Issued on: 01/02/2022 – 02:36Modified: 01/02/2022 – 02:34
Paris (AFP) – British singer-songwriter Frank Turner has had a long and successful career as a punk-folk star.
Despite selling more than a million albums and grabbing headline slots in many countries, including London’s Wembley Stadium, Turner, 40, has been open about his mental health struggles and struggles with drug addiction. drinks and drugs.
He tackled the issue head-on with the recent single “Haven’t Been Doing So Well” and spoke to AFP about the psychological challenges musicians face, particularly in the age of social media.
Q: What advice would you give to a young musician starting out in the world of mental health?
Turner: I guess I’d say it’s something to keep in mind. People who make music, or who are creative more generally, tend to have more mental health issues on average (although I’m not sure which way the causality runs here), so it’s good to be prepared.
Being in the industry, especially if you’re lucky enough to be successful, attracts a lot of attention, pressure, judgment, and criticism, and it’s a good idea to prepare for that (as much as you can, there’s nothing like it). but nevertheless!)
And finally, avoid social media as much as you can. Sure, it’s a tool you’ll need to use, but it’s better as a streaming medium than a conversation. The whole thing seems to me designed to mess up your sanity. So, at a minimum, you need to set clear boundaries around yourself.
Q: Could you give us an example of a moment that served as a wake-up call for you?
Turner: My own mental health issues were, for a long time, wrapped up in addiction and substance abuse. I had a lot of low moments there that should have been wake-up calls: showing up on tours or shows not having been in bed for days, out of my mind, and then playing poorly. The worst sin!
I also had a moment around the release of my 2019 album “No Man’s Land” where the social media buildup became so intense that I seriously debated giving up: the benefits weren’t worth the costs at all. But then you stop looking at it all the time and realize it’s not really real. That was a great moment of realization for me.
Q: What support would you like to see from industry or governments?
Turner: I think, broadly speaking, this is a problem that is getting attention in industry, government and society in general. Certainly things have changed for the better immensely since I started in the industry.
But of course that doesn’t mean the problem is solved! In the UK there are some mental health groups like Help Musicians who do a great job, although they are currently underfunded. The powers that be in the industry are beginning to realize that if your artists are sick and incapacitated, no one wins. But there is more to go, of course.
© 2022 AFP
