Follow TV Tropes

Following

Music / Frank Turner

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frank-turner1_3474.jpg

Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981) is a singer/songwriter from Winchester, UK. While originally part of a post-hardcore band called Million Dead, he then went solo playing folk/punk songs with his acoustic guitar. From his third album 'Poetry of the Deed' he has largely used electric guitars, and strings for his fifth album 'Tape Deck Heart'

He was born in Bahrain.

Tropes:

  • The Anti-Nihilist: Despite a cynical take on life, a good number of Frank's songs are still cautiously optimistic about life and seem to encourage not giving up on idealism and aiming for the stars.
  • Bad "Bad Acting": Murder On The Tour Bus Express, probably intentional though.
  • Break-Up Song: Tape Deck Heart is a break up album, with the songs "Recovery", "Losing Days", "Plain Sailing Weather", "Good & Gone", "Tell Tale Signs", "Polaroid Picture", "Anymore" and "Undeveloped Film" all being about break ups in one form or another. Notably, however, Frank describes it as a breakup work from the perspective of the bad guy.
  • Cluster F-Bomb: "Plain Sailing Weather", "Tell Tale Signs" and many more.
  • Crossover: Throughout his career, Frank has collaborated with such a long list of artists that to name them all would be exhausting. His most regular collaborators, however, include Billy the Kidd, Beans On Toast, Jon Snodgrass, Billy Bragg and Emily Barker.
  • Darker and Edgier: Tape Deck Heart is this to England Keep My Bones.
  • Driven to Suicide: "Song for Josh" is dedicated to a friend of Turner's who committed suicide. The song was released as a 7'' with proceeds going to an anti-suicide charity.
  • Fisher King: "The Fisher King Blues".
  • Growing Up Sucks:
    • "Photosynthesis", although it's less about the sucking and more about the importance of keeping your idealism alive as you get older.
    • It gets worse, the album, England Keep My Bones expands this by being focused in many songs on the realization that he will soon die.
  • Hollywood Atheist: Averted with "Glory Hallelujah" which is a song about how there isn't a God so we can just focus on working hard and being happy.
  • Hymn to Music: "I Still Believe".
  • Knuckle Tattoos. He also has a song called 'Tattoos' celebrating the virtue of the artform.
  • Lighter and Softer: Positive Songs for Negative People is this in comparison to Tape Deck Heart, but still has some darker tracks like "Song for Josh" and "Silent Key".
  • Lyrical Dissonance:
    • The upbeat song "Heartless Bastard Motherfucker"
    • Also "There Are Bad Times Just Around The Corner" in which he makes the Noel Coward song even more perky.
  • Margaret Thatcher: "Thatcher Fucked The Kids".
    • Old Shame: Turner's political opinions have changed a fair bit over time, making "Thatcher Fucked The Kids" this. (His politics are roughly classical liberal, or libertarian, now.)
  • Oblivious to Love: "Mittens" has the narrator on the receiving end.
  • Sir Swears-a-Lot: Notably profane both in his music and in casual conversation.
  • Take That!:
    • "Thatcher Fucked the Kids", although as noted Turner is no longer proud of the song.
    • "Sons of Liberty" is a long rant against authoritarianism.
    • "Four Simple Words" targets hipsters, Shoreditch, Skins and a perceived decline in artists working to become famous.
    • "Sand in the Gears" is targeted at Donald Trump and Mike Pence, though not their supporters as he's been quick to point out. This is especially notable since at the time, Frank hadn't written a political song for nearly a decade.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
    • "Reasons Not to Be An Idiot" is a Tough Love version of this.
    • "Get Better" is a more upbeat version of this.

Top