Frank Turner

It’s crucially important to me that I’m accessible to anyone who wants to talk to me. I give out my email all the time – here it is. But the fact is that there’s only so many hours in the day, so in the interests of saving my sanity, I made this page. Please don’t be discouraged from emailing me all the same, but at the same time have a look through this first and see if I’ve already got you covered.

1. What does FTHC stand for? The HC stands for “hardcore”. In the USA in the early 80′s, each scene would have a little logo that’d be a cross with the initials LAHC (for Los Angeles), NYHC (for New York) and so on. So it’s a little visual joke, and a nice logo for me.
2. I want to book you for a show please! If you’re in the USA or Canada, you need to email Nick Storch. Anywhere else in the world, you need to email Joanna Ashmore. These are the people in charge of my bookings. If they say no, I’m afraid the answer is no, I’m not going to contradict them, sorry.
3. I want you to play at my wedding / party / house / charity do! Basically, you still need to ask the people above about this. Despite the video for The Road, I don’t really have that much time in my diary for running around playing house-parties any more, so it’s not hugely likely that I’ll be able to do this – I like to have some time off between tours!
4. Please can you send me a signed photo / album / anything? The problem here is that I don’t have a stock of signed photos of myself lying around (seriously, I’m not that lame… yet) and albums obviously cost money. On the whole it’s not that easy for me to be posting random bits and bobs with my signature on it around the world, so on the whole I’m going to pass. Sorry. Come find me at a show instead, where I’m happy to sign anything you want me to.
5. Can you dedicate a song to me / my friend at an upcoming show? I used to do this fairly regularly, but it’s not an exaggeration to say I’m getting 20+ requests for this per show these days. I don’t really want the gigs to turn into me reading out a long list of names of people I don’t know, so this isn’t something I do. Sorry.
6. Can I buy VIP / Backstage passes for a show? This is not something that I feel particularly comfortable around. The people who come to my shows are all equal, to me, and I wouldn’t want to sell extra access somehow. Backstage is a working area. I pretty much always hang out after the show to say hi anyway, so just come find me there.
7. I wish you’d play smaller venues! (This is a pretty UK-centric thing for now). While I can fully understand that some people dislike the atmosphere in larger rooms or whatever, the fact is that I feel it’s important for me to present what I do in a way that is accessible for everyone. If I only ever played the Railway Inn (or whatever), the vast majority of people who want to see the show would be excluded, and that would suck. Don’t worry, I probably won’t be popular any more in a few years and then we can all hang at the Railway to our heart’s content.
8. I want to interview you! If you want to do an email interview, just send me questions, it’s fine. For a meet-up you’ll need to get in touch with the people who schedule my press. Hit up anthea@presscounselpr.com.
9. I sent you a myspace message, you never replied! Like it says on the page itself, email is better.
10. Can you follow me on Twitter? Can you tweet my friend? You didn’t reply to me on Twitter, what gives? I regard Twitter as an essentially frivolous medium. Sometimes I reply to stuff when I’m not busy. Sometimes I don’t. I don’t read all my replies, I don’t always have the time. If you have a question, use email please. I don’t follow people I don’t know.
11. When are you on? How much is it? What are the age restrictions? Where can I get tickets?
    Generally speaking, I’m probably not the best person to ask. Get in touch with the venue or the promoter, check their websites and so on. On the day of the show I usually try to tweet stage times for everyone. Beyond that, more often than not a quick google search will turn up the answers you need.
12. Can you check out my band? Can we support you?
    Feel free to send me myspace (or whatever it is you kids use these days) links, or give me demos. One warning though – I have a really busy schedule, and no way have I over-listened the entire Bruce Springsteen back catalogue, so the time I have for checking out new stuff is limited. If I haven’t got back to you, please don’t be offended, I probably just haven’t got round to it. Or I didn’t like it. I’m no critic I’m afraid, I’m not in the business of sending detailed reports on stuff out. As for supports, I choose the supports for my headline tours (it’s worth checking to see if they’re announced before emailing me, they generally get agreed months in advance). For individual shows, it’s usually the local promoter, so contact them. Also: Please don’t email me unsolicited MP3s as attachments. They have a tendency to screw up my email server. Please send links instead.
13. I got a copy of the first CDR demo. What’s the tracklisting?
    The song titles for the 6-track demo are:
    1. Romantic Fatigue
    2. The Real Damage
    3. Wisdom Teeth
    4. Sunshine State
    5. This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The One Of Me
    6. Longing For The Day

    There were a few four tracks, which were as above but minus ‘This Town’ and ‘Wisdom Teeth’.

14. Why don’t you play “Thatcher Fucked The Kids” any more? I got bored of the song, and more specifically, I got bored of the tedious political associations that came with it. I won’t be playing it again. Sorry. Feel free to reclaim it yourself.
15. What are your politics? Are you a protest singer? Nope, no protest singing from here. I suppose I could be called a libertarian, though I prefer “classical liberal” as a label, if I have to have one. I am not a socialist. More pointedly, I’m not an activist, not trying to promulgate a message or change anyone’s mind. I prefer to leave that stuff at the door these days. Politics is divisive, by definition; I try to make music that is inclusive.
16. Can I have chords / tabs for this song? What are the lyrics?
    Lyrics can be found, aside from in record sleeves, in the “music” section of the website, along with tab for the first two albums. It is my intention to one day tab everything out, but it takes me ages, so it might not happen all that soon.
17. Can I get rare Million Dead or Kneejerk stuff off you?
    Maybe. This is a legitimate cause for an email.
18. Will Million Dead ever Reform? No, sorry.
19. I read a question on your FAQ, and I know is says “no”, but I’m going to ask again anyway… I get emails like this a lot. Sorry to be a killjoy, the answers to questions are here, that’s why this page exists.