FRANK TURNER Interview

Not content with having recently completed a hugely successful UK tour, Frank Turner is keeping busy. This month sees the release of Bloodshot Records’ 20th anniversary compilation of which he is a part. “I was so excited to get involved with the record when they asked me,” he says enthusiastically. “I do a cover of ‘The Corner’ by Cory Branan. I think it’s a phenomenal song, but I think also that when you cover a song, you have to find a way of doing something different with it, and I felt like I could. I played around with it; tried to make it sound like an early Springsteen song and I think it came out alright. Cory said he liked it as well, but then again he’s an extremely well-mannered man!”

He’s also hugely passionate about a number of causes, notably of saving local music venues across the country – so much so he set up his own petition, a collaboration between him and the Music Venue Trust, calling for the Culture Secretary Sajid Javid to enforce the ‘Agent Of Change’ principle. To date, almost thirty thousand people have signed it while it also has the support of numerous music industry bodies including the Musicians’ Union. As he explains: “There are so many music venues under threat of closure like Manchester Night And Day, and I don’t think people truly understand the impact places like that have had upon people over the years, myself included. With the petition, I’m not saying that all small music venues should exist forever, but the rules, as they stand really seem to be set against them. It’s like some venues have buildings next to them developed into flats and that results in complaints and the venue can be shut down. There’s something very unjust about that in my opinion.” He pauses. “It’s a thankless enough job running a small venue as it is without adding all the extra shit on top of it and I cut my teeth in those venues. I feel like I owe them a debt of gratitude for helping me get to where I am now.”

He praises people and organisations who do different and unusual things in the name of charity. “The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge thing was just unbelievable,” he says. “I got nominated by an eight-year-old child and I couldn’t really say no to that. I did it, and I donated a bunch of money to charity as well. I thought it was such a cool idea and to now look at how much money it’s raised (currently over £6m in the UK alone), I’m so proud of everyone who got involved but I was really irritated by those who were really down on the whole idea – complaining about water shortages when they lived in places like Rhode Island. How can anyone grumble about something that was doing and did so much good, helped make the world a tiny bit better, for fucks’ sake?” 

Having played his first ever solo show on the 18th of September 2004, how does he feel about it looking back? “I remember that show really well,” he muses. “I have a weirdly encyclopedic memory when it comes to shows, though not much else. That gig was a charity all-dayer, and I was still in Million Dead at the time, but it was just a bit of fun. I only had two songs written of my own back then, so I played them and a few Million Dead songs along with a bunch of Neil Young covers. I wore a cowboy hat and oddly enough Dive Dive were there too and three of them now play in the Sleeping Souls.” Hats, as it turns out are a semi-wardrobe staple for him now. “I have lots of hats,” he admits. “Quite a few trilby hats in particular, though I tend not to bring them on tours as I have a habit of losing them and that makes me sad.”

So how far back does his own attendance of music events stretch? “Reading Festival 1995,” he says instantly. “That was a huge deal for me. My parents don’t know a great deal about popular music and rock and roll at all. My Dad was like, 21, in the summer of love, so they were rather against me going to shows when I was growing up but a friend of mine was going with her Dad and they offered to take me. My parents grudgingly accepted.” He smiles. “I felt like I’d hit the jackpot – live music and people in band t-shirts everywhere. Reading will always be a magical place for me as a result. After that I went to see a band called Snug, later in the year, and Ed Harcourt was their guitar player and I’m now friends with him.”

January saw his year get off to a great start with the broadcast of his ‘Celebrity Mastermind’ appearance, which saw him choose Iron Maiden as his specialist subject and go on to win. “It had been on my bucket-list for years to be on that show, and when it finally happened, I was ecstatic,” he recalls. “Most of the people I was at school with have gone onto be rocket scientists and the like; one of them now works for NASA, whereas I grew up, picked up a guitar and got tattoos. It was such a moment of glory for me and they were the first people I contacted about it and was, jokingly like ‘Screw you! I got on Mastermind first – mwahahaha!’”

His summer was spent, unsurprisingly, in his favourite place – on the road. Any highlights? “Kendal Calling was fantastic,” he declares. “We had a great summer of shows, probably one of the best summers’ we’ve had, but Kendal Calling was something else. We headlined, which was nice, the people who run it are just awesome and we had a lot of friends there too which was great. It’s in one of the most beautiful places in the country and it just ticked all the boxes for me. I got to hang out with Newton Faulkner, and my sister was there too.”

