Frank Turner shines light on homelessness in Manchester Street Noise gig

Singer-songwriter Frank Turner drew the curtains on the annual International Network of Street Papers (INSP) Summit with a landmark acoustic concert.

Turner put on a spectacular show at the 02 Ritz in Manchester for the special Street Noise gig on Thursday night to close the three-day-long event which was held at the city’s Bridgewater Hall.

Photo: Big Issue North / INSP.ngo

The solo show saw the singer belt out hits like I Still Believe and If I Ever Stray with the sold-out crowd accompanying him in full voice. He was ably supported by Manc indie rockers Our Fold and glitter-strewn, synth-infused guitar act Felix Hagan and the Family while Manchester music legend Clint Boon acted as a compere and also gave the crowd a taste of the Madchester seen on the decks.

As a special way to mark the gig, Hagan’s seven-piece act teamed up with Turner for a high-energy encore which saw the group try their hand at Green Day’s Basketcase and Queen’s sing-a-long classic Don’t Stop Me Now. And the unique show was a big with hit fans, who were even joined by Turner for a sensational stage-dive as the night came to a close.

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A post shared by Frank Turner (@frankturner)

The gig was given plenty of acclaim on social media as Turner posed with the sell-out crowd. The performer even hinted that the link-up might not be a one-off after all and more shows could follow.

Great night last night @O2RitzManc w @frankturner @FelixHfamily & @OURFOLD for @bigissuenorth & #homelessness. Well done to all involved xxx

— Clint Boon (@therealboon) August 25, 2017

It marked the end of a week in which delegates from 54 street papers and 28 different countries descended on Manchester for the INSP summit.

Street papers: helping the homeless all across the world.

🇬🇷 / 🇲🇽 / 🇦🇹 / 🇩🇪#INSP2017 pic.twitter.com/SoBfR0T4J9

— Big Issue (@BigIssue) August 22, 2017

The summit also saw the opportunity for ideas to be shared on how to tackle homelessness and improve the reach of street papers across the globe and featured keynote speeches from experts in various fields, including Real Junk Food Project leader Adam Smith and Neil McInroy, CEO of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies.

Next year, the annual conference will be heading to Basel in Switzerland but INSP chair Fay Selvan closed out the event by giving guests a taste of Manchester, quoting Oasis’ nineties classic Don’t Look Back in Anger. 

She said: : “So I’ll start a revolution from my bed. Cause you said the brains I had went to my head. Step outside, summertime’s in bloom. Stand up beside the fireplace. Take that look from off your face. You ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out. Hopefully, we can start a revolution from our beds.”