Frank Turner’s arena tour goes on sale tomorrow. I first saw Frank supporting the Gaslight Anthem on a club date in Manchester (memory is hazy on the exactly when, but I think it was Gaslight’s first UK visit, so it must have been around 2008...?), and have followed him ever since. It’s actually kind of cool to see a guy whose been slogging away in small venues make it without any major press attention.
In fact, I met him once, but it went really fuckin’ badly, so I’m unwilling to meet him again. It was an unfortunate incident involving a squiffy yours truly, Frank’s hat and what may or may not have been a threat…saying it was makes for a better story, though. However, you’ll be delighted to hear I once met Rod, Jane & Freddy from Rainbow and it passed without incident.
The man is a workaholic, and so just buying his albums doesn’t give you the full picture. There are EP’s, b-sides, exclusives and all kinds along the way. A lot of these are compiled in the …Three Years collections. Some of them aren’t. In any case, here’s the Top 5 Frank Turner Obscurities.
5. Thunder Road Under The Influence Vol 8, 2009
Cover of the Bruce Springsteen song…which is one of my favourite songs of all time anyway. Weird thing is, given that it is such an iconic song, Frank somehow manages to make it sound like he wrote it.
4. This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The One Of Me Campfire Punkrock EP, 2006
This is a song I sometimes still feel a great affiliation to. There was a point when I was almost convinced Frank was singing about my life, given how so many of his songs summed up my feelings on various subjects. This is probably one of them.
3. The Next Round Rock & Roll EP, 2010
The ballad of a drunkard.
2. The Ballad of Steve Buddies by Frank Turner & Jon Snodgrass, 2010
Frank and Drag The River’s Jon Snodgrass locked themselves in a hotel room and vowed to write and record an entire album in 24 hours. They did OK. It’s obviously not supposed to be a stirring work of art, it’s just something they did for a bit of a laugh. This is definitely the best track on the album, and made me howl with laughter when I first heard it. It’s about a guy called Steven Slater, a flight attendant who quit his job in spectacular fashion. I won’t ruin it, but it’s a true story. They saw it on the news. Honestly. Google him if you don’t believe me.
1. Heartless Bastard Motherfucker The Real Damage EP, 2007
It just puts a smile on my face. And who amongst us hasn’t been a heartless bastard motherfucker at some point?
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