Patti Smith, the eminent punk-poet and singer, is set to descend upon London this coming October. The two-date show will be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of her seminal album, ‘Horses’, originally released in 1975. Playing the London Palladium on 12 and 13 October, the shows form part of a wider tour which will see Smith play across Europe and the US.
Support acts have yet to be announced; however fans will be delighted to know that Smith will be joined by two of the musicians who played on the original recordings. Guitarist Lenny Kaye and keyboard player and bassist Jay Lee Daugherty have played with Smith throughout her live career. They will be joined by Tony Shanahan, who joined the group in 1996, and Jackson Smith, who joined in 2016.
The shows will see the album played in its entirety. The studio album comes in at a little over 43 minutes, with reissues including a cover of The Who’s ‘My Generation’, taking it beyond three-quarters of an hour. Smith’s shows tend to last around 80 minutes. When she toured ‘Horses’ in 2005, she performed additional tracks taking her shows closer to the typical runtime. Some of those that found their way onto the setlists included ‘Are You Experienced?’ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and ‘Because The Night’, the Springsteen-penned ballad that was originally recorded by Smith in 1977.
Produced by Welsh musician and Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, ‘Horses’ was like nothing that had come before it. The album was a mélange of musical styles, all carried by Smith’s beat-esque prose, sometimes spoken, sometimes sung. UK critics were split on its releases, with Charles Shaar Murray of NME calling it “one in a thousand”, while its detractors called it “amateurish”.
The album would influence some of the most iconic figures in and around music for the next 15 years. Among them, Morrissey and Johnny Marr, the two guiding hands in The Smiths. Morrissey would also record a live cover of ‘Redondo Beach’ in 2004, released the following year. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. cited the album as an influence, and John Cooper Clarke, who opened for acts like The Clash, The Sex Pistols and The Fall, said “Lyrics became important for a while in the late Seventies. Patti Smith was a poet and a rock star, as much one as the other, the distinctions were a bit blurred and then you get swept up in it.”
Smith recently made headlines when she collapsed on stage. Performing alongside the Soundwalk Collective, Smith suffered a migraine and was taken backstage in a wheelchair. She later reemerged to perform more songs. The singer later posted on Instagram asking fans not to believe “a grossly exaggerated account being spread by the press and social media.”
The tagline for the show is: “Please join us to help celebrate the final ride of our irreverent thoroughbred.” Fans lucky enough to snag a ticket to this show will be witnessing history as Smith appears to be winding down, whether that be celebrations of ‘Horses’, or touring as a whole. For those wanting to join in on the final ride, tickets can be purchased here.
