Frank Turner - Plays the biggest show on Earth!
It is with enormous pleasure and pride that we announce Frank Turner and an extended version of his band the Sleeping Souls – including label mates Jim Lockey, Ben Marwood and Emily Barker - will play the biggest show on Earth tonight when they perform at the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.
Hand-picked by the Artistic Director for the ceremony Danny Boyle, Frank has been asked to play three songs as part of the event to an estimated audience of almost 200,000 people in the stadium over 2 nights of rehearsals and opening night itself as well as the staggering 25 million viewers expected on the BBC.
Frank says: “Being asked to play the Opening Ceremony was something I never imagined was going to happen in my wildest most feverish dreams; but the fact that Danny Boyle asked me personally, as a fan, convinced me to do it. It's a pretty terrifying prospect, but I'm secretly pretty happy to be part of it, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Also this year Frank is releasing his Live At Wembley DVD on 3rd September 2012. This fantastic DVD features Frank’s triumphant headline show at Wembley Arena on 13th April in full as well as a bonus disc that includes: ‘I Still Believe’ – a documentary charting life on the road with Frank Turner, as he tours all over the world in the run up to the Wembley show; Beans On Toast’s Road To Wembley – a shorter documentary filmed by Frank following Beans On Toast on the day he supports Frank at Wembley; and promo videos for all the singles taken from current album England Keep My Bones, including current single ‘If Ever I Stray’.
England Keep My Bones, Frank’s fourth studio album, entered the official album charts at Number 12 when it was released in June 2011 and has since been certified silver with sales toppling over 60,000. On 3rd September the deluxe edition of the album (which included the 3 extra tracks ‘A Song For Eva Mae’, ‘Wanderlust’ and ‘Balthazar, Impresario’) will be re-packaged to include a further extra track – ‘Sailor’s Boots’ plus the Frank Turner: Live From Wembley performance DVD.
Reviews from Wembley Arena:
“This is a victory for doing things the honest way. The 12,000 people here are those who lent him their ears, their floors to sleep on, and their rooms to play to. Tonight feels like a celebration.” 5/5 Kerrang!
“Frank Turner gets tattooed, drags his mum onstage and smashes his big night. A one-off? Nope – he’s going all the way to the stadium across the road…” NME
“…he may yet prove to be an English Bruce Springsteen. Today Wembley, tomorrow the world.” 4/5 Times
“It is with this sense of unity that Turner and his lively backing band, The Sleeping Souls, managed to make a giant cavern of 12,000 people feel like an intimate gig….there’s no doubt that sheer demand will mean he’ll be back in an arena before too long.” 4/5 Telegraph
“Turner opened his set with ‘Eulogy’ which contains the lyric ‘Not everyone can be Freddy Mercury’. But blasting out a cover of Queen’s ‘Somebody To Love’ to a bellowing audience who couldn’t have been more appreciative, Turner’s nice guys routine seems to suggest that he can.” 4/5 Independent
“Not everyone can be, Freddie Mercury" he sang in opener Eulogy, but on the strength of this gig, it’s only the beginning of Turner’s career as a stadium star.” Sunday Mirror
"...the connection between himself and the fans can make a big show feel nearly as intimate as a club gig." 4/5 Guardian
Reviews of ‘England Keep My Bones’:
“Turner proves himself an accomplished and impassioned storyteller. Stirring stuff.” Q 4 stars
"a fearless venture for an artist with something interesting to say" 8/10 NME
"The wonderfully titled England Keep My Bones' features some of the finest songs Frank has yet written." 4/5 Kerrang!
"One of the UK's greatest songwriting talents...these songs will be soundtracking many of our lives for years to come." Rocksound 9/10
"The high priest of protest song sings on." Evening Standard 3/5
"Four albums into his solo career..."folk punk" man looks poised for a breakout beyond his loyal following." Observer
"this is an exuberant yet quietly sophisticated triumph" BBC online
Labels: 2012, Frank Turner, Olympic Opening Ceremony, Olympics
posted by Press Counsel PR at
15:44
