Frank Turner has released the latest track lifted from his forthcoming eighth album, ‘No Man’s Land’ due out August 16th on Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor Records, produced by Catherine Marks and featuring an all-female cast of musicians. To be honest, we’ve avoided Frank in the past due to that interview but ‘The Death of Dora Hand’ is a belting tune – you can hear it below, along with another track from the new record.
‘No Man’s Land’ – dedicated to the fascinating stories of women whose incredible lives have all too often been overlooked by dint of their gender – is accompanied by a new 13 part podcast series, ‘Tales From No Man’s Land’, created in collaboration between Frank and production company Somethin’ Else. Digging deeper into the lives of the thirteen women featured on the new album in conversation with special guests, the latest episode of the podcast focuses on 1800s Dodge City vaudeville star and philanthropist Dora Hand, the titular subject of this latest track.
The women featured on the album come from across wide geographical and historical lines. They include Byzantine princess Kassiani (The Hymn of Kassiani), Egyptian feminist activist Huda Sha’arawi (The Lioness), and Resusci Anne (Rescue Annie) an apocryphal drowned virgin whose face was used as the model for the medical CPR mannequin across the world. There’s the serial killer from the Deep South who plucked her victims from lonely hearts pages (Nannie Doss), the jazz-obsessed heiress who fought for the Free French (Nica Rothschild) and a rowdy coach house landlady from 17th century Camden Town accused of witchcraft (Jinny Bingham).
“It’s bringing together my two main interests in life, which have always been separate from each other – history and songwriting,” explains Turner, who can be found seeking out long-forgotten historical sites on self-guided psychogeographical strolls when he’s not packing out arenas or headlining festivals.
The ‘Tales From No Man’s Land’ podcast is available from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast and all other podcast platforms.
NO MAN’S LAND tracklisting:
Jinny Bingham’s Ghost
Sister Rosetta
I Believed You, William Blake
Nica
A Perfect Wife
Silent Key
Eye of the Day
The Death of Dora Hand
The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead
The Lioness
The Hymn of Kassiani
Rescue Annie
Rosemary Jane
