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Alex Horne

Who are you and what do you play in The Horne Section?

I am Alex Horne and I play the bongos, tambourine and conducting baton.

I don’t want to dominate the world, I just want to be in charge of it. Please.
Alex Horne

If you each had a nickname (a bit like the Spice Girls), which ‘Horne’ would you be?

'Major Horne'.

Do you have a signature move? What is it?

I’ve recently been teaching myself to do the splits and I can now successfully open my legs to an angle of 45 degrees.

How were you recruited for The Horne Section?

It’s purely because of my name. This was my destiny.

What did you do before you joined the group?

I appeared in Round the Horne, the Horneblower and The Horne Identity.

What are the best and worst gigs you’ve ever played?

Best gig: the first ever Horne Section show in Edinburgh, 2010; we really didn’t think it would work.

Worst gig: the second ever Horne Section show in Edinburgh, 2010; the equipment really didn’t work.

You must have spent a lot of time with the rest of the band. Do any of them have any strange and disturbing habits you could share with us?

Ben cooks meals like fish chowder and baked salmon. I find that weird. Mark has a hernia, Will can’t clap, Joe Stilgoe can’t stop clapping and Joe Auckland can’t go on stage before singing the national anthem in full.

What’s the most divine piece of music your ears have ever encountered?

Oompah Brass’s interpretation of Britney Spears.

As part of The Horne Section, you must have worked with some pretty excellent comedians – can you tell us about some of those?

I think we’re up to 100 collaborators now and it’s hard to pick favourites, but I’d have to go for Tommy Tiernan, Reggie Watts, Jimmy Cricket and my old colleague, Tim Key. I think that demonstrates the versatility of the show.

Finally, are you seeking world domination and how will you know when you’ve achieved it?

For me it’s not completely about world domination, it’s more kind of world rule. I don’t want to dominate the world, I just want to be in charge of it. Please.

Clips

Alex Horne's "Eggy Pop"

An egg + a microwave. Alex does a bit of 60-second cooking during his new Radio 4 series.

The Horne Section on the web