1987. Things were very different then. Today everything is instant, if you wanted to find out about new bands there were only a few avenues to go down. Sounds, Melody Maker, Kerrang that was about it. The year 1987 became a year zero for Rock and started to raise some serious interest again. From the other side of the Atlantic poured Guns and Roses, reshaping all their influences in a package so complete they became unstoppable. From the UK came the Cult who dropped the frilly shirts and frockcoats, listened to Zodiac Mindwarp and AC/DC and got some balls.
’Electric’ and ’Appetite for Destruction’ galvanized the Rock world and breathed some life into a stale scene and set the tone for the next couple of years.
While all this was being played out on the main stage, the bare bones of Horse were being structured in London bars by Damon Williams and ex One Way System’s Gary Gene Buckley, Marc Perez and Dave Hoyland. The intention and manifesto were simple in the extreme, straightforward, stripped down no-nonsense Rock and Roll. Les Pauls and Marshalls, Thunderbirds and Ampegs, Rose Tattoo and a bottle of Jack. Locked away, the rehearsals shaped the band to find its own sound.
Early 1988 the first demo was recorded with Dave Goodman (Sex Pistols)examples of which can be found on this page. The demo was completed after a few days as the session was nearly abandoned by Goodman due to the bands high spirits! Once completed, a substantial schedule of the unglamorous UK live circuit began. Each one ending in an ever increasing crescendo of aftershow mayhem. Doubtless, Other bands may have been technically more proficient at the time, but there was something special about those early gigs, seeing a band that intense and real up close that will always be firmly lodged in the minds of those witnessed these early dates.
The following year opened with the bands first London support shows. This was where they found their spititual home, Those first Marquee shows attracted a complete who’s-who of the time. From there it was a succession of profile support slots that led to the inevitable record company interest. Atlantic were the first to engage, paying for recording time, that all ended rather messily after the Atlantic executive was buried under piles of refuse bags by the band at four in the morning in Soho by a overly refreshed band. Popularity and interest increasing rapidly from this point, Due to sell out Marquee shows offers came in for the band to fulfill a residency at the club, the first time this had taken place since the early 1970s. Next logical step were the larger venues, Brixton Academy, Hammersmith Odeon etc. These were all taken in their stride and the good times continued unabated.
After the courting of various record companies May 1989 saw the signing to Chrysalis and the first recording for release was rapidly undertaken. A six track EP, Diesel Power, was the result, Which in retrospect failed to capture the incindiary potency of the bands live shows. Tours began to promote the album including a co headline with the Almighty. The album was in the shops in July and for three weeks after release was the best selling Rock album in Tower Records. Merchandising did exeptionally well through this time, holding the record for the most merchandising sold at the Marquee in one night.
The band began to gain interest Stateside and signed a licensing deal in the US and everything was looking rosy. The first Transatlantic tour was planned and mapped out but by then a series of disastrous decisions had put too many holes below the waterline and the band finally sunk in 1990.
It is difficult to imagine, twenty years later, the impact the band had on the UK Rock scene at the time, but adding a DIY punk ethos to their already staunch Rock credentials certainly was brave, and undoubtedly this attitude paved the way for many others. The bands inornate ideology could probably be neatly summed up by the back of their T shirt "Rock and Roll, London, England."
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