Patti Smith "Horses" 50th Anniversary at The London Palladium, Monday October 13th

Here are some photos and videos of Patti Smith's fantastic show at the London Palladium, part of her tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of her classic, hugely influential album "Horses". We saw the second of two nights from the Royal Circle balcony which meant I couldn't take many decent photos or videos, but I'm pleased I could capture a few moments from a truly magical evening. Joining Patti were her original longtime partner in crime Lenny Kaye, her son Jackson on guitar and bass and Tony Shanahan on bass and keyboards. Unfortunately, drummer Jay Dee Daugherty who played on "Horses" couldn't make the Monday night show which was a shame, but his stand-in for the night did a superb job. Patti looks amazing and her unmistakable voice has lost nothing over the years, she is in fine form. She switches between good humoured chat with the crowd and blistering put-downs of Trump and the genocide in Palestine. She tells us stories of her first meeting with Jimi Hendrix and of strange dreams about Jim Morrison which influence her songwriting. 

 

Patti also has some fun with an inebriated audience member who wants to get up on stage to dance "I get paid to be up here" and once he has calmed down, "there's always one at every gig!" Of course, we get treated to the whole of "Horses" from those spine-tingling opening words "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine" that heralds the beginning of their cover of Van Morrison and Them's "Gloria" through all eight of the original album's tracks. I think the Reggae stylings of "Redondo Beach" work much better live and the slow burning "Free Money" is immense as it builds to a raucous ending. I've always had a soft spot for "Kimberly" even though some people think it's a bit lightweight next to such emotionally raw companion pieces as "Break It Up". 

 

The album running order is changed so they can end the main set with a blistering freak-out of "Land" which was a great decision as it gets the hugely appreciative, adoring audience to their feet. For the second set, the band return to the stage minus Patti and play a medley of three Television songs from "Marquee Moon" which although they sounded great, in all honesty I'd rather have had another song or two with Patti. She returns in familiar white T-shirt and black waistcoat for her version of The Byrds "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star" then it was probably her most well known number, the Springsteen collaboration "Because The Night" which of course turned into a massive singalong. Next up was my personal highlight, a truly stunning "Dancing Barefoot" from "Wave" and then Patti introduced her friend Johnny Depp on guitar and her daughter Jesse on piano for the encore of "People Have The Power". This was much more than just a gig, it was a truly special experience that will live on long in the memory.

For more info check out the official Patti Smith web-site here.

All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog 2025