{"id":9571,"date":"2015-06-03T11:00:39","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T10:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/feature-more-simple-words-frank-turner-on-the\/"},"modified":"2023-01-17T16:24:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T16:24:59","slug":"interview-frank-turner-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/interview-frank-turner-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: More Simple Words – Frank Turner on the Literary Road"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n

After a whirlwind career of globetrotting with his guitar, Frank Turner<\/a> has now turned his hand to releasing his tour diaries in boom form. Rob Fearnley caught up with him during his book tour to talk writing, touring, history and folk music.<\/em><\/h3>\n

\u201cSigning books is hard work man!\u201d<\/i> beams Frank Turner<\/b> as he shakes his wrist with mock affliction. He\u2019s just spent an hour making his mark on umpteen copies of his new book as part of a signing tour and we\u2019re now ensconced in a tiny office at the back of the bookshop. Photographs of various celebrities who\u2019ve been through the doors to, sign their own tomes, stare down at us as we settle in for a chat about the unexpected move from folk-punk troubadour to writer.<\/p>\n

The book appears to have been received favourably so far but it\u2019s not been without a modicum of apprehension it seems. \u201cUntil this week I hadn\u2019t spent much time thinking about the reaction the book might get but then I got a bit scared! It\u2019s quite a candid book in places and while you shouldn\u2019t care what people think of you I\u2019m still like \u2018God, I hope people don\u2019t think I\u2019m an arsehole!\u2019. Up until this week the only people who\u2019d read it were being paid to be nice about it so it\u2019s great that it\u2019s now out there and people are enjoying it\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The book is entitled \u2018The Road Beneath My Feet\u2019<\/i> and covers the period from Turner\u2019s previous band, Million Dead splitting up in 2005 to the triumphant sell-out show in at Wembley Arena in 2012. It\u2019s an honest account of life on the road but not brutally so and thankfully avoids the usual rock \u2018n roll clich\u00e9s of excess and melodrama that you might expect of a musician-penned book. \u201cI lead a fairly melodrama free life or at least I try to.\u201d<\/i> Turner tells me \u201cI\u2019ve read \u2018The Dirt\u2019 but I hate Motley Crue and those sorts of bands. I hate that callous, aristocratic attitude they have towards the people who basically pay their wages\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Turner is clearly aware of the importance of the music-buying public in his own personal success story and throughout the book and he\u2019s at pains to point out that without their support he wouldn\u2019t be in a position to release a book at all. It\u2019s a testament to the man that he holds this ideal above most and is a big part of the reason that 24 hours after we hold forth in the bookshop he\u2019s sitting pretty atop the non-fiction book charts. \u201cI thought writing a book would be easy as I\u2019ve written articles in the past but that\u2019s clearly a ridiculously hubristic statement and one that I\u2019ve come to regret. Trying to sustain the reader\u2019s interest and make it worth reading over a period of time becomes harder as does avoiding repeating the same thing over and over.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Covered in some detail is Turner\u2019s relationship with his band (it\u2019s noticeable that he never once uses the term backing band) and he\u2019s keen to share the highs and lows of life on the road as a unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was writing the book I was thinking \u2018these guys are gonna read it!.\u201d<\/i> he tells me with a nervous look in his eyes. \u201cI never felt the need to apologise as such but it was more a case of recognition over time. We\u2019ve had our tensions over time but those guys have put an enormous amount of faith in me by doing what they\u2019ve done. We got through it as an exercise in faith with everyone hoping it was going to go somewhere.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that The Sleeping Souls (for that is their collective name) are every bit important in the Frank Turner story as the fans and he\u2019s at pains to point that out. \u201cI think there were moments in time where the band thought I didn\u2019t realise what sort of sacrifice they were making. I like to think that I did appreciate them at the time but now I\u2019ve been able to say it for the record.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Drawing a line in the sand with the book Turner now finds himself having released several albums and EP\u2019s, toured the world, played at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics and of course sold out Wembley Arena. At a shade over 30, he\u2019s had a career that many can only dream of \u2013 so what\u2019s next and what\u2019s left to achieve?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recently did a show on a cruise ship in international waters which was great! I\u2019d really like to do a show on a plane so that I can say that I\u2019ve played in international airspace too. Not one of those zero-gravity planes though. They look fucking terrifying! I\u2019d also like to write another book at some point. This book is all about me but if I ever wrote another one I\u2019d like to do something on history or travel; I\u2019m a total nerd for those subjects. The idea of English heritage in the past was considered not cool at all and there are obviously some really shitty parts of our history. There are really interesting parts of it though too and I\u2019d love to do an album based around it at some point. After the Olympics thing I took some time out and walked the South Downs Way near where I grew in Hampshire and it as breathtakingly beautiful. It\u2019d just be me saying this is where I\u2019m from and I\u2019m proud of it\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly the thought of new music and further touring is never far from Frank Turner’s mind and discussions turn to album number 6 and a whole new bout of globe-trotting and story-making. Unsurprisingly though, Turner is often more interested in talking about other musicians and their craft rather than his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next big thing for me is the new record which is in the can and will be out in the summer. That\u2019ll swallow my life for some time but it suits me as I\u2019m very bad at being idle. I\u2019m looking forward to touring with some more great bands as well. I always pick my own supports and if people walk away from our shows or read about a particular band in the book and then listen to those acts it\u2019s great because most of them are way better than people realise\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Turner\u2019s manager is frantically waving at us to wrap things up so they can head off to Liverpool for the evenings show but he\u2019s still in full flow as we get on the subject of why so many punk rockers have gravitated towards acoustic, roots and folk music in a similar manner to him. It\u2019s a topic he\u2019s keen to wax lyrical on as his manager raises an eyebrow and admits defeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more in common with punk rock and folk music ideologically than it might first appear\u201d says Turner as he leans forward in his chair, hands clasped together as if to emphasise the point. \u201cPhilosophically there\u2019s loads of shared common ground; iconoclasm, shared sense of community etc. When you\u2019re playing an acoustic or folk show there\u2019s no room for error or covering up with feedback \u2013 it\u2019s either a good show or it\u2019s not and I think that\u2019s kinda punk rock in its own way.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Turner manages to stop short of passing himself off as some sort of folk-punk Godfather but he does have this to add on the subject \u201cit\u2019s frustrating that singers that go off on acoustic tours don\u2019t embrace the folk scene to begin with. If you\u2019re gonna go for a format and different styles go and listen to the originators and learn the medium rather than view it as a cheap way of touring\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>\n

So there you have it. From a Southampton pub to a sold-out Wembley in seven short years but still just a bloke with a guitar. Turner departs with a bearlike hug as though we\u2019re long lost friends and his affable, charming demeanour does leave you feeling like that. Frank Turner may have drawn a line with his new book but there\u2019s no doubt he\u2019ll be keeping the road beneath his feet for a long time yet.<\/p>\n

Words by Rob Fearnley. Photo Credit: Ben Morse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a whirlwind career of globetrotting with his guitar, Frank Turner has now turned his hand to releasing his tour diaries in boom form. 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