OFFICIAL FRANK TURNER LIVE BOOTLEG CASSETTE RELEASE.
It’s 2006, and the charts are awash with what will become known as landfill indie. Somewhere in backwater Townsville UK, an already road worn veteran is making their furtive steps into a solo career that unbeknown to them will have a major and lasting impact on the UK music scene.
Frank Turner is already famous for searing live performances that have put his band right in the front and center of UK alternative music. Now he has to do it all again.
Armed with only a guitar, many opinions and a reading list that would make your local library wince, he struck out, willing to perform anywhere that would have him.
Documented here is the genuine sound of a guy learning his craft. Nights like these are found across the UK every night of the week in our GMVs. Immortalized in lyrics that would appear later in his career, his “bedrooms, bars and bunker squats” work ethic took him to unknown towns, like Devizes.
Devizes had a rich history in live music when it was primarily known as a military / squaddie town. Live performances from Status Quo, Ginger Baker’s Airforce, Curved Air (twice), Yes (twice), Van der Graaf Generator, Thin Lizzy, Fleetwood Mac, King Crimson, Rory Gallagher, Mott the Hoople, all in 1971 alone.
But it wasn’t until 2004 that its life was breathed back into its history, when Foals, LostAlone, Frank Turner, The Struts, The Computers, and more began performing here. Putting the town firmly back on the touring circuit.
Recorded on a pair of Behringer C-2 condensers, via a laptop, the set up was basic and the audio was raw. This audio has been sat on for 20 years, waiting for the right moment to share it again. Franks tour of Campfire Punk Rock in April seemed like the appropriate time, and we are announcing this on the 20th Anniversary of the release of the Campfire original release.
The audio was passed to Frank earlier this year. Many fans will know that Frank has been honing his own studio and skills, having recently recorded or produced records from (our favs) Wilswood Buoys, among others. So it was left to Frank to make some digital adjustments to the original audio, and cut out some of the chaff from the recording.
What is left documents, warts and all, the chaotic approach to small back room bar live shows. The rawness of the songs, the rowdiness of the audience are all included! The earnest set list includes two covers. One from his peer Chris T-T and another from Sun Kil Moon. Both tracks showcase Frank’s knowledge and passion for underground music!
Frank recounts… “Remembering details of one show out of more than 3000, two decades on, is a challenge. Those early days were a blur of cigarettes, trains, whisky, sleeping on floors, panic and drive.
My craft has evolved slowly over the years, so flipping back to an early document of a show can be a shocking thing in some ways; so much has changed. But enough has stayed the same.
Kieran helped me out with shows in the early days and remains a friend now. Somehow, shows like this led me to where I am now, and I wouldn’t change a thing. “
Kieran recounts; “Listening back to these recordings makes so many memories flood back to a specific point in time. A time where anything felt possible, and every weekend, almost anything was!“
This release will only be available on cassette, direct from Sheer Music, or carefully selected independent record shops, including Banquet Records in Kingston and Sound Knowledge in Marlborough. The 8 track cassette itself is a 2 tone olive and dusty pink affair, and clocks in at just over 30 minutes.
The artwork apes the style of 70s and 80s bootleg cassette releases. A down to earth, hand made / drawn approach, with an image that was lifted from a photograph at The Bell by The Green, not The Lamb. Never the less, the whole release is a charming, straight forward no-frills release.
The music does the talking, and we know it elevated an honest, hardworking musician to stadium heights.
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