The Secret 7” initiative first launched in 2012, with the goal of amalgamating the interests of vinyl collectors and art enthusiasts by merging both artforms. Each year, seven different artists will release a different track which will each feature on 100 different 7” vinyl pressings. The 700 vinyls are all unique, as each sleeve is designed by a different creative, whether that be a renowned artist or a newcomer. Each version will only be available to purchase via auction, where the artist’s identity will be revealed after each record is sold.

Last year tracks from ‘War Child Present Secret 7”’ featured many legendary musicians: from Celeste’s ‘Stop This Flame’ to Paul McCartney’s ‘Pipes of Peace’ it was an unforgettable year for the initiative, as Aurora, Hozier, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Chemical Brothers and The Specials all joined forces to raise money for the charity.

War Child presents #Secret7 is back!

This year you can design artwork for unique vinyl releases from @thecure, @frankturner, @GregoryPorter, @JessieWare, @keaneofficial, @scissorsisters and @SophieEB

Listen to the 2025 tracks and submit your design: https://t.co/OybXHXQrU5 pic.twitter.com/tO5NEu5v2H

— Secret 7” (@Secret7s) January 13, 2025

This year joining The Cure and Sophie Ellis-Bextor are Frank Turner, Gregory Porter, Jessie Ware, Keane and Scissor Sisters.

The forthcoming Secret 7” will include:

The Cure – ‘Warsong: Troxy Live 2024’

Frank Turner – ‘Be More Kind’

Gregory Porter – ‘Merchant of Paradise’

Jessie Ware – ‘Beautiful People’

Keane – ‘Black Rain’

Scissor Sisters – ‘Return to Oz’

Sophie Ellis-Bextor – ‘Devotion’ (Brand new exclusive track for War Child’s Secret 7”)

The unveiling of this year’s musical contributions for Secret 7” marks the opening of public submissions for each track’s artwork. All creatives are invited to submit their digital submissions between January 13 and February 28, here. Last year saw submissions from Stanley Donwood (renowned for creating cover art for Radiohead’s LPs), fashion designer Paul Smith, Gorillaz visual creative Jamie Hewlett and more.

Charlotte Nimmo, the Fundraising Engagement Director at War Child UK revealed motivations from this year’s Secret 7”: “This year has been horrendous for children caught up in conflict, but the money raised here will help us provide immediate emergency aid, and specialist long term support where it’s needed most”.

Continuing: “We pride ourselves on working with the best in music and creative arts to create something brilliant that ultimately changes the lives of some of the most vulnerable children around the world, and we can’t wait for everyone to see and hear, what has been created this year for Secret 7”. We are so grateful to the artists, both musical and visual, for supporting our work, and everyone that donates to help us do what we do”.

Secret 7″ brings together 7 iconic tracks from 7 of the world’s top musicians, each pressed just 100 times onto 7” vinyl.

Creatives everywhere are invited to reinterpret these tracks, producing 700 one-of-a-kind sleeve designs.

Find out more: https://t.co/JmnBcyvBHn pic.twitter.com/UXEh9gSkAQ

— Secret 7” (@Secret7s) January 13, 2025

This year’s Secret 7” edition reveals the music industry and War Child’s ongoing collaboration to raise funds for children in war stricken locations. Just recently Kate Bush released the anti-war animation ‘Little Shrew’ (which features her track ‘Snowflake’) to raise money for the charity, while The Lumineers are set to play an intimate gig at London’s Hoxton Hall on January 17 in partnership with War Child. The presence of music and art has been fundamental for War Child to bring their ethos and charitable initiatives into mainstream consciousness.

The reunion comes after a meeting in March 2024, during which the band members realised they could no longer recall the reasons for their split. “We’re pretty excited, we hope you are too,” Turner wrote, signalling the band’s enthusiasm for the upcoming shows. While no specific dates or venues have yet been revealed, the announcement has already sparked considerable interest, with fans taking to social media to express their excitement.

