15 gigs in 24 Hours Sees British Musician Enter The Record Books

British punk rocker Frank Turner has broken the world record for playing the most shows in 24 hours, after storming through 15 gigs in 15 different towns.

The artist, who will be at Glastonbury next month, was taking on the challenge in honour of the Music Venue Trust, playing every show at an independent venue, with all tickets sold by independent record shops.

The feat kicked off in Liverpool’s Jacaranda Baltic at 12:30pm on Saturday with Turner working his way down the country, before finally completing the mission at Southampton’s The Brook at midday on Sunday.

At the start of the journey, Turner posted an image of himself holding a sign saying “BEFORE”, writing: “Here we go friends. 15 shows, 15 town, 24 hours. This is a terrible idea. Thanks to the venues, my crew, the record shops and @musicvenuetrust – let’s do this.”

Frank Turner at Riot Fest (Image: Getty)

That was later followed up by a post from the final leg holding an equivalent “AFTER” sign. “Proud. Tired. Grateful. Long live independent music,” he wrote.

Turner has been a prominent advocate for the need for extra support for grassroots music venues, at a time when the MVT charity is calling for a £1 ticket levy on large scale concerts to help save smaller live music spaces survive. That would mean booming arena venues, such as London's O2 and Manchester's MEN Arena, to adopt a Premier League-style funding pipeline to ensure the endangered music venues survive.

If the big players decline to voluntarily contribute then there are calls for the government to copy the French and put a 3.5% ticket levy on big shows

Last year 16% of grassroots venues across the UK country shut down - equal to two per week – cutting off the talent pipeline that has enabled world-conquering stars such as The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Blur, Adele and Ed Sheerhan to flourish.

Turner, from Meonstoke, Hampshir, said: “We’re trying to remind people that going to independent gigs is fun, and teaching the kids who came of age in 2020 or 2021 that this is a cool thing to do.”

Frank Turner in London (Image: Getty)

Fellow record breakers Def Leppard (Image: Getty)

“My role in this is twofold – to shout about it whenever I can and be positive and say it’s a really cool thing to go to indie gigs. Don’t go to an arena gig where you get charged nine quid for a beer!”

Turner is not the first musician to attempt a marathon feat of gigs. In 1995 Def Leppard grabbed a place in the Guinness Book Of World Records by playing three gigs in three continents in 24 hours, performing in Tangier, Morocco; London, England; and Vancouver, Canada.

Four years earlier Status Quo completed a UK tour inside 12 hours, playing Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham and London to raise money for the Nordoff and Robbins Music charity.

Turner’s new album ‘Undefeated’ is out now via Xtra Mile, his first record as an independent artist.