Frank Turner: 'I've just played my 1,629th gig'

Punk poet talks to Gigwise about his epic journey as a live performer

Andrew Trendell, Alexandra Pollard and Ed Keeble

13:58 19th December 2014

From The Barfly to The O2 Arena may just be a short tube ride across London for most, but for Frank Turner it took years and years of relentless touring, on his slow but steady ascent from the cult punk-folk star to the festival headliner he is today. This week, at XFM's Winter Wonderland, he played gig No.1,629.

Watch our interview with Frank Turner in the video above

"It's definitely been a kind of 'slow and steady wins the race' kind of vibe," Turner tells Gigwise backstage before headlining XFM's Winter Wonderland. "To pick a kind of obvious barometer of London shows, we did the Barfly, then we did 100 Club, then we did Scala, then we did Shepherds Bush, then we did Roundhouse, then we did Brixton, Hammersmith, then Wembley - and that was quite a satisfying way to do it.

"I think I have to be sort of careful talking about this. On the one hand, there are a lot of idiots with the internet who will just shout 'sell out' at anything that isn't their little pet secret any more, or indeed anything that other people like and it's just kind of an annoying knee-jerk reaction."

Turner adds: "The thing is, the choice of venues for me has always been a case of trying to make sure everyone gets in, because that kind of hyper-panicky thing where no one can get tickets - and I do shows like that every now and again and it's usually charity stuff, so there's a reason for it. But it always makes me feel slightly uncomfortable because I want people to be able to get into a show if they want to come. I don't like the idea of people going 'I wasn't cool enough to get tickets for that, because when I was a kid I wasn't cool - I'm not cool now either, hopefully.

"I don't want it to be like 'you've got to be hip to be at my shows'. That's bollocks, I hate that idea."

Watch our interview with Frank Turner in the video above

Frank Turner's upcoming UK tour dates as part of Independent Venue Week are below:
Wednesday 28 January - Night & Day Cafe, Manchester
Thursday 29 January - 93 Feet East, London

93 Feet East, London - September 2004: Where it all started. Making the sharp turn from frontman of in your face hardcore band Million Dead to a solo folk singer sounds worrying on paper, but ten years later it's clear that was the best move he ever made.
Reading Festival - August 2007: After a few years of honing his singer-songwriter craft, Frank made his solo debut at Reading Festival in 2007, packing out the small tent and has been back every year since.
Shepherd's Bush Empire - October 2009: Frank Turner's manager said that if the singer would ever sell out a 2,000 capacity venue then he'd do a stage dive. That's exactly what happened!
Brixton Academy, London - December 2010: Headlining Brixton Academy is not an easy task, but this show marked the moment that Frank had near enough crossed over from underground favourite to a household name with massive success.
Strummerville Spring Session, Shoreditch, London - April 2011: Frank Turner's show No.1000 is one hell of an accomplishment. Not many artists manage even half of that many shows. He hasn't slowed down either with over 500 more shows under his belt already.
Wembley Arena, London - April 2012: It was his big one, obviously. Selling out Wembley Arena is something most folk singers can only dream of, but Frank managed it and made it a spectacle. With supports from Billy Bragg and Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Turner marked the occasion with a mid-set tattoo.
Reading Festival - August 2011: The singer's first shot at playing on the main stage, and despite people not being too sure how it would go down on such a large stage and outdoors, Frank Turner outright smashed it.
Olympic Opening Ceremony - June 2012: Probably the most unexpected booking of the entire opening ceremony, Frank surprised everyone when he was seen on millions of televisions all over the world. With an album sales surge of over 300 per cent, viewers must have loved it.
Terminal 5, New York - November 2013: One of the singer's biggest headline shows in the USA, Frank's incredible set in the 3000 capacity venue shows that he's certainly on the way to cracking America. Credit - Frank Turner instagram / Val
O2 Arena, London - February 2014: Many thought it wouldn't be possible for an artist like Frank Turner to ever be able to headline a venue as huge as the O2 Arena, but once again he proved all his haters wrong. He's got a habit for doing that. Watch him do it again when he takes up some pretty big festival headline slots this summer at Kendal Calling, On BlackHeath and beyond.