2011's England Keep My Bones is the fourth album by Frank Turner and the one which gave him a degree of national prominence.
As he correctly writes these are folk songs for the modern age.
Now in the same vein as Billy Bragg he may not necessarily be the most accomplished musician in the world or the best singer.But he believes and that's good enough for me.
Quite rightly he is fiercely proud of his Wessex roots and his English heritage but not I suspect in a UKIP sort of a way.
Frank is or was Straight Edge which I had to look up and is the abstinence from alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs.
It doesn't appear to affect his performance though
Frank Turner - I Still Believe
Frank Turner - Rivers
Frank is my eldest sprogster's fave; I took her to see him live last year - her first ever gig. Frank's an oddity - educated at Eton during Prince William's time there, but via a scholarship. His politics are very Socialist leaning, but with one or two exceptions, which means he's often misunderstood (sometimes deliberately). He's fiercly anti-UKIP too.
ReplyDeletePedant alert: England Keep My Bones came out in 2011 - I suspect that's just an accidental typo. Sorry...
Glad you spotted my deliberate mistake which has since been rectified!
DeleteI didn't know Straight Edge was still a thing. That was Minor Threats scene and it was, in general, a reaction to hippie parents...people just don't appreciate how irritating it was to be around and raised by those geezers in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteIt drove some people to give up booze! :)
Brilliant title for the post, CC!
ReplyDeleteStraight edge... I always think Henry Rollins when I hear that term. I know someone (although not very well) who was and still is into all that and who is also an extreme fitness fanatic who also uses the mantra, "pain is just weakness leaving the body"... He's a very good bassist, though. I guess that's what he does for fun!