Frank Turner has announced details of his eighth album, No Man’s Land.
The folk-punk singer says the album, which is released on August 16 via Xtra Mile/Polydor, is dedicated to telling the stories of pioneering women whose lives have been overshadowed by their gender.
“These stories should have been told already,” says Turner. “And I suspect if they were men they would be better known.”
The first single from the album, Sister Rosetta, is inspired by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the American singer who paved the way for rock’n’roll in the 30s and 40s. It features guitar breaks from Tharpe’s own songs, which Turner says he found challenging, “because she’s a way better guitar player than me.”
Other historical and apocryphal figures who inspired songs on the album include Egyptian feminist activist Huda Sha'arawi (The Lioness), Resusci Annie (Rescue Annie), a mythical drowned virgin whose face was used as the model for medical CPR mannequins the world over, and Turner’s own mother, Rosemary Jane, who inspired a song of the same name.
Turner has also launched a podcast, Tales From No Man’s Land, to further explore the lives of the people he has written about. Each episode concludes with Turner singing an acoustic version of the relevant song.
No Man’s Land tracklisting
1. Jinny Bingham’s Ghost
2. Sister Rosetta
3. I Believed You, William Blake
4. Nica
5. A Perfect Wife
6. Silent Key
7. Eye of the Day
8. The Death of Dora Hand
9. The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead
10. The Lioness
11. The Hymn of Kassiani
12. Rescue Annie
13. Rosemary Jane
