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‘Be prepared’: Singer Frank Turner on music’s mental toll
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Brave face: Frank Turner performs on the stage of A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise music festival, on the first day of the 27th edition of the event in Biddinghuizen, the Netherlands, on Aug. 16, 2019. (AFP/ANP/Ferdy Damman)
British singer-songwriter Frank Turner has had a long and hugely successful career as a punk-folk star.
Despite selling more than a million albums and headline slots in many countries including London's Wembley Stadium, 40-year-old Turner has been open about his mental health struggles and problems with drink and drug addiction.
He tackled the subject head-on with recent single "Haven't Been Doing So Well", and spoke to AFP about the psychological challenges facing musicians, particularly in the era of social media.
Q: What advice would you give a young musician starting out in the business regarding mental health?
Turner: I guess I would say it's something to be mindful of. People who make music, or who are creative more broadly, tend to have more issues with mental health on average (though I'm not sure which way the causality runs here), so it's good to be prepared.
Being in the industry, especially if you are lucky enough to be successful, brings a lot of attention, pressure, judgement and criticism, and it's a good idea to prepare yourself for that (as much as you can – there's nothing quite like it though!)
And finally, avoid social media as much as you can. Of course, it's a tool you'll need to use, but it's better as a broadcast medium, rather than a conversation. The whole thing seems designed to mess up your mental health to me. So, at the very least you should set clear boundaries around it.
