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FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS Workaholic singer-songwriter talks days off (or lack thereof) and his intense work ethic
Frank Turner has one day off before Christmas and he is spending it doing interviews. Which doesn’t sound like much of a day off. But then Turner has been known for his unflagging work ethic since his days fronting post-hardcore band Million Dead, and that includes touring like a demon. ‘If I wake up and fall asleep in the same bed, that counts as a day off in my world,’ he reckons.
He records his ‘encyclopaedic’ memories of many solo gigs in his new tour diary, The Road Beneath My Feet, and is unsurprisingly on the road again – with a Glasgow gig lined up – touting a new album, Positive Songs for Negative People, which he recorded in country music
capital, Nashville. Sightseeing, however, is for slackers. ‘We were there for ten days and recording for nine-and-a-half,’ says Turner. ‘I wanted to have a rough, ready performance- sounding record.’ ‘My career has been very self-driven. In the early days it
was just me organising gigs and booking studio time. I don’t have to do it all for myself any more but I am pro-active, I don’t want to wait around. People who work with me know it’s best to not bother trying to tell me to slow down.’ (Fiona Shepherd) ■ Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls play Barrowland, Glasgow, Fri 13 Nov.
5 Nov 2015–4 Feb 2016 THE LIST 101