Frank Turner played 15 concerts in 15 different cities in 24 hours

Friday Frank Turner published “Undefeated”, his latest album. On Saturday he began a feat that saw him break the world record for the most concerts played in 24 hours, with 15 concerts in 15 different cities. The 42-year-old British musician has embarked on this initiative in honor of the Music Venue Trust (a British charity which aims to protect and improve venues in Great Britain) by playing each show at an independent venue and all tickets are were sold by independent record stores.

Turner began his tour de force on Saturday 4 May at 12.30pm at the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool and finished at midday today on Sunday 5 May at The Brook in Southampton. For it to be a world record attempt, certain rules established by the MVT were followed: each set had to last at least 15 minutes, the sets did not have to be repeated in the same location and there had to be at least 25 members of the audience present at each show .

At the start of his tour, Turner posted an image of himself holding a “BEFORE” sign, writing: “Here we go friends. 15 shows, 15 cities, 24 hours. This is a terrible idea. Thanks to the venues, my crew, the record shops and @musicvenuetrust, let's do it.” A day later the sign reads “AFTER”: “Proud. Tired. Grateful. Long live independent music”.

Recalling a period in which he played even more concerts concentrated in a short space of time, Turner explained: “In 2009, for the music video for 'The Road', I played 24 shows in 24 hours, all in Greater London. House parties, clubs, record shops and more. It was fun but hard work. I didn't think I wanted to do it again. In the last 24 hours, accompanied by my crew (Doug, Tre and Mark), we have played 15 shows in 15 different cities across the UK. According to @musicvenuetrust rules, this is the world record. Each show took place at an independent venue, with tickets sold by an independent record store. We made it.”

Frank Turner
has been a leading advocate for the need for additional support for live music venues, at a time when the MVT is calling for a £1 contribution on large-scale concert tickets to help save live music spaces smaller. Speaking to NME magazine earlier this year, Turner explained the need for the industry to come together to help the independent sector. “We're trying to remind people that going to independent concerts is fun and trying to teach kids who came of age in 2020 or 2021 that this is a cool thing to do. My role in all of this is twofold: shout it out every time that I can and be positive and say it's a really damn good thing to go to indie gigs. Not go to an arena gig where they charge you nine quid for a beer!”