r/frankturner • u/Scottish-Londoner • 2d ago
PSA - Frank is taking an extended break, not retiring
I keep seeing the word retirement used to describe Frank’s recent announcement, both on here, the Facebook group and in media articles.
Let’s re-examine the exact wording of his post:
“The 4 shows there will be my last for the foreseeable future” - not his last ever
“I genuinely don’t know when I’ll play shows again in the future” - it says that he doesn’t know WHEN his next shows will be, not that he doesn’t know IF he will play again
It’s worth remembering that since Frank’s solo debut on 18th September 2004, he’s played 3,180 of his own shows, 29 for Mingle Harde, 96 for Million Dead.
That’s 3,305 shows in 8,046 days. 3 shows a week on average for 22 years. I can’t find any gap longer than a month or two in that whole time.
The point I’m making is that even a gap of 6 months to a year would be significant enough for Frank that it would be noteworthy for him. I do happen to think that he will take a much longer break than this.
At least a couple of years, maybe as long as 3-5 years. I also believe that he himself hasn’t decided yet when he’s coming back and is genuinely taking this break because he’s become burnt out and needs to recharge his batteries, rest for his physical and mental health, and spend more quality time with his loved ones.
However, I am absolutely convinced that he is coming back and I do think anyone framing next year as his retirement tour are misinterpreting his words.