I'm not sure what the first time I heard Frank Turner was, but it was early on in his solo career, and I loved him.
I think the track I first heard was photosynthesis. His lyrics spoke to me, cut right through everything that was going on, and then that happened song after song after song.
Frank Turner is prolific as a singer-songwriter, releasing an album every single year, more or less some good, some not so good, always true, though always genuine.
What he did for small venues during the Covid pandemic was extraordinary, setting up a weekly gig in his flat with him and his partner, where he just asked you to donate and raise money to try and keep small venues alive (Sam Fender has done something a little bit similar to that on his latest gig).
I've seen Frank Turner many, many times (I can't remember how many now), but I was at his 2000 gig, which was at Rock City.
You can go to iTunes here to listen to the audio for that 2000th gig; it was extraordinary.
During that gig, he played in the second support band as a guitar player, a band called The Turners. He also headlined, so everybody was there for the Second support band because the new Turner would be playing; he never sang, just played the guitar to support his friends.
I'm not going to his 3000th gig, which is next year, but you can still get tickets on resale. I'm going to Rock City when he comes back in April.
He has a tour going on around the country again (He tours all the time)
When I see him, it'll be more than 3000 gigs.
You can still get tickets.
I would go and see it.
One of the highlights of my year was taking my family to see him at Glastonbury.
My wife, Alison, knows how much I love him, and she loves him, too, but the kids not so much; they hadn't really discovered Turner, but they have now; he has that effect on people.
Blog Post Number - 4039