Frank Turner started solo acoustic shows prior to Million Dead's break up. The first official performance was at the first Small Town America all dayer at 93 Feet East on September 18th 2004. The solo performances were, in a sense, a sideline to Million Dead. They did allow Turner to display some of his own songwriting capabilities (without a band) as well as some covers of songs and bands he enjoyed, in some cases the songs were much re-worked to fit an acoustic atmosphere. Solo performances were also used to help bolster or expose Million Dead to new individuals as well, with some acoustic in-store and radio performances of Million Dead songs.
At the end of February and start of March (2006) Frank went to Oxford to record the "Campfire Punkrock" EP with Dive Dive as the backing band for three of the songs. This EP was released on May 15 2006 on a limited run through Xtra Mile recordings. It sold out after only a few weeks on sale and had to be re-pressed to meet demand.
With Jonah Matranga doing some touring in June 2006 in support of his CD/DVD album "Jonah Matranga" there was some discussion of Frank doing supports with Jonah, this only ended up with one show featuring both at The Peel in Kingston. The discussion however lead to the creation of the Jonah Matranga and Frank Turner split 12" vinyl. Released in the USA on Welcome Home Records and in the UK via Xtra Mile Recordings. The release features Frank covering two songs by American songwriters and Jonah covering two songs by British songwriters. He was recently (September 18 2006) the last ever artist to perform on BBC Radio 1's Lamacq Live program, unveiling two new songs from "Sleep Is For The Week".
The good sales of "Campfire Punkrock" meant good news as this allowed Frank to record his debut album "Sleep Is For The Week" in August and September 2006. Recorded in Oxford with Dive Dive as extra band on a selection of the 13 tracks. The last track, "The Ballad Of Me And My Friends", is a live recording from a sold out show at the London Barfly and features the vocal contribution of the (approximately) 200 strong audience during a verse. Those in attendance and gave their names to Xtra Mile Recordings will have their names credited as contributers to this track.
In April 2008, his second album Love, Ire and Song was released to critical acclaim.
His third full-length album, Poetry Of The Deed, was released September 7th 2009, and includes the singles The Road, Try This At Home and Isabel. An accompanying DVD, Take To The Road, was released in March 2010.
Amidst extensive touring in support of Poetry of the Deed, Turner and his then-untitled backing band recorded Rock & Roll, an EP consisting of tracks written at the same time as Poetry of the Deed alongside new material. Following its release, Turner and the band spent twenty days in January 2011, recording their next studio album with producer Tristan Ivemy. The result was England Keep My Bones, the fourth studio album by Frank, released on June 6, 2011, on Xtra Mile in the United Kingdom, and on June 7, 2011, on Epitaph Records worldwide. Preceded by the single, "Peggy Sang the Blues", the album was produced and mixed by Tristan Ivemy, who had previously mixed Love, Ire and Song, Rock & Roll and Campfire Punkrock.
The album's title is taken from William Shakespeare's play, The Life and Death of King John, with Turner noting, "I knew that the album was, for the most part, about mortality, and about Englishness. Shakespeare seemed like a good place to go hunting for some pearls of wisdom, and with a little help from my friend Ben we came across this one, and it just seemed to fit the work really well."
Following the completion of the album, Turner subsequently announced his backing band had named themselves The Sleeping Souls, after a lyric in the track, "I Am Disappeared". The Sleeping Souls are Nigel Powell, Ben LLoyd, Tarant Anderson and Matt Nasir.
Turner recorded his fifth studio album in Burbank, California, in October 2012. The reason for recording first time abroad in California was, that producer Rich Costey wouldn't come to England with all his equipment so he convinced Turner to record it in Burbank. Frank Turner announced via Twitter on 28 October 2012 that recording was completed, and mixing and mastering would be done in time for a March 2013 release date. During the November and December UK tour a free CD titled Good Hangs from Xtra Mile Recordings was distributed for free at Frank Turner shows, this included a yet-to-be-released Turner song titled "Tattoos" plus the Möngöl Hörde song "Casual Threats From Weekend Hardmen". On Christmas Day 2012, the song "Four Simple Words" was released on Xtra Mile Recordings' website as a free download along with the b-side "Cowboy Chords". On 4 January 2013, a video was shot for what would be the first single. On the same day Frank announced on Twitter that the single was the song "Recovery". On 9 January, Frank uploaded a photo to his Instagram page showing the names of all 13 songs that would feature on his new album. This included songs played during the UK and US tours of 2012 such as "Anymore", "Plain Sailing Weather", "We Shall Not Overcome" and "Tell Tale Signs". Frank also posted on his fan forum that an extended edition of his new album would be released that includes an extra 5 or 6 songs. On 19 February 2013, it was announced that Turner had signed a licensing deal with Interscope Records in the US for Tape Deck Heart. Following the release of the album Frank Turner embarked on a short U.K tour.
