I have found Frank's latest offering to be a bit dark. Alyssa and her boyfriend went to see him when he came to Perth earlier this year and loved it. Having been to the same venue to see The Rubens a couple of months later with Alyssa, I suspect that I may not have enjoyed it. Lots of drunk people in their late teens to mid twenties staggering about yelling loudly - the girls in killer heels and short skirts and the seedy men trying to buy us drinks and offer us 'lollies'. I must be getting old :-(

For all of his success, Frank seems to be quite discontent. The songs on Tape Deck Heart are all about his inability to maintain relationships, getting drunk and having more tattoos. I liked him better when he was being patriotic and incorporating history, home and heart into his lyrics and music, but that's just me...

As to the tattoo craze (forgive me Jeff - you are an artist), I couldn't agree more Peter. So many of Alyssa's friends (19 year olds) are covered in them. They are not discreet little ones either - whole sleeves, forearms, neck, chest - anywhere and everywhere. I can't imagine that they will feel the same in the decades to come as they did when they got them.

Frank Turner fans seem to be following his example in droves and he even has a facebook page where fans upload photos of their latest FT creations - excerpts from his lyrics mainly. FTHC (Hard Core) seems to be popular and looks like a bikie motto.

I'm probably hopelessly old-fashioned but I hope my girls don't get tattoos. Luckily Alyssa's boyfriend is very anti so I hope she stays with him!