Frank Turner

Frank Turner

21 July, 2008
by: Chippy

Our intrepid Rock Editor joins up with Frank Turner in South London to find out how the former front man of Million Dead is doing now he's gone acoustic.

The Windmill is in a pretty secluded area of Brixton but extremely atmospheric and on an autumn night you felt the buzz as soon as you walk in. The last time I saw Frank Turner was at Barfly. Although he was good enough to have his very own pack of chanting fans, it was hard whilst not being able to breathe, see or hear over the shouting whether he was as good as these guys make out.

Any fan of his previous band Million Dead should have a listen to the new album. The lyrics are still sharp and funny, but he has left behind his 'post-hardcore' days and is now happy to make whatever country/folk/rock noise suits the song. And I have to say that the majority of Million Dead fans would love his new direction.

Frank is cheerily drinking JD and coke, discussing music in between (rather dubious) jokes. The first thing he says to me is that Chris Simpson is playing. This is pretty exciting. The ex-Mineral ex-Gloria Record front man is doing a solo set having left his new band Zookeeper holding the fort in America, and what Frank can't get over is that this god of our teenage years will actually be supporting him. The Windmill creates an atmosphere of the audience having just broken into the musicians' front room and caught them having a little practise - and Chris Simpson is the ideal artist to have walked in on.

It is in this environment that you can actually see Frank as himself. You could hear him sing minus the shouting teens and without having an elbow lodged in your eye socket for most of the set. You also realise the huge diversity in his music. From the perky but cutting Nashville Tennessee and Thatcher Fucked the Kids to the completely heartbreaking Worse Things Happen at Sea. Although we had just seen the wondrous Chris Simpson it was no surprise that Frank was headlining. Even the old guys watching the football wanted to shake his hand afterwards.

It is plain to see why Frank Turner is now becoming more and more popular. He pretty much has everything covered from weekend binges (The Real Damage) and hanging out with your friends (The Ballard of Me and My Friends) to learning to play the guitar to impress women (Romantic Fatigue). He leaves you feeling like you can deal with pretty much anything whilst thinking 'Why couldn't I have written that'.

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Chippy