Hold Your Horse Is were a three-piece rock band originally from Fleet, Hampshire and Frimley, Surrey. The band was made up of Robin Pearson on guitar and vocals, James Penny on bass and Chris Rouse on drums. They formed in 2008, taking their name from the Hella album, and spent much of 2009–2010 putting out releases and touring the United Kingdom. They split up in April 2014 after 6 years as a band citing that they had felt it had come to a natural conclusion. On their own label 'Apres Vous', Hold Your Horse Is self-released two EPs: Good Hustle and Everyone Runs Faster With a Knife, in November 2008 and June 2009 respectively; followed by the double-B-side single "Lost The Magic"/"Broken Sound" in September 2009. Their track "Christopher Walken" received some acclaim, including airplay on Radio 1 by Steve Lamacq, and Huw Stephens, BBC 6music by Tom Robinson and XFM by John Kennedy. 2010 saw them sign to Big Scary Monsters Recording Company, which concluded with the release of the six-track EP Rammin' It Home in August followed by a month-long UK tour with label mate and friend Shoes and Socks Off. Their EP received physical coverage in Rocksound and Front and online coverage from sites such as Artrocker and The 405, as well as radio airplay from all the aforementioned DJs and Alex Baker at Kerrang! radio. The BBC also made them 'Tip of the Week' with their track 'Welcome To Obscurity'. At the start of 2011, Hold Your Horse Is released the free download single "Forgive and Forget", which received airplay from Ian Camfield and John Kennedy on XFM. It also coincided with a double page spreads in national publications Front and Guitar and Bass Magazine as well as a UK tour with Northern Irish band Mojo Fury. Hold Your Horse Is have also had their tracks appear on various independent labels' compilations such as Big Scary MonstersRecording Company, Alcopop! Records, This Is Not Revolution Rock, Stressed Sumo Records and Tangled Talk Records. In an interview in January 2011, drummer Chris Rouse hinted at a possible debut album by the end of the year. In August 2012 HYHI released their debut album to much acclaim. The band released it via their own label Apres Vous. A short tour in September followed playing as far north as Thurso. James Penny couldn't make the first part of the tour due to work commitments. Toby Jackson, a friend from their home scene, filled in for the first week. They released a final EP on 20 April called Hold Your Horse Was. The two final tracks, "Whistlepig" and "Douchebagguette", were recorded in Dartmoor with longtime producing friend Gordon Mills. A small video of the recording process can be found on YouTube. They did a small farewell tour from 22 to 26 April, playing with a final hometown show at the Aldershot West End Center, with the final show being in London at the Old Blue Last. A video for "Whistlepig" was released on their last day as a band.
Title references
Many of the song titles and release names by Hold Your Horse Is reference either comedy sketches or videos on YouTube. "Christopher Walken" is a reference to the Kevin bishop show sketch, and EP Rammin' It Home is a reference to a sketch in Snuff Box. "Everyone Runs Faster with a Knife" is lifted from a viral YouTube video about First-person shooter video games.
Side projects
Aside from Hold Your Horse Is, Robin and Chris play in a few other bands. Chris: Salvation Bill Samoans Katie Malco Robin: Lady and The Lost Boys Meanwhile - featuring Tom Andrews of Evryone and Jo from Tubelord
