A packed crowd at Colchester Arts Centre were treated to a foot-stomping evening of anthems as Frank Turner took to the stage in support of The Nick Alexander Memorial Trust.

The acoustic evening opened with Holly Ramos and Deux Furieuses who impressed many with their new sounds.

Then Frank Turner took to the stage, on his own, with a guitar and a packed room of fans infront of him.

Frank immediately set the room on fire with his stirring tunes, including a particularly memorable and committed rendition of The Road.

Breathless after the opening songs, Frank said how great it was to be in Colchester, supporting his old friend Nick Alexander.

He shared with the crowd his emotional afternoon as it was the first time he had visited Nick’s grave and at the graveside he remembered his friend’s dislike of public mourning.

Frank shouted: “Nick wouldn’t have wanted us to mourn, he would have wanted us to sing and celebrate life!”

This was met with a big cheer.

Gazette: Picture: Jonathan Dadds (jonathandadds.com)Picture: Jonathan Dadds (jonathandadds.com)

Then it was on with the show, an almost time ordered set of crowd-pleasing songs from his career – Love, Ire and Song, The Way I Tend To Be, The Next Storm. Perfect.

Most excitedly the crowd were treated to a new song, The Work, about steering a marriage through the challenging waters of relationship.

Frank asked: “This is new, I’m working on it, so please don’t record it.”

As far as I could see nobody did, and there was a palpable joy in the room at the prospect of new songs on their way.

A few songs from the most recent album, No Man’s Land, Sister Rosetta and The Lioness, sounded great live, and the evening wrapped up with I Still Believe.

It was a wonderful night supporting a worthy trust.

Frank Turner is at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend on Sunday March 15.

To find out more about the Nick Alexander Memorial Trust visit thenickalexandermemorialtrust.com.

All pictures by Jonathan Dadds (jonathandadds.com)