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Introducing George Frakes- New folk talent to be reckoned with
Thursday 28th March 2013 | Megan
I arrive outside Mornington Crescent tube station where I am meeting George Frakes before his gig at The Purple Turtle. It doesn’t take me long to spot him; he certainly stands out in a crowd, even in Camden. From his shoulder-length bright blonde hair, hair-sprayed to perfection, to his tailor-made Chelsea boots, George looks like he has just stepped out of the sixties. ‘The other night, someone at my gig told me that they were surprised when I got on stage and played because they’d taken one look at me and expected me to be shit,’ he tells me later. ‘I think they meant it as a compliment.’
We enter the venue; it’s small and dimly lit with a few shabby chairs in front of a stage decked out with fairy lights. George is greeted by his friend Alfie, of Holloways fame, who has organised the night. Alfie is friendly and excitable, leaping across the room and shaking hands with me enthusiastically, and George appears rather subdued in comparison, looking around him awkwardly as they discuss set times.
Any awkwardness disappears the moment he gets up on stage however, and he delivers his first mournful ballad with an intensity that soon has his small audience transfixed. By this point, George has impressively downed several bottles of beer, giving his husky voice a drunken slur that seems particularly appropriate during a melancholy number in which he sings of ‘wine stained teeth and crooked eyes / twisted whiskey lullabies’. What sets George apart from the other North London folksters is surely his intricate guitar picking- it seems almost effortless as he tumbles down a blues riff.
He looks bashful as Alfie jumps up to compliment him afterwards. George is going to have to get used to the praise though, as this April he will be supporting Frank Turner on his UK tour dates and bringing his music to a much larger audience. No one here tonight can deny George’s incredible talent, and soon, a lot more people are going to be in on the secret.
George will be supporting Frank Turner 17th-25th April. Until then, catch him every Monday at the Wheelbarrow in Camden.
@Wolf_Tapes
