Frank Turner has notched up 1000 shows across 30 countries, recorded four albums – including last year’s top 15 album, England Keep My Bones – sold out Wembley Arena… all whilst on an independent record label! BRAD BARRETT finds out how he does it…
to either be made redundant, have their pay frozen, or have their family shop looted and burned down, it’s heartening to hear Frank has continued to reap rewards of six years of tearing up the live circuit. Let’s count off the achievements shall we? First US headline tour. Tick! Sold out Hammersmith Apollo. Tick! Reached number 12 in the album charts with fourth album England Keep My Bones. Tick! Passed the 1,000 live show mark. Tick! Played main stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals. Tick! Met and played with The Weakerthans? “I know this is kind of geeky, but this summer I got to meet The
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Weakerthans and hang out with John P Sutton. That to me is a massive deal,” says Frank while resting in the tour bus in Berlin on a rare day off. “I’ve been into their music for a long time and it was fantastic to meet them. I just think John P. Sutton is one of the lyricists of a generation. I think he’s one of a kind. I actually ended up playing guitar on Pamphleteer, and that was pretty
here aren’t many who get the opportunity to reach a level of success beyond what most people thought them capable, with little compromise. Frank Turner has worked hard, kept his goals in sight, and overshot them by miles through hard graft. In a year where there was nary a reward for those who worked their arses off, only
awesome. That’s 16-year-old me utterly peeing his pants right there!” As well as hanging out with the likes of Converge, meeting Dennis Lyxzén of Refused, playing with Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music, and – what seems aeons ago – supporting The Offspring, there is still one band he hasn’t had a chance to have any interaction with which would, perhaps, trump all else. “Counting Crows, because they remain one of my favourite bands and one of my biggest influences. It would be amazing to do anything with them, but we’ll see what happens.” Like everything else that’s happened as a result of Frank’s incessant touring and writing, it can only be a matter of time. Having played well over a 1,000 shows since September 2005, there’s little doubt that Frank is one of the hardest working musicians currently out on the road. Seemingly never truly ‘at home’ until he’s on tour, Frank currently has dates booked from the end of January to the middle of April, spanning the US and individual stops in Europe. He released two full-length records last year – the aforementioned England Keep My Bones, and his second compilation of non-album material and covers, The Second Three Years – and has already showcased a number of new songs at live shows in the latter end of 2011. The tentatively titled Polaroid Picture and Cowboy Chords (alliteration central!) are already becoming fan favourites. All of which is probably why the Association of Independent Music (AIM) awarded Frank the Hardest Working Artist prize at last year’s inaugural AIM Awards. “What was nice as well was they tipped me off that I was going to win that
Hardest Working Artist award, so I was ready for that. I collected the award then started getting hammered,” says Frank. “Then I won the Best Live Act as well, which I hadn’t been told about, and it was a genuine surprise. I was quite drunk by that point so my second acceptance speech was kind of rubbish. I think I went up and said ‘I said everything I needed to say last time around. Bye!’ I was talking to my manager about it. We decided it was good I won the Best Live Act as well because it at least demonstrates some faith in the quality of what you’re doing.” The awards showered on Frank Turner take on a deeper significance in te context that he is still essentially an independent artist without a huge marketing budget driving him into the consciousness of the public. Yet, the man who set out on his solo career in 2005 playing pubs and open mic nights with just a battered acoustic guitar, is now set to headline Wembley Arena. And standing tickets sold out within two months of being on sale! “There’s a whole bunch of stuff going on. What with signature guitars (with Farida) and doing Wembley and all of this, my self-conception as the underdog is getting increasingly difficult to realistically sustain,” says Frank, reasonably.
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