FROM CEREMONY TO CELEBRATION: FRANK TURNER AND FANS COMPLETE THE BARFLY HOMECOMING

LIVE REVIEW | FRANK TURNER w/ The Velvet Hands | BARFLY, CAMDEN | 22nd June 2026 by James O’Sullivan

If Frank Turner’s first set at the newly-restored Barfly felt like a celebration of the venue’s history, the second felt like the party after everyone had loosened up.

With the plaques unveiled, the speeches done and the significance of the occasion already established, attention shifted back to what venues like the Barfly were built for in the first place: discovering bands and getting far too sweaty in a room that’s probably a little too small.

The responsibility of the former fell to support band The Velvet Hands. Familiar faces to some Turner fans after supporting him during his also-intimate gig at Exeter’s The Cavern during Independent Venue Week in 2020, the quartet delivered exactly the kind of chaotic, guitar-driven indie rock that helped make the barfly what it was, and hopefully will be again.

‘The Leaving’, ‘40 Up 40 Down’, ‘I’ll Be Free’ and ‘Joyride’ flew past in a blur of riffs and hooks, while the furious, fleeting, and unreleased ‘Lack’ — at least according to the setlist — showcased the band’s punkier edge. A cover of April March’s own cover of ‘Chick Habit’ slotted seamlessly amongst originals before frontman Toby Mitchell grinned and simply announced “punk rock music” ahead of the thunderous ‘Sick Of Living’. Barely a verse later he was laughing. “We started that a little fast… but we can go faster.” Naturally, they did. By the time singalong closer ‘This Party’s Over’ arrived, The Velvet Hands had delivered the sort of rocky, indie, undiscovered, unpolished and imperfectly glorious set the barfly so loves. 

Then Frank Turner arrived… again.

“Hello Camden… it feels like I just did this.”

The crowd was noticeably different from the earlier performance. Fewer industry faces and invited guests, more diehard fans who’d fought tooth and nail (and various ticketing services!) for the scant few tickets on offer. It was louder, rowdier and considerably more relaxed, with every lyric of ‘I Still Believe’, ‘Never Mind The Back Problems’ and ‘Get Better’ sung straight back at him.

“It’s called Barfly again, and everything is right once more,” Turner joked. “Now we just need Snickers to be Marathon and Download to be Donington, and then all’s okay with the world… for middle-aged white men, anyway.”

The set quickly became a celebration not just of the venue, but of Turner’s relationship with it. Stories flowed throughout the evening. Mostly the ones mentioned in the other article — Million Dead, first sold out show, ‘The Ballad Of Me And My Friends’ that appeared on Sleep Is For The Week — but, to true fans, it felt all the sweeter. 

It also served as a way to think back to older songs. One fan celebrating her 50th Frank Turner show earned herself a song choice, ‘Imperfect Tense’ getting a surprisingly perfect recollection from the modern troubadour given the song’s rarity. Another request came from one of Turner’s oldest friends.

“By request, I mean if you don’t play that song you’re a cunt”, Frank was apparently told, but it counts — which seems fair when the track was ‘Worse Things Happen At Sea’. ‘Sweet Albion Blues’, the acoustic rendition of Million Dead’s ‘Smiling At Strangers On Trains’… along with the more obvious ‘The Road’, ‘1933’, or ‘Be More Kind’, the set felt like a brief recap of Frank’s entire journey, from those first shows to now. 

There were smaller moments that felt uniquely Barfly, too. Chris McCormack wandering onstage to hand Turner a beer mid-song. A packet of party poppers — delivered by Katacombs to the venue prior to the show as a surprise — being deployed during ‘Four Simple Words’ as “the world’s cheapest pyrotechnics”. Turner triumphantly celebrating making it through ‘Sweet Albion Blues’ without forgetting the words. Most of all, though, there was that always-craved-but-not-always-delivered sense of community. ‘Ballad Of Me And My Friends’, was as loud as if it had been at last year’s Alexandra Palace show, and as intimate as the track’s original recording on the same stage, 7,259 days prior. 

As the inevitable closing trio of ‘Recovery’, ‘Photosynthesis’ and ‘Polaroid Picture’ hit the room, the night concluding, there was only one thought — the Barfly’s back baby! Shows 3155 and 3156, complete.