With dates sold out across Europe and the United States, has he, over the years, noticed any particular differences or similarities between audiences around the world? He pauses to consider his answer. “Obviously Americans travel further for shows,” he comments. “At one show I remember one guy just casually told me he’d driven eight hours to be there and it’s like, if you do that over here, driving eight hours in any direction will practically dump you in the sea. I am now enormously pro-America, and people have this idea that Americans are really rude and they’re not, where that suggestion has come from just mystifies me – in my opinion they’re some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. They certainly have much better manners than we do – and I include myself in that. In terms of shows, I don’t think there are any really distinct differences. This is going to make me sound like a hippy but I’ve always believed people have more in common than they do in difference, and that’s one of the reasons I love live music – it brings out so many similarities in people, rather than their differences, and I think that’s great.” He taps his foot on the floor. “I like my shows to be huge participation events where I can interact with my audience, no matter how big or small it is, and I think everyone likes that in some form or other.”

Has he ever travelled long distance to see a gig? He nods. “I’d never done it before but I flew to New York recently to see a band called Mineral, who were my undeniably favourite band when I was growing up. I know Chris from the band and ended up opening their first show. I saw them three times in three days and I’m not ashamed to say that I wept. I couldn’t believe I was there, that I’d finally gotten the chance to see them.”

Could he choose the best and worst shows he’s ever played? “I don’t think it’s my place to choose,” he says solemnly. “I’m an entertainer – my job is to make people have a good time. I sometimes think that what I feel was a great show, someone else who was watching will think it wasn’t, and vice-versa. I’m constantly having disasters on stage though. I fall over, unplug my guitar accidentally or run full-tilt into my guitar player Ben. It’s a constant battle against idiocy on stage for me. I once punched myself in the balls on stage.” He literally winces at the memory. “I absolutely took myself out.”

His covers over the years have always gone down well with fans, so how does he choose which tracks to revamp? “I just go with the songs I have a passion for,” he explains. “I loved covering ‘Who’s Got A Match’ by Biffy Clyro and the response to that in particular has been just fantastic, and it got the seal of approval from Simon (Neil, vocalist/guitarist) which was awesome, but covering Queen for me was a lot of fun – I got to do my Freddie Mercury! It’s such a well written song; that was a joy to do.”

After sharing stages the world over with numerous bands and artists, which, living or dead, would he choose if he had to stage his own show with five support acts? “Nirvana, circa 1993, Black Flag when they briefly had their five-piece line up, The Band, who were just something else.” He stops to think. “Larry and His Flask – one of the greatest live acts I’ve ever fucking seen, and then, Laura Marling – when she’s on the money, she’s got this way of making a room go still without really doing anything which is utterly magical. She does this thing where she stares off into space and it looks like she’s in contact with something that’s not in the room. She used to hang out in the bar where I used to drink – she’s awesome.”

After releasing his latest EP ‘Polaroid Picture’ back in February, which he believes “is a strong part of the ‘Tape Deck Heart’ family”, this month also sees the release of the next instalment in his ‘non album rarities’ collection, titled ‘The Third Three Years’. With 21 songs, including a studio cover version of ‘Somebody To Love’ by Queen as well as a number of live and alternative versions of some of his material, the album provides a good, strong look at his diverse musical influences and aspirations. “Every record I make is one I hope is different from the last,” he says. “For me, that’s the fucking point – why I’d ever want to make record after record that sound the same is something incomprehensible to me. I can never be objective about what I do, but I’m proud of everything I’ve done – even the darker stuff - yet I think this new collection will really give people an idea of how varied a guy, and a musician and artist, I am.” 

2015 should hopefully see Frank release a book of tour diaries, something he admits he’d never considered until recently. “I don’t even keep a physical diary,” he laughs. “It’s more this weird memory of mine so I guess you should say it’s a memoir more than anything else, but I briefly kept a diary years ago though I’m terrified to read it as I think I was pretty far up my own arse at the time.” He breaks off to laugh some more. “I’m excited about the book but it turns out writing is harder than I thought it was! Now I’ve signed a deal, I actually have to fucking write it now, and am struggling through my first draft.”

With so much on, how does he keep going? He grins and points to his glass of orange on the desk. “Berroca,” he says, seriously. “That’s not entirely a joke, but honestly, I have days, even weeks off occasionally. I do what comes naturally to me, I get bored easily, I guess, but ultimately, everything I do is something for me and my career. I spend a lot of time reading and writing, and I’m very bothered by the fact that I, as we all do, have a very finite amount of time to get things done in. This is what I do, and I wouldn’t change it.”

The Third Three Years is released November 24th.

www.frank-turner.com

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PIECE BY REBECCA HASLAM