By William Scott
Dec 8, 2017 9:15
Roughly 50 minutes pass in a conversation with Frank Turner on a cold, blustery Friday evening in The Monarch in Camden Town, through topics of love, life, politics and even Natalie Portman's tapeworm, before we realise that the reason Punktastic sat down for a drink tonight, hasn't even been graced. Turner is open to discussing much more than his latest 'Songbook' release, giving us a deep insight into the thoughts of the travelling show that is his life.
Turner is spotted by a group of fans and well-wishers on an opposite table and before tonightâs discussion begins he is whisked away for pictures and a casual chat. Eavesdropping on how Turner talks with his fans is curious; he’s played over 2000 shows in every corner of the globe but he remembers faces and can hold a conversation with any fan wishing to speak to him. âThere are a lot of people who do what I do for a living who have a slightly fractious relationship with people who like their music. I think it is a kind of learned behaviour that right from the beginning they should run away from their fans and hide. Therefore the fans regard them as a moving target and the whole relationship turns hostile,â explains Turner. âFor various philosophical reasons I never wanted to have that.â
Turner comes across as a man of the people; after all, this is a man who has sold his own merch at shows and spent hours in the cold talking to fans after gigs, well before Arena shows, the Olympic Ceremony and festival headlining slots. But this hasnât changed who he is. Tonightâs conversation was originally billed as a quick pint and a chinwag about his new release, âSongbookâ, a reworking of songs new and old, but, in his own words âI will talk for-fucking-ever about anythingâ.