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Other Bands

Before, during and alongside the solo records, Frank has played in a lot of bands. Here's the family tree. Releases for each one are on the Discography page.

Kneejerk

Frank's school band: in his words, "me (frank) on bass and most vocals, ben on drums and some vocals, chris on guitar and some vocals." Frank and Ben Dawson both went on to Million Dead. Kneejerk released the Helpless I Cry CD-R (1999), a split with Abjure (2000), and The Half-Life of Kissing (2001), which came out after the band had already broken up.

Old Sites & Lost Media

Million Dead

Active2000–2005; reunited 2025
MembersFrank Turner (vocals), Julia Ruzicka, Ben Dawson, Cameron Dean, Tom Fowler

A London post-hardcore band. Frank and Ben Dawson joined Cameron Dean and Julia Ruzicka in 2001. They got radio support from John Peel and Steve Lamacq, and released two albums: A Song to Ruin (2003) and Harmony No Harmony (2005). Million Dead played their final show at the Joiners in Southampton on 23 September 2005.

In 2025 they reunited for a festival appearance at 2000 Trees and a headline tour that ended at the Electric Ballroom in London on 14 December 2025.

Old Sites & Lost Media

Record Buying Public

An instrumental, jazzy post-rock band with Tom Fowler on guitar and John Atkins, and "little 19-year-old" Frank on drums. They played a few shows to friends before drifting apart. In 2016 Tom found their recordings from 2001: a six-track demo and four songs from a rehearsal.

The Sleeping Souls

NowBen Lloyd (guitar, mandolin), Tarrant Anderson (bass), Matt Nasir (piano, mandolin), Callum Green (drums)
FormerNigel Powell (drums, 2006–2020)

Frank's backing band in the studio and on stage. Ben Lloyd, Tarrant Anderson and Nigel Powell came from the Oxford band Dive Dive, who backed Frank from the Campfire Punkrock days. Matt Nasir joined on the Love Ire & Song tour. The band took its name from a lyric in "I Am Disappeared". Callum Green took over on drums in 2020.

MöNgöL HöRde / MïNgle HäRde

Active2012–present (as Möngöl Hörde until 2022)
MembersFrank Turner "Renrut" (vocals), Ben Dawson "Awesome" (drums), Matt Nasir "Nadir" (guitar)

A hardcore punk band formed in London in 2012, reuniting Frank with his Million Dead bandmate Ben Dawson. Their self-titled album came out in 2014. On 1 April 2022 the band announced itself as Mïngle Härde, "a brand new band who bear no relation to any other pre-existing sarcastic noise rock bands".

Eating Before Swimming

Frank and Chris Blake met at the village primary school in Meonstoke in 1985, and started their first band together at 11 and 13. Decades later they made Playtime with Christopher & Francis Volume 1 as Eating Before Swimming, released on 19 August 2022.

Collaborations

  • Buddies with Jon Snodgrass: Buddies (2010) and Buddies II: Still Buddies (2020)
  • West Coast vs. Wessex with NOFX (2020), each covering the other's songs
  • The Softcore Tour 2007: not a band, but a tour-only CD-R shared with Jonah Matranga, Jacob Golden and Joshua English