Backstage with Pulled Apart by Horses

Photos: Stephen McLeod

"What kind of bleach do use on your hair? Is it just toilet stuff?"

I felt like the wee boy from the year 2000’s classic film ‘Almost Famous’. Being given complete and unrestricted access to Pulled Apart by Horses - what has to be the UK’s most exciting live band - on their debut album release tour throws up as many serious questions as well as those about my hair.

Whilst spending time in dressing rooms and backstage areas with bands is not something alien to me, you can’t help but wonder what the etiquette is when you’re there to observe and effectively ‘report back’ on the inner workings of a group as tightly knit as this. When bands are as frank and down-to-earth as the Leeds foursome are, it gets even harder to work out whether what’s said is on or off the record. There’s not exactly a rule book which lets you know what information you glean is private or better not released, and which you can share. The fine balance of giving respect to the trust you’re given by people on the road and making sure you give an honest and full account is not one which is all that easily met.

Saying that, it’s not as if the Horses have anything to hide - far from it infact. It would be harder to find a more open and friendly bunch than this if you tried. They say that you should never meet a band that you like in person, because you’ll find out that they’re actually arseholes, but this doesn’t apply here.

I arrived as soundcheck was underway. I can never get over the cold, sticky wet feeling that permeates a club when it’s empty during the day; a far cry from the hot atmospheric place that it becomes once the be-skirted girls flock in and the drink starts flowing. Amongst the amps, boxes and cases, the levels were checked, tweaked and adjusted some more. It’s never the favourite time of any band, and there are all sorts of tactics employed to make it less painful. For Tom Hudson, this was clearly to lie on his back throughout the proceedings, whilst the others responded to Rob’s initial croak on the mic-check with shouts of "too many blowjobs".. and the other mic-checks? "1-2, 1-2.. 2… 2 many cigareetttees". Between that and requesting a whisky and coke when asked if they’d like anything else, it was obvious that these boys never lose their sense of humour, even after weeks of gigging.

At one point, as James was trying to convince tour manager Dom to give him a loan of some money for the night with the promise of paying it back the next day, he very seriously offered to hand over his debit card as a security. After the former Grammatics-man left the room, JB turned to me with a knowing smile.

"I’ve got two cards."

As soundcheck was being wrapped up and the sound guy asked if that was the maximum volume the levels would be at, I wondered if Tom actually heard what he was saying when he replied "yeah, that’s as loud as we get."