Last Updated on January 7, 2024
Originally published in Beat Motel issue 10 in 2008. I can’t remember who wrote this review.
Frank Turner – Leeds Cockpit 21st October 25, 2008 set list
- Ballad Of Me And My Friends
- Reasons…
- Imperfect Tense
- Nashville Tennessee
- Worst Things Happen At Sea
- Substitute
- Back In The Day
- Vital Signs
- Once We Were Anarchists
- The Real Damage
- A Love Worth Keeping (little piano it bit straight into…)
- Father’s Day
- I Knew Prufrock…
- Long Live The Queen
- St Chris Is Coming Home
- Photosynthesis
- Love, Ire & Song
The first time I saw Frank Turner was at the Underworld a few years back when he was opening for Reuben and Engerica. I had never heard of him and I can’t remember too much from the night, but I remember him saying, the next song was about last weekend, and he launched into The Real Damage, a now Turner classic. I came away with a smile and Tat came away with a bloodied head (there’s only so much crowd surfing an audience will take).
Anyways, skip a few years and Jon hands me a copy of Sleep Is For The Week and Love, Ire & Song and I’m hooked, I manage to catch him at Reading on the Lockup to see that he’s been very busy since that night in Camden.
Apologies for the rest of this review, I don’t want to come over biased but I had a really good night.
I’ve only been to a club night at the Cockpit and I was very impressed with the live setup, good stage, good size and importantly a great sound. First up was Emily Barker an Aussie who moved to London some years back, had never heard of her but was impressed. I’m not well enough versed in folk to really comment but enjoyed her set, however I think she should have ended on a more upbeat song to give her a good send off.
Next up was Chris TT, now with band. I’ve seen Chris before at the Steamboat in Ipswich a few years ago and ended up buying his 7”, I remember something about an ‘Eminem Is Gay’ song but not much more than that. The addition of his band has really broadened his sound and no doubt his appeal, with interesting arrangements that are welcome in a day of cardigan copycats. Look forward to hearing more from him.
Then after a quick changeover, Frank runs on solo and belts out a raucous rendition of Ballad Of Me And My Friends, which leads swiftly into Reasons Not To Be An Idiot with his band now lit up and rocking. It’s the first night of the tour and the Cockpit is sold out, Frank and co are in high spirits, and the crowd is belting back as much as Frank is sending out. The set is a good mix of tunes from Love, Ire & Song and Sleep Is For The Week with Nashville Tennessee a welcome addition from the latter years.
Still, the dude in front of me is screaming out for ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’, and then explaining to everyone around him that he was one of those kids, but I don’t really think that’s going to happen. Anyways, a lot has been said about the mix of people at Turner gigs, and from my position at the side I can spot a skinhead in a leather jacket, a couple of Mohicans, some metal t’s and an abundance of plaid shirts. I love that Turner almost brings together niches and the comradeship of everyone that see’s him; I think it’s his honesty and sincerity to a genre of music that is far from his origins.
Back to the gig, The Real Damage commands an ecstatic sing a long and follows into a sweet (not ‘dude, that’s sweet’ but sweet like apple bonbons) keyboard introduction to A Love Worth Keeping. Turners in between song jests keep the continuity flowing smoothly throughout, but it’s his preface to Long Live The Queen that really swells the audience, a song written about his good friend Lex who recently lost her fight with breast cancer. All the money from the single release is going to Breast Cancer Research, so if you haven’t bought it yet do it.
Turner ends with Photosynthesis and then returns with an encore of Love, Ire & Song, my favourite Turner song, which see’s him ditch his acoustic halfway and grab the mic for a animated finale. Chris TT and Emily Barker also joined in on a couple of the last songs on keys and banjo but I can’t remember which ones, it was good though!
Overall the night was good fun and bodes well for the rest of the tour, although my mate Sheddy went to the Nottingham show and said they had to cut the set short as Turner had food poisoning. In fact, Sheddy is a trainee health inspector, hmm maybe they should have got him in!
