Frank Turner: I wrote an album then started again after Brexit and Trump

Turner said he felt compelled to emulate folk heroes
Political: Frank Turner performing on stage at the Goose Island 312 Day on Sunday
Joe Okpako
Alistair Foster15 March 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Folk singer Frank Turner says he had a new album written — but then went back to the drawing board after being inspired by the political events of last year.

The musician, 35, who has just finished his biggest North American tour yet, says he felt compelled to emulate folk heroes such as Bob Dylan in commenting on events including Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.

He said: “I wrote a whole album and then the world changed. I’d been avoiding politics as a subject for a long time, mainly because I didn’t feel inspired and didn’t feel I had anything to add in song form to it.

“But then, with everything that happened, I felt bitten by reality a bit more and felt like the world demands a degree of comment. So I’ve been writing politically for the first time in a long time. It’s sort of scary and refreshing.

Latest music reviews

1/168

“I try hard to have humility — I don’t think I am going to change the world or overthrow the system with an album. But art is commentary and empathy. On that level I feel moved to write and think I have something to contribute.”

Turner recently finished a two-year schedule in which he played 363 shows in 26 countries, including the Goose Island 312 Day festival at the Yard in Shoreditch on Sunday. He is now back home in north London.

“My pad is overstuffed with instruments,” he said. “I live with my partner and with my best mate. It’s full of books, there’s a piano stuffed in the corner and all the c*** I’ve picked up on tours over the last 15 years.”

Turner will curate his first festival, Lost Evenings, at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm from May 12-15. He said: “We are testing the waters. If it goes well we would love to do it every year.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT