Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

'Never as a fifteen year old boy, did I one day believe that I would be playing my 2925th show here in Norwich. But here we are'. And so folk-punk rock legend Frank Turner greeted his audience at Epic Studios on Wednesday night. And he is certainly no stranger to Norwich – he recalls having played here in the city since the 1990's, and goes on to name-check long-gone venues such as The Ferry Boat, The Marquee, and The Queen Charlotte.

Along with his band The Sleeping Souls, and playing the last night of this leg of the tour to promote new album, 'Undefeated', he treats his loyal and adoring audience to a truly epic set (no pun intended), one that ran for almost two hours, and including no less than 25 songs – eight from the new album, but also favourites dating all the way back to 'The Ballad of Me and My Friends' (from the 2006 EP 'Campfire Punkrock'). In welcoming us to Epic, though, Frank reminds us of the rules : 'Number One – Do not be a dickhead', and 'Number Two – If you know the words, you have to sing along'. And we follow the rules – there are huge choruses of voices joining in to classic tracks like 'Get Better' and 'The Next Storm' (from 2015's 'Positive Songs for Negative People'), 'If Ever I Stray' (from 'England Keep My Bones'), and to the anti-fascist anthem '1933' (from 'Be More Kind'). Less well known songs, like the moving 'Long Live The Queen' (a tribute to a friend who died of breast cancer), and 'Demons' (dedicated to Nick Alexander, the merch manager that died during the 2015 terrorist attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris), are also included. As is the moving 'Letters', a true story from the 'Undefeated' album about a penfriend made in the 1990's, and who recently contacted him again after hearing the song on the radio.

We are instructed to jump up and down to 'Polaroid Picture' – those who consider themselves too old or too cool to comply are warned about the moral reckoning that they face if they do not join in. We are instructed to sing. And when our response to the call to sing the simple one-word chorus to 'Do One' is teasingly rated as being just 40%, we are goaded for being quieter than Cardiff and Ipswich, as well as Sheringham, Cromer and Diss. However, the invitation to go crazy for the frenetic folk-punk dance number 'Never Mind The Back Problems' is gleefully accepted, as is participation in the choreographed crowd circle during 'Photosynthesis'.

We have enjoyed an incredible twenty-one songs already, but Turner, with his voice almost gone, still finds the strength and commitment to belt out a four-song encore, beginning with the title track of the new album, continuing with 'Recovery' (from 2013's 'Tape Deck Heart'), and concluding with the call and response of 'I Still Believe', and a crowd-surfing finale with 'Four Simple Words'.