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FRANK Turner is undeniably a busy man and is on the verge of breaking America.

He finished off his current UK tour in his home town of Winchester a couple of weeks ago, before flying out to Los Angeles in the USA the next day, but was able to spare a few minutes to talk to Amplified.

Frank was nominated for XFM's New Music Award last year, which followed on from the success of his debut album with Xtra Mile Recordings, Sleep Is For The Week.

He followed that up with the superb offering Love Ire & Song, which was recorded just outside Winchester and hit the shops here in March.

Now both albums are about to be launched in the US and Frank has already picked up fans over there after touring California and the East coast.

Before his homecoming gig at The Railway Inn, Frank chatted about his US experiences and the fact he should be signing a record deal while he was out there, how chuffed he was to be playing at the Reading and Leeds Festivals and how much he was looking forward to a holiday after four years.

"I went out on tour with Chris T-T early last year in February going round California. We did a lot of coffee shop shows and we did a bunch of industry showcases and that went well enough," he said.

With a cup of tea in hand, Frank continued: "I am a very English person. I really like American people, they seem to be a lot more straight up than most. They have a sort of cultural naivety which I really like. They check things out and don't bring any preconceptions to the table and they are a lot of fun, but the whole American culture gets to me a bit so I don't think I could live there.

"I travel a lot through touring and don't get to see any of the places I go through, but I get to meet loads of people, which I love. That is one of the biggest perks of my job, meeting people.

"I do miss my roots. I take tea with me on tour now."

Frank is touring with a band at the moment but has toured alone - just him and his guitar - for months in the UK and US.

He said: "I did the East coast (of America) last November on my own. You are thousands of miles away from home and if you have a rubbish show you do ask yourself why you are there."

However, Frank was firmly on home soil when he ended his latest UK tour with a sell out gig at The Railway in Winchester.

He said: "I love The Railway. It is a lot nicer than it was when I first started coming here. It was also really nice to just go home (which is at St Cross) for three hours and a cooked meal was pretty good. After tonight I will not be home until the end of June."

After he comes back from the US, Frank will go out on tour with The Holloways and play the Reading and Leeds and Glastonbury festivals, which he is understandably stoked about.

He said: "One thing I am doing this year which I am really proud of is the Mike Davies Lock Up Stage at Reading and Leeds as well as the Cambridge Folk Festival. I am pretty sure I am the only person to do both stages and that is something I am proud of. I hope my music is open to everybody demographically and in terms of music tastes."

He continued: "There are days when I wish I didn't have to wake up in a different town all the time, but no one makes me do this. It is a choice and it is a privilege. If I am making music that people want to hear and if people want to come to the shows then I will be happy with that. Playing a show and having people singing along to your songs, what better thing is there in the world?"

"It will be a while before I am back in the studio. With both albums coming out in the States, that will mean a whole lot of work out there. I have been working straight for about four years so I will be taking a holiday I think before going back into the studio."

To keep track of Frank's progress check out his website on www.frank-turner.com.

2:00pm Thursday 8th May 2008

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