Just over a year ago, musician Frank Turner was left devastated after hearing his friends had been caught up in the Bataclan massacre. He tells Joanna Morris how important it was to get back onto the road

LAST November, 130 music fans were killed and many others injured during a rock concert at the Bataclan in Paris. Midway through their own tour and stunned by grief and shock, Frank Turner and his band, The Sleeping Souls, decided that the show must go on, performing in the North-East a day later.

Speaking about the dark times that followed, singer and songwriter Frank said he had recently been asked to play a gig in tribute to merchandise seller Nick Alexander, the only Brit to die during the horrific attack.

“Nick was a friend of mine and another close friend was shot through the leg," he says. “It was too close to home – all terrorism is obviously bad, but these terrorists killed people in my place of work and they killed people I knew personally, it was a very dark and difficult time. The following day, I played a show in Newcastle and it was quite scary – as we were loading in, there was an uncomfortable mood. I couldn’t help but look at the back doors to the venue and think about people coming through them. But the important thing was to keep going, to do what we do and to refuse to be intimidated.”

Just a week before returning to Newcastle as part of his latest UK tour, Frank said he hoped fans had not been put off attending live shows.

“At the end of the day, everybody makes decisions about what risks they are comfortable with and it’s not my place to tell anybody off for feeling unsafe after something like this, I can sympathise. It was an appalling event but it was one show of many that happen every day around the world. They were trying to take something important and we do stand for something important that should be defended – I hope people get back out there and get to shows.”

A veteran of the road, Frank Turner spends the majority of his life on tour and promises to bring a lively show to anyone who shows up at Newcastle’s Northumbria University next week.

“I just love touring and playing shows, every one is different – I’m playing to a different group of people, a different room every night and I can’t see a world where playing live would get boring for me. It can make your social life quite difficult and it’s pretty tough physically and mentally sometimes but these are small quibbles – the best bits are creativity, friendship, travel and getting to write and sing new songs to people.”

Creating an intimate, inclusive environment at every show – regardless of its size – is something Frank Turner has built a reputation on. Making sure his fans can enjoy his shows in a safe and secure environment is high on his agenda and he recently issued a stark warning after hearing stories of sexual harassment at gigs.

“This was not something I’d ever considered – as a white, tall man I’d never really experienced problems but quite a few people have let me know about some behaviour that goes on at gigs. It blew my mind that this was a thing, it’s insane that this happens anywhere, let alone at a show.

“I want to make it clear to the world and people at my shows that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in my environment – I find it shocking that this actually needs to be said.”

The former frontman for hardcore act Million Dead, Frank Turner now boasts a back catalogue as lengthy as it is diverse, making setlist creation an intricate art in itself. He’s looking forward to trying out some of his newest creations on Tyneside next week.

“I spend a really large amount of my life thinking about set lists, it’s so important to get it right and to get big crowds of individuals singing along. I like to do something old and then surprise people with something new. I love being in the North-East and I’m excited to be coming back.”

  • Frank Turner: Wednesday, December 7, Newcastle Northumbria University, 7.30pm.