A MUSIC venue in Leamington now holds a world record – or at least a share of it.
Singer-songwriter Frank Turner successfully played the most gigs in different towns and cities in 24 hours by playing 15 shows across the country, from Liverpool to Southampton.
And one of the shows was at Leamington art and music cafe bar Temperance on Bath Street.
The rules were simple. In a timeframe of 24 hours, Frank had to play 15 solo shows, with each set running for a minimum of 20 minutes. The previous (official) record was held by Hunter Hayes with ten shows and before that it was the Flaming Lips with eight.
But there was a serious point too. The challenge was in support grassroots venues and independent record stores across the country, including Head located in Leamington’s Royal Priors.
The schedule took in gigs in Liverpool, starting at 12.30am on Saturday May 4, followed by Huddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Nottingham and Birmingham.
Sunday began in Leamington at noon before moving on to Leighton Buzzard, London, Kingston, Aldershot, Portsmouth and Winchester, before finishing in Southampton at midnight.
Writing on Instagram after the final gig, a tired Frank said: “In 2009, for the music video for The Road, I played 24 shows in 24 hours – all in Greater London. House parties, venues, record shops and more. It was fun but kind of unofficial, and hard work. I didn’t think I wanted to do it again.
“In the last 24 hours, accompanied by my crew (Doug and Tre and Mark), we played 15 shows in 15 different towns around the UK. According to the @musicvenuetrust rules, that’s the world record by five shows. Every show was at an independent venue, ticketed by an independent record shop. We did it.
“Proud. Tired. Grateful. Long live independent music.”
