Kerrang! Radio Spotlight: Frank Turner

To celebrate Frank Turner’s visit to Kerrang! Radio HQ and the release of his amazing fifth album ‘Tape Deck Heart’, we’re shining the Kerrang! Radio Spotlight on our favourite folk-punk troubadour all this week!

Over the past eight years, the former Million Dead frontman has enchanted us with everyday anthems like ‘The Road’, ‘I Still Believe’ and the awesome ‘Recovery’ plus five awesome records.

All this week we’ll be delving into Frank Turner’s back catalogue and calling on you to share your thoughts on Frank - When was the first time you saw him live? What is your favourite tune? Did you ever see Million Dead back in the day? Have your say in the comments section below or on the (http://twitter.com/KerrangRadio).

13 Frank Turner Facts

1. As a teenager, Frank studied at posh public school Eton College where he was in the same school year as a certain Prince William.

2. Before becoming a social commentating acoustic troubadour, Frank was the frontman of hardcore punk band ‘Million Dead’. In their four-year existence the band released two studio albums, 2003’s ‘A Song to Ruin’ and 2005’s ‘Harmony No Harmony’.

3. Frank’s first band was a brilliantly titled punk outfit called Kneejerk. The outfit played a series of tours across the UK and released several of demos, however their sole full-length record ‘The Half-Life Of Kissing’ was released in 2001 after they had split.

4. After Million Dead called it a day due to “irreconcilable differences”, Frank’s first solo release was a split single with the now defunct indie band Reuben through Xtra Mile Recordings in January 2006. Frank’s track was an early version of ‘The Real Damage’ while Reuben’s was the excellently titled ‘Every Time A Teenager Listens To Drum & Bass A Rockstar Dies’.

5. Franks has made guest appearances on a number of artists’ tracks. They include The Automatic’s ‘Steve McQueen’, Amongst The Pigeons’ ‘Larkin About’, Reuben’s ‘Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassin’ and Look Mexico’s ‘You Stay, I Go, No Following’.

6. A prolific live performer, Frank’s first solo gig took place at the now defunct 93 Feet East in 2005. Less than six years later he performed his 1000th gig at Strummerville Festival in Shoreditch, East London.

7. 2012 was a vintage year for Frank Turner. In April he played his biggest headline gig ever in front of 12,000 people at London’s Wembley Arena (support came from Billy Bragg and dan le sac vs. Scroobius Pip), then in July he performed in front of billions at the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. Augmented by his backing band The Sleeping Souls, he performed three tracks ‘Sailor's Boots’, ‘Wessex Boy’ and ‘I Still Believe’.

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8. Last year Frank formed the hardcore punk side-project Möngöl Hörde. Featuring Ben Dawson on drums and Sleeping Souls keyboardist Matt Nasir on guitar, the band harks back to Frank’s grittier musical past but with an even darker twist. As Frank explains, the track ‘Tapeworm Uprising’ is about “Natalie Portman's tapeworm using her as a glove puppet to lead an uprising in Hollywood.” Awesome!

9. In October 2008, Frank released the single ‘Long Live The Queen’ to raise proceeds for the charity Breast Cancer Campaign. The song is about Frank’s friend Lex who sadly died from the disease.

10. Frank’s 2011 album ‘England Keep My Bones’ takes its title from the history play King John by a certain William Shakespeare. Explaining the thinking behing the title, Frank told Mind Equals Blown: “I knew that the album was, for the most part, about mortality, and about Englishness. Shakespeare seemed like a good place to go hunting for some pearls of wisdom, and with a little help from my friend Ben we came across this one, and it just seemed to fit the work really well.”

11. Frank’s backing band The Sleeping Souls take their name from the lines “In the pathways of the sleeping soul of the country / We are electric pulses / The sleeping soul of the country” in his ‘England Keep My Bones’ track ‘I Am Disappeared’.

12. The artwork for Frank’s brand spanking new album ‘Tape Deck Heart’ was created by one of his favourite tattoo artists, 27-year-old Floridian Heather Ann Law.

13. Frank covered Queen’s 1976 classic ‘Somebody To Love’ for Record Store Day in 2012. The track appeared as the B-Side to a 7” vinyl version of ‘I Still Believe’, limited to just 500 copies.

Frank Turner: ‘Recovery’