Making noise: writer and comedian Alex Horne

The ‘comedy jazz band’ Alex fronts, The Horne Section, is now in its fourteenth year, and their new book, Make Some Noise, a guide for children on how to make music while having fun, was published in August 2024. 

Stephen Matthews, Sidney’s Head of Communications, caught up with Alex, to learn more.

Alex Horne (Photo courtesy of Taskmaster/Avalon Productions).

It’s Day 4 of the Paris Olympics, and Alex Horne admits to being ‘completely hooked’: ‘If you watch some of the sports with the sound off, things like fencing or diving or dressage… they're so ridiculous, which I love. There are so many weird and wonderful sides to things like this… and they should be celebrated.’

I can’t resist asking, how would the Olympics look if the Taskmaster’s Assistant took control?

‘Yes, some of the events do look like tasks. I mean, golf is basically a task – “Get this little ball in that hole in as few shots as possible. Your time starts now.”’

‘And maybe that's what we've tapped into with Taskmaster - it's a sort of Olympics for anyone.

‘As a species, we do love a rule. We love being told that you can do this, but you can't do that. And that's basically most Olympic events. 

‘So, yes, I’d love a role with the IOC.’

Taskmaster has become this global phenomenon. Does it scare you how big it has become?

‘No, not really. I'm really keen that we don't dilute it too much because there are a lot of different strands to it now. There's a board game and a VR game and books and things. You don't want people to get sick of it, I suppose.

‘I try to focus on coming up with good tasks and making each series good. And if we get that right, then the rest should look after itself. 

‘I have to also say that there’s just so much luck involved in having any success on telly. I've tried to get so many other TV shows away and not a single one's worked. So, we just got lucky with this one.’

I’ve heard you say that one of the reasons Taskmaster has sustained, is that you don't humiliate your guests, and they appreciate the freedom to be funny within the format of the show. Is its longevity also partly because it has remained interesting for you to do? The guests can still surprise you.

‘Yes, so the hardest bit of the process is the casting, because those five guests are in every single episode of their series. So, what I'm looking for is their response when they open the envelope and read the task.

'I want to get five people who will, like you say, surprise me. And I don't mean necessarily doing it in a way I could never have expected, but just behaving in a way that's different from me.’

In terms of the global phenomenon, I was looking for your new book online and I came across an Alex Horne facemask. (I show Alex the ‘unofficial’ face mask).

‘Oh yeah, that's pretty weird, isn't it? But I guess it’s also weird how it doesn't seem that weird to me anymore. 

‘There's a cutout as well.’

Yes, the cutout is yourself and Greg Davies. What interested me about that is that if you look at the vendor’s Ts and Cs, they warn buyers that it can’t be more than 60cm high.

‘Well, if they're selling a small Greg Davies, a miniature Greg Davies, fair play to them.

So, we’re here to talk about your new book with The Horne Section, Make Some Noise. To quote your chapter title back to you, what is the point of this book?

‘It's a very good question. So, The Horne Section is five genuinely good musicians and me. I’m in charge, but I don’t know anything about music.

‘I also have to confess that as a parent I’m really bad in this respect - I’ve let my children slip through the net. They're 11, 13 and 15. They did play saxophone and guitar, but they all stopped during lockdown. 

‘Music at school seems to be all about scales and exams. The members of The Horne Section all teach music and they wanted to get their experience into a book - how to encourage kids to pick up an instrument, which instrument to pick up, how to play it, how to have fun. The book is meant to encourage kids to pick up an instrument and play with their mates.’

Were you frustrated by the way music was taught in your school? 

‘I remember there was a moment where we all chose our instruments, but it was so arbitrary. I picked French Horn literally because ‘Horne’ was my surname, and that was it. No one told me it was going to be impossible to play. No one told me you can't get it out around the campfire.

'It's not a sociable instrument, the French Horn, and the lessons were very little fun. I could play the theme tune to Dallas and then the rest was all classical.

‘About 10 years ago, I had some piano lessons as part of a Radio 3 thing, and my teacher then was brilliant. She taught me how to play along with what you could hear on the radio and that felt so much more satisfying.

‘So, yes, there are other ways of learning, and we're also keen to get rid of words like ‘practice’. My kids are into football, but they go in the garden to play football, they don't ‘practice football’. I think it should be the same with musical instruments. Sending your kids upstairs to practice really them off, it becomes a chore.’

Make Some Noise is a collaborative effort, with The Horne Section. Did you still lead on the writing?

