Frank Turner's Tales From No Man's Land

Frank Turner's Tales From No Man's Land

Telling the stories of rock & roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, dance hall singer Dora Hand, WW1 spy Mata Hari and more, singer-songwriter Frank Turner talks to historians, poets and fellow musicians about twelve historical women who have been largely forgotten but should be celebrated. And his mum.

1 minute 26 seconds

Introducing... Please Tell Me A Story

More stories from our team... Omid tells his story to Abi. Abi tells Omid’s story to Sean, then Sean to Kai, Kai to Sikisa and Sikisa to Helen… each time with hilarious misrememberings, improvisations, stumbles, fumbles and laughs. Six comedians have a funny story to tell. Can they pass the story along the chain without completely twisting the tale? But this isn’t like the game you play at school where you only whisper short sentences. Each episode is a complete, beautifully written story, with each retelling getting funnier (and weirder!) as it passes on. And boy, does season one of Please Tell Me A Story feature an all star comedy cast: Omid Djalili, Abi Clarke, Seán Burke, Kai Samra, Sikisa, and Helen Bauer. Join them as the story gets weird…

A Somethin’ Else & Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts

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16 January 2023, 9:44 am
44 minutes 8 seconds

Bonus Episode: Live at Latitude Festival

SURPRISE!! You thought it was all over...well, sadly it is but before we part ways we thought we'd give you one final bonus episode to wrap up the Tales From No Man's Land series. Cast your mind back to those long, hazy summer days and reminisce with this live podcast recorded at Latitude Festival. Featuring live versions of songs from the album and a discussion about the album led by Frank.
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23 October 2019, 1:16 am
59 minutes 53 seconds

Rosemary Jane

To round off the series Frank is joined by the remarkable woman who inspired the final song on his album No Man's Land, Rosemary Jane, aka his mum! She might not be a historical figure just yet, but there’s still time! The pair discuss the album as a whole, the tales of each of the women who inspired it and Rosemary offers some choice memories from Frank's childhood - whether he likes it or not!
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25 September 2019, 2:00 am
34 minutes 13 seconds

A Perfect Wife - Nannie Doss

Frank is joined by writer and host of the Criminal Broads podcast Tori Telfer to discuss one of the more problematic characters of his album, Nannie Doss. Don't be fooled, she is not as innocent as her name suggests. She was in fact a serial killer who admitted to killing four of her five husbands – one of whom she found in the Lonely Hearts column of a magazine. It's suspected that she also killed her mother, sister, mother-in-law and grandson, although she never admitted to these. Her name the Giggling Granny came about after she showed no remorse for her crimes, simply commenting that she hadn’t met her “perfect mate” yet...
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18 September 2019, 2:00 am
35 minutes 30 seconds

Nica

This episode is about a woman whose love of music was so powerful that she uprooted her life for it. Pannonica Rothschild, or 'Nica' became the black sheep of her famous banking family after she was consumed by a newfound passion for bebop. She ditched her family, relocated from France to New York, and spent the rest of her life as a jazz patroness; befriending many prominent jazz musicians such as Thelonius Monk and Charlie Parker. She was affectionately known as ‘The Jazz Baroness’.

Joining Frank to discuss Nica's legacy is broadcaster and singer Jumoké Fashola.

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11 September 2019, 2:00 am
37 minutes 51 seconds

Rescue Annie

Frank tells the tale of a young woman who drowned in the river Seine in Paris in the 1800's. As was common in this period a cast of her face, known as a 'death mask', was displayed in the morgue for her family to claim. Sadly she was never identified, but her story doesn't end there. Her peaceful expression captivated so many that very quickly moulds were made and her likeness was hung on the walls of homes across Paris. She became known as L'Inconnue de la Seine, or The Unknown Woman of the Seine. Years later, a toy maker discovered her death mask and used it as the face of the first CPR doll, which he named Rescue Annie. Frank meets Art Historian and Curator Katy Hessel to discuss the woman behind the mask.
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4 September 2019, 2:00 am
29 minutes 52 seconds

