FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS (UK) Weekender Club, 09.06.'15

When is an underdog no longer an underdog? Is it when he’s the act who begins the Olympics Opening Ceremony? Maybe it’s when he has headlined both Wembley Arena and O2 Arena, two of the UK capital’s biggest venues? Or perhaps it’s when each of his records is bigger and more successful than the last: selling more, playing more, infiltrating the nation’s consciousness more? Or maybe it’s simpler than that: maybe an underdog is no longer an underdog when he connects in the way that Frank Turner connects, writing songs that inspire their crowd to reflect, to singalong, to holler along, to hold their arms aloft, all at once.

It is almost a decade since Frank Turner went solo following the demise of Million Dead, the hardcore quartet he fronted. In that time, he has been on a constant upward curve, its momentum propelled forward by a mixture of Turner’s force of will and his effortless craft of song. Each record now brings with it new landmarks for the 32-year-old from Hampshire. His fourth album, 2011’s England Keep My Bones, sold more than 100,000 copies and entered the UK Charts at number 12. Its success raised questions for the singer. “It made me think about where I’m starting and where I’m heading,” he says. “It made me wonder if I could continue as a musician with integrity influenced by punk rock whilst doing arena tours. The answer I concluded is yes, obviously.”