To mark its 50th anniversary, Patti Smith has announced she will perform her seminal debut album ‘Horses’ in full this autumn.
Smith will mark the lasting influence of ‘Horses’ with a series of special shows performing the album in its entirety. She will be accompanied by two members of the original group, Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty, along with keyboardist/bassist Tony Shanahan, a part of her band for thirty years. Her son, Jackson Smith also joins on guitar.
The concerts have been set for seven cities in Europe: Dublin, Madrid. Bergamo, London, Brussels, Oslo and Paris. Nine cities in the U.S.: Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in 1975 and released on November 10th of the same year – the anniversary of the death of one of Smith’s biggest influences, Arthur Rimbaud.
Horses clarion call was: “three chord rock merged with the power of the word.” A poet and visual artist, Patti had begun improvising her unique blend of song and hallucinatory imagery two years before, appearing on cabaret stages and small clubs with the support of guitarist Kaye and pianist Richard Sohl. She honed her songs in this live setting, allowing them to develop at will, garnering an ever-growing audience within the Manhattan underground. By the time she launched a seven-week residency at the relatively obscure Bowery club, CBGB, in winter of 1975, her band had grown, adding guitarist Ivan Kral and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty. It was during this time that she was signed by Arista president Clive Davis. John Cale was chosen by the band to produce the album
Opening with an unforgettable declaration of personal responsibility – “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine” – the album represented a shift in the sonic landscape, an upheaval of the male-dominated punk scene, with Smith – a poet at heart – representing a genre-spanning new guard.
Robert Mapplethorpe’s iconic front cover photograph of Patti with her jacket slung over her shoulder perfectly captured an artist at the beginning of what would be a five-decade long career.
Patti Smith will play the following dates:
October dates:
6 Dublin – 3Arena
8 Madrid – Teatro Real
10 Bergamo, IT – Chorus Life Arena
12 London – The Palladium
13 London – The Palladium
15 Brussels – Cirque Royale
16 Brussels – Cirque Royale
18 Oslo – Sentrum Scene
20 Paris – The Olympia
21 Paris – The Olympia
November dates:
10 Seattle – The Paramount Theatre
12 Oakland – The Fox Theatre
13 SF – The Masonic
15 LA – Walt Disney Concert Hall
17 Chicago – The Chicago Theatre
21 New York City – The Beacon
22 New York City – The Beacon
24 Boston – The Orpheum Theatre
28 Washington DC – The Anthem
29 Philadelphia – The Met
Presale tickets are available from 9am on Wednesday 12th February:
General Sale tickets are available from 14th Feb at 9am:
