Pass Notes
Isn’t this the venue where the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Stones and The Clash played?
It surely is.
Crap venue though, eh? Who’s on tonight
Frank Turner.
Who?
He played at the Olympic opening ceremony… Well the warm up act anyway… Danny Boyle’s a big fan.
Oh, really? I don’t remember that. What’s he like?
Shouty. Ex punk rocker with the ability to fill arenas. Think Billy Bragg meets the Pogues and pulls off some anthemic crowd pleasers.
Hold on. Danny Boyle, Billy Bragg? Is this some sort of leftie crap?
Actually Frank’s politics are somewhat confused. He once called socialism ‘retarded’ and claimed the BNP are ‘hard left’.
Blimey!
Indeed. He is a post-punk anarchist sympathiser with distinctly libertarian views.
What about Thatcher?
What about Thatcher?
Well he must have had something to say about her funeral?
Oddly no. He was only about 9 when she was ousted and spent his youth in the kind of hardcore punk band that was more about partying hard than taking a genuine anti-establishment stance. I’m not sure he really knows who she was.
So it’s true… This younger (sic) generation has nothing to rebel against. They’re more interested in getting a good 3G signal and whether the beer is cold?!
Well that’s important too!
I guess so.
It was probably the only gig in the UK this week where Thatcher didn’t get a mention.
So what does he sing about?
Waking up hungover, reminiscing about what it was like back in the day, and the redemptive power of rock ‘n’ roll.
Gets the crowd going then?
Certainly does. He’s got a huge following and he definitely rocks.
Do say:
I still believe in the need for guitars and drums and desperate poetry.
Don’t say:
just run your ideology past me again Frank.
Jez
PS Made me feel 19 again in a wistful, melancholy way but it were brilliant, in fact in’t music great. I saw U2 in the refectory in 81 or 82 and Friday reminded me of how that felt, just one request Frank, don’t become Bono!!
Roger
Apologies to the Gruniad……