‘No. I've written books before. It's fun at first, but it can become a bit of a grind. So, I wrote the intro and the conclusion, and the band took it from there. We divided up the chapters based on who knew the most about each thing. 

‘The band aren't professional writers, but they showed me that actually they could write just as well as I could… which is frustrating…’

Are you surprised The Horne Section has gone on for so long?

‘Well, the good thing is it's based on some very long friendships. Joe (trumpet and banjo), Ben (drums) and I went to primary school together. Our mums are friends. We are all the middle boy out of three boys, and our older brothers and younger brothers, they're also all friends still. So, if we weren’t doing The Horne Section, we’d be hanging out. That gives the band another reason to keep existing. 

‘And for me personally, I don't do standup anymore – I don’t have time. But with the band, I do get to go on stage and tell jokes. So, for me, part of it is about flexing that muscle.’

I was listening to the audio book of Make My Noise last night. You refer to yourself as having ‘zero talent and maximum enthusiasm’, and you credit the other members of The Horne Section as being very talented. You have also previously played down your role on Taskmaster. Are you more comfortable sharing the limelight?

‘Yes, so whenever I've done a show, even when I was first doing standup, I’ve always had a prop.

‘When I did Footlights – I didn’t do the sketches and stuff, I just used Footlights as a standup night - I'd always come on stage holding a bag with stuff in it. I started doing stuff with my friend Tim Key, and I had PowerPoint presentations. I did stuff with the band, and then I did Taskmaster with Greg.

‘So… it's not necessarily a psychological problem, but I do prefer being with other people and I love being second in command. You can get away with more. 

‘With the band, I am in charge but – and I don’t want to sound sort of ‘faux humble’ - I really don't have any musical skills and I am in no shape or form a singer.’

I was thinking of it more in the context of Cambridge – we talk a lot about Imposter Syndrome, but I guess another way of dealing with these situations is to not imagine yourself as a single person in the spotlight, but to enjoy being part of a group, with every member contributing in different ways.

‘Yes, what I would say is that when I was at Cambridge, I was young enough to not worry about it. And once you've got a few gigs under your belt, then you gain confidence. You also get really hooked if it goes well. 

‘I'm always impressed by people like Jimmy Carr and John Bishop. They both came to comedy in their thirties, and they both gave up massive jobs to do it, whereas I had nothing to lose. When I was at Cambridge, I wrote for Varsity and I did stuff in College and I did Footlights. So I would say to students, this is the time to do it.’

So, to Sidney - as a teenager, was Cambridge something you aspired to?

‘No, I’ve never had a five year plan, even at Cambridge. 

‘I originally applied to Oxford to do English and I didn't get in. I had done A levels at 17, so I took a year off and then applied to Cambridge, to another College.

‘I got pooled, I got picked up by Sidney, but after one term - maybe three quarters of a term - I was really struggling. I was doing Latin and German and was way behind in German. Everyone else seemed to be fluent.

‘I had to leave, but the College looked after me really well. They said, “Look, if you go away and learn Greek, you can come back and just change your course, basically”.

‘So eventually I started two years after school, studying Classics.’

Looking back, were you glad you found a way to carry on?

‘Yes, I loved the social side and the sport. The size of Sidney is perfect in that you've got a hundred people in your year. I made friends straight away - the person who lived next door to me is now godfather to our youngest. And I met my wife too! So, yes, I really liked Sidney from that point of view. I felt very comfortable straight away.’

Alex Horne and Rachel Gibson (now Rachel Horne), 2001.

As you say, you met your wife here. Do you look back on College as an important time in your life? 

‘It's funny, I mean we moved on so quickly - I went to Goldsmiths and did a postgraduate degree and Rachel went to City University. So, Cambridge was hugely important, but I haven't necessarily looked back that much. I think there's a danger with Cambridge - it's so magical, but you don't want it to be the best time of your life and to be constantly missing it. So, we do both look back really fondly, but we also don't look back that often.’

So, Make Some Noise is out now. There’s a Horne Section tour to follow. You’re celebrating ten years of Taskmaster. Anything else coming up? 

‘Yes, well I’m meant to mention that we're doing a big Taskmaster live experience, in London. You’ll be able to enter the Taskmaster house in a group, do tasks - there are videos from me and Greg - and then one of your group will come out the other end as a champion.

‘That’s the biggest thing I'm working at the moment. It's terrifying, partly because we’re going into the unknown… I think it'll work, but it might not and that's fine.’

Make Some Noise is published by Puffin.

The Horne Section’s UK tour kicks off in September 2024.

Taskmaster: The Live Experience will open at London’s Dock X in October 2024.