In a remarkable feat, Frank Turner has broken the world record for the most shows played in 24 hours, entertaining audiences with 15 gigs in 15 different towns. As part of this challenge, Turner played all his shows at independent venues, with tickets sold by independent record shops, in honour of the Music Venue Trust (MVT). The epic mission began at Liverpool’s Jacaranda Baltic at 12:30pm on Saturday (May 4) and concluded at Southampton’s The Brook at midday yesterday (May 5).
The MVT established the rules for the world record attempt, stipulating that each set had to last a minimum of 15 minutes, with a minimum of 25 audience members at each show, and no repeated venues. At the start of the journey, Turner posted an image of himself holding a sign saying “BEFORE”, writing: “Here we go friends. 15 shows, 15 towns, 24 hours. This is a terrible idea. Thanks to the venues, my crew, the record shops and @musicvenuetrust – let’s do this.”
Turner’s earlier experience as an unofficial record-breaker was the inspiration for this more gruelling effort. In 2009, he played 24 shows in 24 hours in Greater London for the music video for “The Road”. This time he was joined by crew members Doug, Tre, and Mark. Turner and his crew played 15 independent venues in 15 different towns around the UK to secure the world record with five additional shows to spare. The full list of shows is available on the artist’s social media channels.
The musician has been a vocal supporter of the need for extra assistance for grassroots music venues, at a time when the MVT is proposing a £1 ticket levy on large-scale concerts to help save smaller live music spaces. In an interview earlier this year, Turner told NME magazine about the need for the industry to come together to help the grassroots and independent sector: “We’re trying to remind people that going to independent gigs is fun, and teach the kids who came of age in 2020 or 2021 that this is a cool thing to do. My role in this is twofold – to shout about it whenever I can and to be positive and say it’s a really cool thing to go to
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