Million Dead formed in 2000, spearheaded by Cameron Dean and Julia Ruzicka, and were soon joined by Frank Turner and Ben Dawson. The group became known for their energetic live performances and distinctive blend of post-hardcore and punk rock influences. In 2003, they released their debut album, A Song to Ruin, which received favourable reviews from critics and established them as a prominent act in the UK’s alternative music scene.

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Their second and final album, Harmony No Harmony, followed in 2005, marking the band’s evolution towards more complex arrangements and showcasing a wider range of influences. Despite the band’s relatively short lifespan, these two records have been considered seminal works within the post-hardcore genre, earning Million Dead a loyal following.

The band’s initial run came to an abrupt end in September 2005, following a final performance in Southampton. The members cited “irreconcilable differences” as the cause for their split, and in a candid statement at the time, the band remarked that “it would be impossible to continue.” They left with a cryptic yet memorable declaration that they would “rather leave a good-looking corpse.”

Frank Turner’s departure from the group marked the beginning of his successful solo career, with his debut album Sleep Is for the Week arriving in 2007. Meanwhile, other band members also remained active in the music scene. Tom Fowler and Julia Ruzicka formed a series of projects, including Quiet Kill and The Idle Hearts, continuing their exploration of experimental and alternative music.

In the decade following the band’s split, Turner would go on to release nine additional albums, earning widespread acclaim and securing a place as one of the UK’s leading singer-songwriters. His most recent album, Undefeated (2023), reached Number Three on the UK charts. The singer-songwriter himself attributes some of this solo success to his origins in Million Dead, telling Punk Ska Press in 2011 that he “wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I hadn’t done Million Dead before,” and that he is “proud of the music”.

Despite the impromptu nature of the set, Turner played to a capacity crowd on the V&V stage, a venue designed to showcase emerging UK talent. Rising Chester DIY indie three-piece Peaness topped the bill on the stage, while Turner’s set was teased as a ‘mystery headliner’.

Turner has made several surprise appearances at Truck Festival in previous years, leading one commentor to remark on social media site X that “Truck Festival wouldn’t be Truck Festival without Frank Turner turning up at some point during the weekend – 10/10 set and 10/10 weekend.”

Turner has been touring in support of his tenth studio album Undefeated, which was released in May, which Kerrang described as “a jovial blast of defiance” and which The Indy Review praised as promising unforgettable live performances.

“Any Frank Turner fan is aware of his dedication to the live show. He counts every show he’s ever performed (he’s up in the high two thousands now) and his band is simply lights out,” writes Jared Eichmann of The Indy Review about Undefeated.

“My entire listen was met with thoughts like ‘this will be a fantastic live performance.’ And with Frank Turner that is almost just as important as the recording itself,” Eichmann adds.

Turner described his recent run of UK shows in mostly smaller venues as an “underplay” and indicated that a “proper UK tour” is coming next year. Before that, however, Turner hopes to reach what he admits is a long-awaited milestone of his 3,000^th solo live show. Support acts are expected to include Britpunk duo the Meffs and Manchester indie outfit Lottery Winners.

“With this album, the plan is to tour the living crap out of it, and that will involve going to territories I’ve not been to before” Turner said in an interview last week. “Hopefully [the 3,000^th show] will be in Japan next year.”

Elsewhere at Truck Festival, Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg made waves with their first UK headline set, which included a cover of Charli XCX’s ‘360’. Around 25,000 music fans descended upon Hill Farm in Oxfordshire for the festival, which saw post-punk group IDLES close the first night. Also among the big names leading the line-up were Jamie T, The Kooks, and The Streets.

“We can’t believe it’s been a year already, but being back in the fields at Hill Farm is an amazing feeling,” Truck Festival Organisers said.

“This year’s Truck feels like a special one, whether it’s one of the most heavily requested headliners from fans in Jamie T finally topping the bill, or a historic first UK festival headline set from Wet Leg alongside some unmissable favourites across the weekend. We’ve worked year-round to make Truck 2024 one for the ages.”

He has beaten the World Record for most shows, played in multiple cities, in 24 hours. The U.K. musician performed 15 shows in 24 hours over the weekend, breaking Hunter Hayes’ record of 10.

Frank Turner took to the road last weekend in an audacious attempt to break the World Record (which stood at ten) for most shows, played in multiple cities, in 24 hours. And the musician, who is originally from Hampshire, succeeded in his attempt playing 15 different shows between the hours of 12.30 p.m. on the 4th and 5th of May 2024. Although his attempt has not yet been verified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Turner’s attempt was in honour of the U.K. Music Venue Trust (a U.K. charity that supports grassroots venues), and he played 15 shows of 20 minutes (or more) in support of independent music venues. Each show was ticketed by an independent record store and held in an independent venue. He beat the previous world record held by Hunter Hayes, who performed 10 concerts in different cities in 24 hours back in 2014. Prior to Hayes, Flaming Lips were the record-holders with eight shows in 2012.

“I’m extremely proud — and yet more exhausted — after completing the challenge to get the world record,” he said in a statement. “The main drive for me was to highlight the work of independent venues and record shops and the Music Venue Trust, as well as bringing over 3000 people together in 24 hours for a good time. I did 24 shows in 24 hours in London in 2009, but this was arguably a bigger challenge, and a more official one. Time for some sleep!”

On Saturday, he shared a “before” photo on Instagram, where he thanked those joining him to make the endeavour a reality, but also jokingly admitted “This is a terrible idea” before adding the rallying message of “Let’s do this.”

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  His “after” shot is as celebratory as it should be, taken from the stage with cheering fans behind him. “Proud. Tired. Grateful. Long live independent music,” he wrote in the caption.

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Music Venue Trust CEO and Founder Mark Davyd said in a statement that the organization will submit “all the details of these shows, the evidence required to verify each event, over to Guinness World Records and we believe they will recognise that Frank is the new world record holder.”

Turner is set to tour in support of his recently released Undefeated. The tour kicks off on May 23 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at XL Live.

Catch Frank on the road here.

But let’s make one thing clear. Despite being able to sell out thousand-capacity venues, he still very much cares about the small venues, the independent venues, and the record stores. Music to that man is everything.

As part of that, he is bidding (in an audacious attempt) to set a new world record by playing as many different gigs in different cities in 24 hours. My body and my vocal chords are getting tired just thinking about it.

“It’s going to be tough, but hopefully fun too…” Next month Frank Turner is set to embark on the first-ever Music Venue Trust world record attempt to play 15 shows in multiple different cities within just 24 hours.

Brace yourself friends, this is ludicrous.

My tenth album, “Undefeated”, is out May 3rd. To celebrate this, I’ve decided to attempt a World Record – to play the most number of shows in different cities in a 24 hour period. https://t.co/RGoiLwGEX2 pic.twitter.com/4lt81uWqP8

— Frank Turner (@frankturner) April 16, 2024

In celebration of his tenth studio album ‘Undefeated’, Frank Turner has announced (in a bid to live up to that name) that he is going to attempt to play 15 shows in different cities across the UK in just 24 hours. The shows will take place across the 4th and 5th of May with the help of Music Venue Trust and the FREENOW taxi app, which will provide travel for the 500-mile trip.

“With nearly 3,000 shows under my belt, I’ve never been one to do things by halves or shirk a challenge – I once played all 50 American states in 50 days, for goodness sake,” Frank explains. “For the release of my 10th studio album, Undefeated, I will be making an attempt at a world record: the most number of shows in different cities in 24 hours.

“It’s not just self-promotion either,” he adds. “We’re working with 13 independent record shops and 15 independent grassroots music venues for the shows, highlighting two bits of the infrastructure of the underground that I care about most. It’s going to be tough, but hopefully fun too. Come down for a show!”

“We are delighted to support Frank Turner’s attempt to set the official Music Venue Trust world record for the most gigs played in 24 hours,” enthuses MVT CEO Mark Davyd. “With the help of FREENOW black cabs, Frank will be criss-crossing the nation hitting some of the country’s finest grassroots music venues for an action-packed day which promises to set the global standard for dedication to live music.”

The full schedule is as follows:

May 4

12:30pm Liverpool, Jacaranda – instore
2:30pm Huddersfield, Parish – outstore for Vinyl Tap
4pm Leeds, Boom – outstore for Crash
6pm Sheffield, The Foundry – outstore for Bear Tree
7:30pm Chesterfield, Gasoline – outstore for Tailbird
9pm Nottingham, Saltbox – outstore for Rough Trade
10:30pm Birmingham, RMBL – outstore for Eclipse Records

May 5

12am Leamington Spa, Temperance – outstore for Head
2am Leighton Buzzard, Crooked Crow Bar – outstore for Black Circle Records
4am London, Underworld – outstore for Rough Trade
6am Kingston, Banquet Records
7:30am Aldershot, West End Centre – outstore for 101 Collectors
9am Portsmouth, Staggeringly Good Brewery – outstore for Pie & Vinyl
10:30am Winchester – The Railway – outstore for Pie & Vinyl
12pm Southampton, The Brook – outstore for Vinilio

Tickets are available through each independent venues’ website.

His latest album ‘Undefeated’ debuts on the 3rd of May, and it’s fair to say that it is generating a lot of excitement among fans of Frank. So far, Frank has released three songs from the new album and the latest song, ‘Letters’, comes complete with a new music video.

The track is taken from Frank’s upcoming 10th album, Undefeated, which is due out on May 3 via Xtra Mile.

The latest single also came with an announcement of a European tour, and he told UK fans to ‘stay tuned’ via his social media. So here’s hoping for a UK tour announcement soon, too.

“Letters is a song that I’ve been working on for a long time,” he reveals. “In some ways, I’ve been writing it since a genuine pen-friendship of mine dried up when I was a kid, when the mixtapes stopped coming through the post.

“It’s a song about communication and its breakdown, about nostalgia for teenage romance, and about how reassessing those things as an adult can be the start of a healing process.”

Watch the video here:

Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981) is an English punk and folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of the post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band’s split in 2005. In the studio and during live performances, Turner is accompanied by his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, which consists of Ben Lloyd (guitar, mandolin), Tarrant Anderson (bass), Matt Nasir (piano, mandolin) and Callum Green (drums).

To date, Turner has released nine solo albums, four compilation albums of rarities, one retrospective “best of” album, one split album, and five EPs. Turner’s ninth and most recent studio album, FTHC, was released on 11 February 2022 and reached number 1 in the UK albums chart in the week following its release.

You can catch Frank in Europe here.

He is also scheduled to play at 2000Trees this summer.

Music Venue Trust released a statement blaming the state of affairs on the ownership of music venues, noting that it’s not typically in the hands of people who actually seem to care about music.

“Everything we deal with eventually comes back to the same core problem. That problem is ownership …. All the other problems and challenges that grassroots music venues face eventually come back to this core point: No grassroots music venue in the UK is sustainable or resilient, no venue can have 100% confidence in its future, no venue can continue to support musicians and bring music to our communities for decades to come, unless the music venues are owned by people who want them to be music venues.”

MVT Statement on the Closure and Permanent Loss of @Nambucca_Live #THREAD
The possible loss of the iconic Nambucca grassroots music venue, which faces permanent closure on 14 May, is a terrible blow to Giles and the incredible team there.. pic.twitter.com/sErz2nduZA

— Music Venue Trust (@musicvenuetrust) April 26, 2022

Nambucca is due to close on May 14^th, and has already received a good bit of support on social media, with Frank Turner tweeting that the news “hurts my heart”.

This hurts my heart. https://t.co/sP2WzFDRm0 — Frank Turner (@frankturner) April 26, 2022

The venue’s own statement notes that they’d “tried everything we can to keep Nambucca going, but the reality of the past few years have made it untenable, what with mounting bills coming from every direction.” However, they still plan to “go out with a bang!” through the remaining weeks they have left, asking people to keep an eye on their socials for any future events.

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Nambucca isn’t the only music venue closing though. You can read here about The Leadmill in Sheffield, whose closing announcements brought waves of support in the industry, with the likes of Arctic Monkeys coming to their aid on social media.

