06 Dec 2019
Fresh from releasing his latest album, No Man’s Land, punk & folk singer-songwriter Frank Turner has announced a show at York Barbican on Sunday 8 March 2020.
His latest album is his most original project to date, featuring characters such as the woman who invented Rock & Roll, a serial killer from the Deep South and many more.
“It’s bringing together my two main interests in life, which have always been separate from each other - history and songwriting,” explains Turner, who can be found seeking out historical sites when he’s not packing out arenas or headlining festivals.
No Man’s Land is dedicated to the women whose incredible lives have all too often been overlooked by dint of their gender.
“These stories should have been told already,” says Turner of the album. “And I suspect if they were men they would be better known.”
When crowdsourcing suggestions for more names to pay tribute to, he was quickly inundated.
“I know a lot of very smart people who sent me these huge lists of historically interesting women,” he says of the hundreds he ended up researching, seriously expanding the size of his home library in the process. “It felt a bit like going back to school - but it was so much fun.”
No Man’s Land also includes perhaps the most revelatory song of Turner’s career.
Written in tribute to his mother, Rosemary Jane honours her grit and determination through the harder parts of his childhood.
“It is quite a raw song,” he admits, adding that he felt compelled to ask permission from his mother and sisters to include the track.
“But it’s nice about her. It’s not necessarily nice about my dad...”
Click here to get your tickets for Frank Turner on 8 March 2020.