Horse McDonald

Biography

Sheena Mary McDonald (born 22 November 1958), also known by her stage name Horse McDonald, is a Scottish singer-songwriter.
McDonald has released eight studio albums, two live albums and one compilation album, making eleven albums in total.

Early Life

McDonald was born on 22 November 1958 in Newport on Tay, Fife, Scotland and grew up in Anstruther, also in Fife.

Career

Horse McDonald was performing by 1977, as part of a duo playing cover songs. McDonald and songwriter Angela McAlinden began working together as musicians and songwriters, a partnership that lasted 19 years. They initially performed under the name Rhesus Negative, before performing as Astrakhan. By 1982, Astrakhan contributed "...And She Smiled" to Melody Maker's Playback feature; an excerpt was later issued on the magazine's Playback – The Flexi. The song was subsequently included on McDonald's debut album The Same Sky, where it was credited to McDonald and McAlinden. In 1985, Astrakhan released The Power Of Touch, credited to McDonald on vocals, with McAlinden and Eileen Mulligan on backing vocals, Robin Rankin as engineer and Tinkånteen as producer. In 1986, Astrakhan made their television debut on Clyde Cablevision, performing "The Picture Completely" and "The Power of Touch". Astrakhan sent demos to record companies, including one featuring "You Could Be Forgiven", which attracted the interest of CBS Songs, the music publishing division of CBS Records International Following their publishing deal in May 1986, with SBK Songs, formerly known as CBS Songs, McDonald and guitarist McAlinden put together a band comprising Graham Brierton on bass, George Hutchinson on guitar; initially as one of a number of backing musicians, before becoming a regular member, Tony Soave on drums and Allan Dumbreck playing keyboards. Record company interest increased after the group appeared on the former UK television music programme The_Tube_(1982_TV_series) in spring 1987, and they'd signed with Capitol Records by the following autumn. McDonald later recalled that, following support from Sally Perryman of EMI, the band performed at a showcase in Glasgow attended by representatives of several record labels. The group signed with EMI in 1988, and around which time McAlinden suggested that the band should be called Horse.
In March 1989, Horse released their debut single, "You Could Be Forgiven", with "Somebody" as the B-side, and toured the UK supporting B. B. King, beginning on 8 March. The single was released by Capitol Records in the UK. McDonald also toured with Tina Turner during the 1980s.
In 2001, McDonald collaborated with Paul Leonard-Morgan on her album Hindsight... It's a Wonderful Thing. Leonard-Morgan co-produced the album with McDonald and arranged the string, brass and choir parts.
In 2010, television presenter Lorraine Kelly appeared in the music video for McDonald's single "Something Wicked This Way Comes", after McDonald invited her to take part. In 2013, McDonald and Kelly both appeared in the It's Time campaign, a video campaign launched by the Equality Network in support of equal marriage in Scotland.
McDonald toured in March 2011, playing an acoustic set.
She performed "Beechwood Avenue" with Heather Peace in June 2011, at GoGo Festival in Headcorn, Kent, and later at an impromptu concert at Sloans in Glasgow. In 2012, McDonald co-wrote several songs with Peace for Peace's debut album Fairytales.
McDonald appeared on the 2012 charity single 'It Does Get Better' created by The L Project. The single benefitted LGBT charities and was written in response to the suicide of LGBT teenagers.
Photographer Kris Kesiak began working with McDonald in 2012, when he photographed publicity material for her album Home. Their collaboration has since taken in live performances, promotional photography, the filming of So, Kiss Me, and publicity for her play Careful, as well as the Live at Queen's Hall DVD.
In January 2013 she married her long-term partner, Alanna, in Lanark, where she lived as a teenager.
She performed at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow on 2 March 2013 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, celebrating the 20th anniversary of her album God's Home Movie and featuring songs from her ninth album Home.
In 2017, McDonald was inducted into the Saltire Society's Outstanding Women of Scotland community.
McDonald has undertaken charitable and community work, including serving as an ambassador for Nordoff–Robbins music therapy. In 2018, she visited New Struan School, performing for pupils and returning to support pupils in creating and producing their own music tracks. She has also been a patron of Switchboard_(UK), an LGBT+ helpline, and an ambassador for the Clutha Trust, an arts and music charity.
Her portrait was painted by Roxana Halls in 2019. It was acquired by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2020, where it now hangs.
McDonald stood in for Iain Anderson as presenter of The Iain Anderson Show on BBC Radio Scotland on various occasions between 2019 and 2021. During 2020, McDonald came into contact with Kim Edgar while standing in for Anderson, and the two later collaborated on "Save Myself (Run Away)". They co-wrote the song, with McDonald providing vocals, and it was released on Edgar's 2023 album Consequences.
In 2022, McDonald released "Leaving", her first new single in six years, following "Bring Him Home" in 2016. The song was written by McDonald and Gordon Turner and recorded at Rocket Science in Glasgow. The music video for "Leaving" was shot by photographer Kris Kesiak, who also designed the single cover. It was filmed at the National Theatre of Scotland. Kesiak subsequently worked on the visual material for McDonald's eighth studio album, producing photography and video for its crowdfunding campaign, album artwork, vinyl packaging and merchandise. He also produced the music video for the album's title track and contributed backing vocals to "Superpower". In 2023, McDonald launched the Kickstarter campaign to fund her album, The Road Less Travelled, which raised £7,313 from 155 backers against a £6,000 target. The album was released on 25 May 2024 and launched at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow on the same date.
McDonald returned to the Barrowland Ballroom in January 2026 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by long-time collaborator Paul Leonard-Morgan, for a special performance as part of Celtic Connections. The concert marked the 30th anniversary of McDonald's original 1995 collaboration with the orchestra at the venue. The 1995 concert featured arrangements crafted by Audrey Riley and was the first time an orchestra had performed at the Barrowland. The concert was subsequently recorded and released as the 2000 album Both Sides, credited to McDonald with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. At the end of the 2026 concert, McDonald was inducted into the Barrowland Hall of Fame and presented with a certificate by Billy Coyle. The performance also coincided with the 35th anniversary of her debut album, The Same Sky.
In 2026, Lorraine Kelly described McDonald as a close friend on BBC Radio 2's Tracks of My Years, where she chose McDonald's "Careful" as her favourite song. Kelly recalled that McDonald had visited her home and performed the song for her in her garden.

Singles

Solo:

"Sometimes I..." (1999)
"Same Old, Same Old" (2006)
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" (Randan, 1 Jan 2010)
"Soldier of Love" (Randan, 9 Nov 2012)
"I Am" (Randan, 1 Jul 2013) Rocket Science Remix
"Bring Him Home" (Randan, 21 Dec 2016)
"Leaving" (Randan, 7 Mar 2022)