[this section requires expansion, to cover the period 2013 to 2018]
Discography:
2005 - Frank Turner's Demo
2007 - Campfire Punkrock
2007 - The Real Damage
2007 - Sleep Is For The Week
2008 - Love Ire & Song
2008 - The First Three Years
2009 - Poetry Of The Deed
2010 - Take to the Road: Live 2009
2010 - iTunes Festival: London 2010
2011 - 2011-11-17: Daytrotter Session, Big Orange Studios, Austin, TX, USA
2012 - The Second Three Years
2012 - Last Minutes and Lost Evenings
2013 - Tape Deck Heart
2014 - Polaroid Picture
2014 - The Third Three Years
2015 - Positive Songs for Negative People
2017 - Songbook
2018 - Be More Kind
2019 - No Man's Land
2020 - West Coast vs. Wessex
2020 - Buddies II: Still Buddies
Sally
Frank Turner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh yeah again.
Got to get your hearing right or the fright,
Never know what you're getting into now again
Oh yeah again.
So you tell me lend me an ear, you're to hear,
I'm the one and only hand that you can hold again.
Oh yeah again.
Some small mercies all you will ever have again
Oh yeah again.
So the stakes couldn't make,
I don't need the help of you.
Could you try out of sight?
For I haven't got a clue,
Haven't got what it takes to.
Got it wrong Sally's won.
Denim suits get it.
That's just what I was told and I don't care if I was sold.
So you were right, Sally flied.
I don't know what to hit.
I accept and can take the blame.
Can you fake when the fake is lame?
Changing round I have found,
Whether you're in can only leave you drowned again.
Oh yeah again.
Get the message loud and clear for my dear,
Places I will go to lumber with my gear again.
Oh yeah again.
If you need a little help to move let me know.
Cause hardly I can wait to say to you let it go.
Vilify me if it makes the cut turn you on.
And I'm sure by the time you gain
a heart I'll be gone.
These lyrics seem to be about a failed relationship and the main speaker's desire to move on from it. The lyrics suggest that the relationship was tumultuous and full of emotional highs and lows. The line "Got to get your hearing right or the fright, never know what you're getting into now again" seems to suggest that the other person in the relationship is not always emotionally present and that their presence can be unsettling to the main speaker. The lyrics continue with the singer acknowledging that they are the only one who can offer comfort and consistency to the other person, but also acknowledging that the other person might only be able to find small moments of comfort in this relationship.
Later in the song, the main speaker seems to be trying to end the relationship. They suggest that they "don't need the help" of the other person and that they "haven't got what it takes to" continue on with this tumultuous relationship. However, they also seem to acknowledge that the other person has moved on ("So you were right, Sally flied") and the main speaker might not know how to handle that.
Overall, the lyrics seem to be exploring the complicated emotions of a difficult relationship, and the struggle to end it and move on.
Line by Line Meaning
If I had a clue and a room, I would need a car to get you home tonight again
If I knew what was going on and had a private space, I would need transportation to bring you home again tonight.
Got to get your hearing right or the fright, Never know what you're getting into now again
You need to pay attention and be careful, because you never know what you're getting into.
So you tell me lend me an ear, you're to hear, I'm the one and only hand that you can hold again.
You ask me to listen, and I am the only one who can provide support for you.
Not to say a bird in the hand should be glad, Some small mercies all you will ever have again
Although you may not be happy with what you have, sometimes you must be content with the small blessings you receive.
So the stakes couldn't make, I don't need the help of you. Could you try out of sight? For I haven't got a clue, Haven't got what it takes to. Got it wrong Sally's won. Denim suits get it. That's just what I was told and I don't care if I was sold.
I don't need your help because I don't understand what's going on. Sally has won, even though I don't understand why. People say that denim suits are cool, but I don't care if they're lying to me.
So you were right, Sally flied. I don't know what to hit. I accept and can take the blame. Can you fake when the fake is lame?
You were correct, Sally succeeded. I don't know what to do now. I will take responsibility for my mistakes, but can you pretend that everything is okay when it's not?
Changing round I have found, Whether you're in can only leave you drowned again. Oh yeah again. Get the message loud and clear for my dear, Places I will go to lumber with my gear again. Oh yeah again.
I have realized that changing things up can lead to more turmoil. I am letting you know that I will be traveling with my belongings again.
If you need a little help to move let me know. Cause hardly I can wait to say to you let it go. Vilify me if it makes the cut turn you on. And I'm sure by the time you gain
If you need help moving on, please tell me. I am eager to tell you to let go. If blaming me makes you happy, go ahead. But I'm sure that eventually, you'll understand.
Contributed by Zachary P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.