Some have tried to address the problem of ownership that Music Venue Trust brought up. Having been boarded up four years ago, there have been attempts to bring back The Ravensbourne Arms pub in London as a live music venue owned by the community. The efforts have been supported by big names, including Jools Holland and Fontaines D.C., and it hopes to build a “safe, inclusive, all-day space that puts the local community – the entire community, in all its glorious forms – at the heart of everything they do.”

Meanwhile, if you fancy visiting Nambucca for the last time before it’s gone, you can follow them on social media here to see what surprises they have in store just before the end.

Hi folks, delighted to FINALLY announce the rescheduled UK dates for The Never Ending Tour of Everywhere. With pre-sale tickets going live on 12th April at 12pm you can enter your details on the pre-sale form to gain access.https://t.co/EC4DJgTSiD pic.twitter.com/Hz9UYfPZj6

— Frank Turner (@frankturner) April 8, 2022

The forthcoming shows will be in support of Turner’s newest album FTHC, his ninth full-length album. It was received warmly by fans and critics, with Spectrum Culture saying of the album: “As Turner grows wiser, “hardcore” has become less a sonic palette and more a philosophy. Even if he was talking the talk years ago, a decade of learning and listening forced him to walk the walk…Turner couldn’t have come out with this album 10 years ago. Like a hero’s journey, Turner has returned to what he knows and loves with a newfound appreciation for the environment that shaped him.”

Turner began his career as the vocalist of London post-hardcore band Million Dead and kicked off his solo career in 2005 after the group split. His debut solo release was an E.P. entitled Campfire Punkrock, and released his first full-length effort, Sleep is for the Week, in 2007. Wasting little time and proving himself to be prolific, Turner began to record his second album Love, Ire and Song in late 2007, and then went on to release it in March of 2008.

Turner has released seven full-length albums since then; 2009’s Poetry of the Deed, 2011’s England Keep My Bones, 2013’s Tape Deck Heart, 2015’s Positive Songs for Negative People, 2018’s Be More Kind and 2019’s No Man’s Land, prior to his aforementioned ninth album FTHC.

Turner’s rescheduled shows will take place between September 21^st and October 14^th. The dates can be viewed down below. More information regarding Turner’s upcoming dates for April and May can be found here.

21/09/2022- Hexagon- Reading
23/09 -O2 Academy Sheffield- Sheffield
24/09 –  O2 Academy Oxford- Oxford
25/09 – O2 Academy Brixton- London
27/09 – Rock City- Nottingham
28/09 – O2 Institute- Birmingham
30/09 – Junction- Cambridge
01/10 – UEA- Norwich
02/10 –O2 Academy Leeds- Leeds
04/10 – Galvanizers- Glasgow
05/10 – Liquid Room- Edinburgh
07/10 –HMV Empire- Coventry
08/10 –O2 Academy Liverpool- Liverpool
09/10 –Lemon Tree- Aberdenn
11/10 –Academy- Manchester
12/10 – Tramshed- Cardiff
13/10 – O2 Academy Bristol- Bristol
14/10 – O2 Guildhall- Southampton

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Due to the album’s success within the physical market, FTHC has been named this week’s top seller within UK’s Independent record shops, the album also dominated within the Official Record Store chart, Official Vinyl Albums chart. Turner’s most recent release also topped the Official Americana Album Charts, a list consisting of the top-selling Americana albums which are partnered with the Americana Music Association UK.

Turner has spoken with OfficialCharts.com concerning his win, “Getting a Number 1 album is crazy, it’s not a thing I ever thought would happen to me and it’s happened on my ninth album. That feels particularly crazy and awesome, and I’m proud of it. It feels quite fitting that, of all the records I’ve put out, this is the one that got the Number 1 trophy. I’m very proud of the record; it’s a more intense, more personal record.

The singer continued to discuss his new album, “At this point in my career I have to dig deep to prove to myself and everybody else that I’ve still got a reason to be making records and making art, and this Number 1 award is a pretty good justification of that. I’m very painfully aware that I did not do this on my own, so it’s not just my band, label and manager; it’s everybody who picked up a copy. I’m incredibly grateful, thank you very much.”