The Lioness - Huda Sha'arawi

Huda Sha’arawi was a pioneering Egyptian feminist leader and founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union. In 1923 she famously removed her full-face veil in front of a crowd at Cairo station, which sent a shockwave through the Arab world. Huda's actions became a landmark gesture for women’s rights activists in Egypt and she was often referred to as The Lioness. In this episode Frank speaks to Huda's granddaughter Sania Sharawi Lanfranchi, who has written a biography about her grandmother's life entitled 'Casting Off The Veil."
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28 August 2019, 2:00 am
37 minutes 17 seconds

Silent Key - Christa McAuliffe

Frank meets with record producer Catherine J Marks at Assault and Battery studios in North-West London where he recorded his album No Man's Land. The pair breakdown the recording process behind the song Silent Key and the story of the woman who inspired it; astronaut and teacher Christa McAuliffe, who was killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster.

You can buy and stream Frank's album No Man's Land here

This episode was produced by Hayley Clarke and the executive producer was Peggy Sutton. There was additional production from Paul Smith, Steve Ackerman, Josh Gibbs and Charlie Caplowe. Tales from No Man’s Land is produced by Frank Turner, Xtra Mile Recordings and Somethin’ Else.

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21 August 2019, 2:00 am
35 minutes 24 seconds

I Believed You, William Blake

Frank is joined by poet, playwright and translator Sasha Dugdale to discuss the woman behind the song I Believed You, William Blake. Catherine Blake was the wife of the great visionary, painter and poet, who played a crucial role in his life. As well as running the household and keeping him (relatively) sane, she took an active role in his art; assisting with painting, printing and engraving. During his lifetime William Blake enjoyed very little success. It was Catherine who, after his death, began the process of his public rehabilitation and rise to fame. It’s perhaps down to her that we know about him at all.

This episode features an extract from Sasha Dugdale's book Joy. Published by Carcanet Press, it received the 2016 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem.

You can buy and stream Frank's album No Man's Land here.

This episode was produced by Hayley Clarke and the executive producer was Peggy Sutton. There was additional production from Paul Smith, Steve Ackerman, Josh Gibbs and Charlie Caplowe. Tales from No Man’s Land is produced by Frank Turner, Xtra Mile Recordings and Somethin’ Else.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 August 2019, 2:00 am
32 minutes 44 seconds

The Hymn of Kassiani

Kassiani is one of only two women to have been written about from the Byzantine era, which is a somewhat forgotten about period in history. She is most famously known for quipping at the Emperor Theophilos at a bridal show before going on to become an abbess, poet and hymnographer, whose songs are still sung in Greek Orthodox Churches today. Despite being from a distant time, her character shines through in her work. Her quick-witted humour and somewhat rebellious one liners are what brought her to Frank's attention including the phrase "I hate silence, when it is time to speak". Frank recruits the help of self-professed ‘Byzantinist’ and Professor Liz James from the University of Sussex to tell the story behind the song The Hymn of Kassiani.

You can pre-order Frank's album No Man's Land here

This episode was produced by Hayley Clarke and the executive producer was Peggy Sutton. There was additional production from Paul Smith, Steve Ackerman, Josh Gibbs and Charlie Caplowe. Tales from No Man’s Land is produced by Frank Turner, Xtra Mile Recordings and Somethin’ Else.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 August 2019, 2:00 am
27 minutes 30 seconds

Jinny Bingham's Ghost

Frank heads to one of his favourite haunts in Camden Town to meet local historian Carol Clancy and find out more about former landlady Jinny Bingham, also known as the Mother Damnable. Described as a witch by many for her fiery temper and disregard for authority, locals claimed that on the day she died they saw the devil enter her house but never leave. Her coachhouse The Mother Redcap was originally on the site of the World’s End pub with the The Underworld venue underneath, which she is reputed to haunt to this day.

You can buy and stream Frank's album No Man's Land here.

This episode was produced by Hayley Clarke and the executive producer was Peggy Sutton. There was additional production from Paul Smith, Steve Ackerman, Josh Gibbs, Gulli Lawrence-Tickell and Charlie Caplowe. Tales from No Man’s Land is produced by Frank Turner, Xtra Mile Recordings and Somethin’ Else.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

31 July 2019, 2:00 am
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