An Underdog God Walks Among Us!

Watching Frank turner (sadly on bbc3) at the Reading Festival this weekend brought tears to our eyes at TT. Working alongside the mainstream music industry for 4 years now, I have heard important people claim he is nothing, he has no hits and he will fall by the wayside several times. GET FUCKED!

Watching live and then re-watching another 43 times on the iplayer his performance of Photosynthesis was like hearing it for the first time all over again. The song has virtually become the mission statement for Traveller’s Tunes so imagine our glee when we see 30 thousand people watching, most of which were singing along. We always knew he was a genius and this is the ultimate proof!

In a year where Adele and XL Recordings have smashed the major labels out of the park, the independent scene is a joyous thing to be a part of. Frank’s story is the complete opposite to Adele’s and one that is more likely to cast Sam Riley in the biopic adaptation for the big screen in years to come. Touring almost non-stop since 2005 since the ugly break up of his band Million Dead, FT has scratched and clawed his way to the main stage at Reading. He has played every stage at the festival over the years, so to see a massive turn out felt like Wimbledon beating Liverpool in the 88 cup final.

If the chumps at Radio 1 want to continue to break artists like Tinchy Stryder and Taio Cruz who have worst lyrical content than ITV’s Loose Women then so be it. Frank should be an example of just how far hard work will get you. Don’t take no for an answer, fret not when the playlist rejections keep coming. There will always be a Traveller’s Tune blog willing to write, a Steve Lemacq ready to spin your single. In the words of our dear Frank “something as simple as rock ‘n’ roll will save us all.