FRANK TURNER TALKS UNDEFEATED, LOST EVENINGS AND WORLD RECORD ATTEMPTS
A CONVERSATION WITH SINGER/SONGWRITER FRANK TURNER
Carving out some time to talk to Frank Turner wasn’t easy, but that’s probably understandable given his infamous punishing schedule and full docket of live shows. Indeed, when he finally sits down with Spill Magazine, he’s recently attempted—and broken—a world record for the most shows played in multiple cities in the span of 24 hours, playing 15 shows on May 4 and 5. There’s a sense of accomplishment there from Turner, although, with the air of a man who knows he bit off slightly more than he can chew, he laughs as he tells us: “I will never, ever, ever do it again. And if someone beats the record, I’ll give them a hug at the end.”
The thing that made him most proud though was that the entire attempt took in entirely independent music venues, ticketed by an independent record store. He estimates that he diverted about 50% of his recent album, Undefeated’s promotional budget into hiring independent venues. It’s this theme of independence and searching for a place to belong that constantly pervades our conversation; Undefeated is his 10th album, an independent effort, his first since completing his contract with Universal. “It’s a real return to where I started, in terms of being independent in the music world, and I feel absolutely great about that”, he remarks.
In regard to the album itself, Turner refers to his creative process of internal self-doubt before realising that he had more to say. “Sometimes I feel a bit like I might have run off the cliff six albums ago, but thankfully I ended up with a 15-track album, so I’ve got 15 more things to say!” What he’s saying throughout the album seems to have a very personal bent – while he rejects the notion of coming into an album with a perceived notion of subject matter, what came out was something very reflective – he talks openly of revisiting some of his past, particularly on songs like “Girl From The Record Shop” and “East Finchley”, while “Ceasefire” is the remnant of his initial concept for the album – that of a conversation between him and his 15-year-old self.
It’s a real oscillation between the certainty of self-belief in songs like “Do One” (a song Turner smiles about being only understood properly in his native UK), versus the self-doubt of not being in a particular ‘scene’ throughout his musical career. Even that provokes a mixed, equivocal thought process from him: “I feel quite strongly that I’ve spent a fair amount of my life not quite fitting in. That’s sometimes a strength, such as when I found myself headlining Download in 2004 and became a bunch of metalheads’
UNDEFEATED ALBUM REVIEW
dirty little secret! I’ve never been a card-carrying member of a scene, and some days I’m quite proud of that fact, because the bands I love are ones that didn’t quite fit, like Jesus Lizard. At the same time, I was a boarding school kid who started going to hardcore shows, then dealing with heated words and violence. That sucked, because this was supposed to be a welcoming community for outsiders, and now you’re telling me to f*ck off? Thanks, man.”
Attached to a scene or movement or not, one thing Turner constantly maintains is usual schedule of playing incendiary live shows at a breakneck pace to rabid, devoted audiences. When we sit down to chat, he’s not long offstage in France, as he’s currently touring with punk-rock behemoths and close friends NOFX (“That’s never boring!” he laughs), as they wind down their career. As for Turner himself, he’s now booked up until Show 3000, an extravaganza due to take place right on his home patch in Alexandra Palace, London. If you want tickets, you’re already too late, as the 10000 tickets available sold out in 24 hours.
Fortunately, there will be a wonderful local opportunity for Spill readers, as he will be bringing his lauded Lost Evenings Festival to Toronto later this year. Not unlike Flogging Molly’s cruises or Dave Hause’s Sing At Home Festival, Turner holds a four-day event with, ideally, bands of that iteration’s locale supporting him over multiple evenings. Amusingly, Turner tells me of it starting with a bang in 2017, when the inaugural festival’s then seat-of-the-pants organisation led to someone purchasing 12000 wristbands around two hours before the start. It’s come a long way since then, of course, taking in Boston, London, and Berlin during its lifetime and playing to thousands of happy revellers.
Toronto is up next, and Turner expresses great enthusiasm for the city: “It’s an amazing city. If I had to live outside London, I’d choose to live in Toronto. It has the vibe of New York, but without the same overpowering nature!” Keeping that pro-Canadian positivity, aside from Turner himself, the entire bill is all-Canadian (“Except for Henry Rollins, but I think that’s fair enough!” Turner says, smiling), giving a great opportunity for local talent to shine, even if he does humorously point out the difficulty of booking local bands on occasion: “I love booking a festival, I can tick off bands I love, and meet some drunk promises I’ve made, but ultimately most of these bands are already massive in their hometown, they certainly don’t need to be opening for me!”
Regardless, it’s a fantastic bill, featuring NOBRO, The Dirty Nil, and more to be announced, while Turner himself will play varied sets across the four days, focussing on several different aspects of his career (and some covers too). The event runs September 19 to 22 inclusively at the Great Canadian Casino Resort and, as we end a relaxed and fun chat, what’s clear is that the inner fire to perform and be out there in front of his fans hasn’t dimmed. He signs off with a promise to those who are heading to the festival: “It’s going to be the biggest one yet, and I can’t wait – I’m so excited.”
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Photo Credit: Shannon Shumaker
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: FRANK TURNER – UNDEFEATED
