Frank Turner/Pet Needs live in Leeds

Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls / Pet Needs – Leeds Academy 2nd October 2022

Words: Diamond Dave

Photography: Cathy Au Lait

Pet Needs are one of those bands that you know cannot quite believe the upward trajectory their
career has taken them in the last couple of years, but deserve every ounce of it. Frontman Johnny
Marriott covers every inch of the stage as the band thrash out a set leaning heavily on tracks from
their “Primetime Entertainment” while showing off his microphone balancing skills. And it was not
just the frontman who was encouraging the crowd to use up every bit of energy they could with the
rest of the band insisting that the crowd go absolutely bananas at every opportunity!

Tracks from ttheir debut “Fractured Party Music” such as “Tracey Emin’s Bed” sit alongside newer tracks like
“Fear Of The Whole Damn World” and “Ibiza In Winter” perfectly and the biggest complement I can
pay them is that lyrically they remind me of Buzzcocks in their take on modern life, and the detail
that we can easily relate to ourselves. So when our headliner today says that in the future that he
hopes that Pet Needs will remember him and could take him out on tour as support……well, you
never know!! Colchester should be very proud!!!

So on to our headliners this evening, Frank Turner And The Sleeping Souls. My wife had always said
that Frank Turner is special and now in 2022, I feel that 17 years into his solo career, this is arguably
the best we have heard in the 21 st Century. “1933” and “Be More Kind”, from the album of the
same name show that he in one moment can feel yourself jumping up and down with friends that
you have never met before and the next put your arm around them to let them know we are all on
this trip together. When Franks says the mantra is “that we don’t be a dick….”, well that is good
enough for me.

One of the things that I love about Frank Turner is how he seems to know exactly what to say when
describing events in his songs, today he groups together the tracks “Fatherless” and “Miranda”
which were both written about his father, who came out as a transgender woman about five years
ago. When I first heard “Miranda”, which is an uplifting yet moving song about the relationship they
now have, I burst into tears (I almost did the same when I interviewed Frank earlier this year when
talking about the same song) but for Frank to be able to bare his soul in front of a packed Leeds
Academy tonight, for people who love him all the more for his honesty, shows just how important
Frank Turner is.

There are loads more cracking tunes performed from his debut No, 1 album “FTHC” from the rousing
post covid anthem “The Gathering”, ”Punches” and “Non Servium” the opening track from the
album which had this dilapidated 50 year old rocker wanting to join a circle pit with kids who I could
have been grandad to. It is when Frank shows his thoughtful side on songs like “A Wave Across A
Bay” in which he talks of his friend Scott from Frightened Rabbit who died by suicide or “There She
Is”, an ode to his wife, where Frank touches my heart like very few artists have ever been capable of
doing. He is a special person as well as a special musician.

This was Frank’s 40th show in Leeds and the chants of “Yorkshire! Yorkshire! Yorkshire!” were the
crowd’s way of telling Frank just how much he means to us here in what is referred to “God’s Own
County” (I say us , which is strange coming from the mouth of this Northern Irish rocker ha ha) but I
think that just about everyone thinks as Frank Turner as one of their own which could be because he
is one of the few musicians who seems to care as much about us, as we do about him. This was the
new drummer Callum Green’s first time in Leeds with The Sleeping Souls. Much to Mr Turner’s
disgust, he revealed he had previously brought his jazz beats to Leeds before joining Frank’s band.
Come back and see us again soon Frank, we need you!!