The Horrors now a four-piece as Tom Furse leaves touring lineup

The Horrors keyboardist Tom Furse is leaving the band “for the foreseeable future.”

The band has revealed their Manchester and Bristol gigs are being rescheduled to 2022, and when they return as a live unit it will be without Tom – who has released solo albums ‘Interludes’ (2018) and last year’s ‘Ecstatic Meditations’ – as they noted there are no plans to replace him.

The band – which was formed in 2005 and is made up of Tom, frontman Faris Badwan, bassist Rhys Webb, guitarist Joshua Hayward and drummer Joseph Spurgeon – made the official statement online and said: “”As we do plan our upcoming shows, we felt this was the right time to mention that Tom has decided to take a break from gigs for the foreseeable future.

“We’ve spoken about how this will affect our live setup and have decided that we’re not going to replace Tom or enlist the services of a cyborg in his place – instead we are going to be playing as a 4-piece from now on.

“Tom will continue to contribute, he just won’t be touring. We look forward to seeing you soon and performing as the new streamlined Horrors.”

On social media, Tom went into more detail about the “16 colourfully lit, smokey strobe filled years” on the road and his decision to step back.

He told his followers: “So after 16 colourfully lit, smokey, strobe filled years I’ve decided to hang up my gigging spurs with The Horrors.

“When I look back on it, I’m grateful I got to experience the world in such a way; the duality of the surreal but sometimes banal life of a touring musician is an experience definitely worth experiencing.. but it’s been clear for a while that touring life isn’t really for me. I’m just more of a maker than a performer.

“What I want out of my life is to wake up every day and ask myself ‘what am I going to make today?’. Touring is not really a conducive environment for this kind of thinking, and I was always much contented in a studio than I ever was on stage.

“With that in mind, I’m not completely disappearing, I’ll still be around to contribute to Horrors records, but those contributions will be part of a much wider creative practice.”

This news come after last month’s three-track EP ‘Against the Blade’ was released – which followed on from their previous EP offering ‘Lout’ – and Faris described as “a further descent into chaos”.

He recently said: “The ‘Against The Blade’ EP is a further descent into chaos. It’s about the freedom that comes with abandoning all hope, giving up control, and accepting that you will always be at odds with the world around you.”

Article source: https://www.contactmusic.com/news/the-horrors-now-a-four-piece-as-tom-furse-leaves-touring-lineup_6337485