Frank Turner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Frank Turner | |
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 Frank Turner at The Park in Peterborough, September 26th 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Francis Turner |
| Also known as | Frank Turner |
| Born | December 28, 1981 Bahrain |
| Origin | London, United Kingdom |
| Genre(s) | Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 2004 - present |
| Label(s) | Xtra Mile Recordings |
| Associated acts | Million Dead, The Record Buying Public, Kneejerk, Dive Dive |
| Website | http://www.frank-turner.com |
Frank Turner is a musician born in Bahrain. He lived out part of his childhood in Winchester before moving to London. He was educated on a scholarship at Eton College, and studied History at the London School of Economics . Since the demise of his former punk rock band Million Dead he has pursued a solo career in folk music. He has toured the UK extensively, and has completed several tours of the USA and Central and Eastern Europe.
Contents |
[edit] History
Frank Turner started solo acoustic shows prior to Million Dead's break up. The first official performance was at the first Smalltown America alldayer, at London's 93 Feet East venue on September 18th 2004. The solo performances were initially a sideline to Million Dead and allowed Turner to display some of his own songwriting capabilities (without a band) as well as some covers of songs and bands he enjoyed; in some cases the songs were much re-worked to fit an acoustic atmosphere. Solo performances were also used to help bolster or expose Million Dead to new individuals as well, with some acoustic in-store and radio performances of Million Dead songs. When Million Dead broke up in September 2005, he went solo full time.
In February and March 2006 Turner recorded the "Campfire Punkrock" EP, with Dive Dive as the backing band for three of the songs. This EP was released on May 15 2006 on a limited run through Xtra Mile recordings. It sold out after only a few weeks on sale and had to be re-pressed to meet demand.
Turner supported Jonah Matranga in June 2006 to promote Matranga's CD/DVD album "There's A Lot In Here", and this tour lead to the creation of a Jonah Matranga and Frank Turner split 12" vinyl. It was released in the USA on Welcome Home Records and in the UK via Xtra Mile Recordings. The release features Turner covering two songs by American songwriters and Matranga covering two songs by British songwriters. On September 18 2006 he became the last ever artist to perform on BBC Radio 1's Lamacq Live program, unveiling two new songs from his debut album "Sleep Is For The Week".
"Sleep Is For The Week" was recorded in August and September 2006, with Dive Dive as extra band on a selection of the 13 tracks. The last track, "The Ballad Of Me And My Friends," is a live recording from a sold out show at the London Barfly and features the vocal contribution of the (approximately) 200 strong audience during a verse.
Turner then completed an extensive UK tour in support of his debut album, with Dive Dive (as support and backing band) and Beans on Toast. This was followed by a tour supporting Biffy Clyro and yourcodenameis:milo. He also completed 2 US tours (including shows at SXSW) and a further UK band headline tour.
An EP with the title track "The Real Damage" was released on May 7th 2007. As well as the title track it included two new songs and two rerecordings of songs previously only released as demos.
In September 2007 Frank Turner toured with Jonah Matranga, Joshua English and Jacob Golden. The last date was at The Park in Peterborough; they closed the tour singing a cover of Abba's Dancing Queen.
A DVD, "All About the Destination", was released in October 2007, and Turner's second album "Love, Ire and Song" was released in the UK on the 31st March 2008, followed by a UK tour with Andy Yorke, Oppenheimer and Ciara Haidar.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] EPs
[edit] Demos
- Frank Turner Demo (2005)
[edit] Singles
[edit] Splits
[edit] Compilation appearance
[edit] Videography
- Casanova Lament (unaired)
- Vital Signs (2006)
- The Real Damage (2007)
- Photosynthesis (2008)
- Reasons Not To Be An Idiot (2008)
[edit] DVDs
- All About the Destination (October 22, 2007)