Before this week, Turner saw chart success with his previous eight studio albums charting within the UK top 75. The singer’s fifth studio album, Tape Deck Heart, was released in 2013 and reached number two within the UK album charts. Turner’s next studio album, Positive Songs For Negative People was released in 2015 and also charted at number two. The 40-year-old artist’s recent release followed from his 2019 album No Man’s Land which also saw chart success and placed at number 3 within the UK album charts.

Elsewhere with this week’s chart, two platinum certified albums have placed within the top five. Sheeran’s recent release, Equals, has held strong at number two and Adele’s 30 remains a top seller at number four. Indie rockers Alt-J have charted at number three with their fourth studio album The Dream, released on 11th February 2022 via Infectious Music and Canvasback Music/Atlantic Records. Closing the top five is Slash and Myles Kennedy’s new collaboration album 4, the release marks the fourth album released by the iconic guitarist and Kennedy.

This week’s chart includes many newly released albums, charting at number six is James Morrison’s Greatest Hits which was released on 11th February 2022. The album debuted within the top 5, with a tracklist full of reworked recordings of the singer’s most beloved songs. The excitement surrounding this year’s Super Bowl Halftime show is apparent within this week’s chart; Eminem’s Curtain Call: The Hits has re-entered the top ten and placed at number eight. The rapper’s first greatest hits album was released in 2005 and was last seen within the UK top ten in 2006, released via Interscope the album spent five weeks at number one.

I still miss my friend Scott every day. His passing left such a huge hole in so many lives. I wrote this song in his honour and memory, it was hard to write and record, but I think it does the man some small justice.
‘A Wave Across A Bay’ is out now:https://t.co/DHH0uLcIkE pic.twitter.com/5EpzOZws98

— Frank Turner (@frankturner) January 12, 2022

Hutchison and Turner withheld a close friendship throughout their respective careers. Hutchison is best known as the founding member and songwriter of the Indie band Frightened Rabbit. The Scottish born multi-talented artist was also a member of the groups The Fruit Tree Foundation and Mastersystem, the indie supergroup including Hutchison’s brother and members from British group Editors and Minor Victories.

Fans were left in shock when Hutchison was reported missing on 9th May 2018. On 11th May 2018, the mental health charity Tiny Changes reported the tragic news that Hutchison had taken his life. Turner was amongst the many musicians and artists who paid tribute to Hutchison, included within the long list of albums dedicated to his memory was Death Cab For Cutie’s 2018 album Thank You For Today.

Turner’s touching tribute to his late friend is taken from his upcoming album FTHC, set to be released on 11th February 2022. The upcoming album will be the folk artist’s ninth solo album, the release marks the second album with American producer Rich Costey. The pair previously worked together on Turner’s fifth solo studio album Tape Deck Heart, the album was released in 2013 and is widely regarded as a breakup album. The forthcoming album has already sired five singles, “A Wave Across The Bay” is the album’s fifth single.

Alongside the new release, Turner has also shared a video of a live performance of “A Wave Across A Bay” at Camden’s The Fiddler’s Elbow. The single was initially performed in 2020 during a live-streamed concert, within the set Turner performed a setlist of Frightened Rabbit covers. The event was in aid of Tiny Changes, the charity set up by Hutchison’s family to honour his memory and help those in need.

The charity aims to ensure that every child has “the opportunity to lead happy and fulfilled lives as adults.” In 2020 the charity celebrated its first anniversary and recently confirmed the launch of a new scheme, the new charity initiative intends to raise over £10,000. The foundation’s scheme was announced on Mental Health Day 2021 with a projection of various statements onto Scottish landmarks. The new fund aims to continue the charity’s mission, support the mental health of young people and provide investments for new projects.

The release is also available on a 7” Vinyl edition, the format includes a cover of the Frightened Rabbit track “The Modern Leper” as a B-side. All proceeds from the sale of the vinyl edition will be donated to Tiny Changes, to learn how to further support the charity click here.

Click here to download and purchase “A Wave Across A Bay”.