Jane;

in bed she moaning lay,

till God released her of her pain;

and then she went away.

“So in the church-yard she was laid;

and when the grass was dry,

together round her grave we played,

my brother John and I.

“And when the ground was white with snow,

and I could run and slide,

my brother John was forced to go,

and he lies by her side.”

“How many are you, then,” said I,

“If they two are in heaven?”

quick was the little Maid’s reply,

“O Master! we are seven.”

“But they are dead; those two are dead!

their spirits are in heaven!”

’Twas throwing words away; for still

the little Maid would have her will,

and said, “Nay, we are seven!”

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth - Historic UK

Letter's of the past.

(2026 Edit. This post is from the archive; it was first published on 23 October 2012 at 17:37. Things, facts and views may have changed since then.)

Letters

Image by Margarita Kochneva from Pixabay

You never really know what others think of you until they make it clear in some way, and sometimes when they do, it can come as a complete surprise or even, dare I say, a bit of a shock!

Such an incident happened to me at the end of last week when, out of the blue, a letter arrived from an old, old flame. Before I go on to the contents of that letter, let me tell you the intriguing story of how this physical letter got to me is as remarkable as the contents themselves. For some reason, it was sent to a place I used to work many long years ago, and when I say many, I really do mean many, ten or more at least. Luckily, someone there still recognised my name as they forwarded it to an address I used to live at in Crawley, West Sussex. Luckily, the owner still remained the same as all those years ago, who forwarded it to the Kemp Town flat where I used to reside and from there the lovely Eastern European escorts that occupy the top apartment popped it back in the post with my current abode crammed into one corner.  

Thus, the letter's unusual and utterly remarkable journey from pillar to post had finally come to a wonderfully correct conclusion. Hat’s off to the Royal Mail on this occasion for their endeavours in the delivery of the letter, and deep sentiments of gratitude are expressed to all who had a hand in ensuring its progress continued until, in my hands, it rested.

The contents of the letter, as indeed the letter itself, were a complete surprise and not a particularly happy one. The letter, as I said before, was from an old, old flame from the very dim and distant past. We dated for a relatively short time, perhaps ten or eleven months, maybe a year at the most, during the mid 1990’s. I can’t say how we got together or even why; we certainly came from different places and lived in seemingly different worlds, plus he was a full decade and a half my senior, which only added to the differences between us. Our brief relationship was, I suppose you could say was tempestuous,  fiery would be another word, we were both strong and stubborn personalities, and I dare say we both suffered from the ’I know best’ mantra and philosophy. There were times of great passion, intellectual stimulation and learning, but also times of arguments and anger, which ultimately forced the affair to be a rather dysfunctional one, which led to its inevitable termination.

He loved me, yet always resented and never forgave me for breaking up our ’beautiful’ relationship, at least that’s what his letter informed me. It also told me that he believed we could have ’gone the distance’, which surprised the heck out of me because, from my memory, we were never destined for longevity, and it was he who told me to get out of his car and out of his life when we broke up. 

There were a few other things mentioned in the letter which I have different recollections of altogether; however, I suppose that’s only to be expected, we were two different people and too different people. I would write back to perhaps disagree with his memories of our time together, or rather, offer my side of the story and my views of how it came to a bitter and fractious end. Oh yes, the end was fractious to say the least, when I said earlier he was the one to tell me to get out of his car and out of his life, I meant that literally. We’d been out at an early ‘summer’ party where shorts and shades had been the theme, somewhat surprising really, as it was taking place at the end of January or beginning of February, I forget exactly which after all this time. I, being the typical larger-than-life character full of fun I happily sported rather short black shorts complete with a skull and crossbones design on the front area. In reality, I’ll level with you, these were comic boxer shorts, yet I wore them as over shorts with nothing underneath. I also sported a ripped black ‘Boy’ t-shirt that was about two sizes too small for me, and that was before it had shrunk in the wash!  

I want to say I also had flip flops on, but if memory serves me rightly, I actually sported some Hi-Tec trainers.  It was a private party, and we weren't going anywhere else, which negated my need for cash, plus I had no pockets upon my person anyway. I don’t recall how our argument started or who the instigator was, nor can I remember how it or why it escalated the way it did. No doubt I was partly or even largely to blame, I simply can't recall, but I sure do remember how it ended. We’d gotten halfway back between the location on the south coast of this party and my home in Crawley when he slammed on his brakes, pulled into a lay-by at the side of the road and uttered the infamous last words and the opposite of Billy Ocean, ’get out of my car and out of my life’.  

As I said, I was stubborn back then, so I did, he drove off, and that was the last I ever saw of him. I then simply had no other option other than to walk home during the middle of a January / February night, wearing nothing other than a pair of funny boxer shorts, trainers and a shirt far too small for me.  I can’t say how far the distance was exactly, nor how long the journey took me; all I can say is that by the time I got to my door, the dawn had arrived and people were already on their way to work. I must have had some odd or funny looks from passing commuters. I have no memory, but it wasn't the first time I'd been seen as one of those 'Yesterday's People' coming home the day after a night before!

As I said, I would have written back to him to share my views on the relationship that never was without the benefit of rose-tinted spectacles, yet tucked in the envelope was a small card. The card was a short little note from one of his family members informing me he had recently passed away after a short illness. A surprise indeed, and I’d wished I’d read the note before the letter, a letter which he had written sometime before his death and not sent, rather than the other way around. I also wish he’d have sent the letter before he died as then he’d had gone to his grave with both sides of the story, but that of course isn’t to be, but it just emphasises to me now, how there are always at least two sides to every story, that one person’s truth can seem to be another person’s invention, and I wonder, perhaps we never really know how others see us.