Franz Ferdinand are a Scottishrock band formed inGlasgow in 2002. Their original line-up was composed ofAlex Kapranos (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards),Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboards, vocals),Bob Hardy (bass guitar, percussion) andPaul Thomson (drums, percussion, backing vocals).Julian Corrie (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) andDino Bardot (guitar, backing vocals) joined the band in 2017 after McCarthy left during the previous year, andAudrey Tait (drums, percussion) joined the band after Thomson left in 2021. The band were categorised as apost-punk revival band and garnered multiple UK top 20 hits.[1] They have been nominated for severalGrammy Awards and have received twoBrit Awards—winning one for Best British Group—as well as oneNME Award.
In 2005, the band released their second studio album,You Could Have It So Much Better, produced byRich Costey. It peaked within the top-ten in multiple countries and earned Grammy-nominations for Best Alternative Album and for one of the singles, "Do You Want To". The band's third studio album,Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, was released in January 2009; by then the band had shifted from apost-punk-focused sound to a moredance-oriented sound. A remix album ofTonight, titledBlood, was released in July 2009.
Four years after the release ofTonight, the band released their fourth studio album,Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, in August 2013. In 2015, Franz Ferdinand and American rock bandSparks formed the supergroupFFS and released a one-off album,FFS, in June 2015. The band underwent multiple line-up changes followingFFS, beginning with McCarthy's departure in 2016. After acquiring Corrie and Bardot, the band released their fifth studio albumAlways Ascending in February 2018. Thomson departed in 2021 and was replaced by Tait. The band's sixth studio album,The Human Fear, was released in January 2025 to commercial success.
The band's members played in various bands during the 1990s, includingThe Karelia,Yummy Fur, 10p Invaders, and Embryo. Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson met at a party and began a close friendship and played together in Yummy Fur, and subsequently teamed up to write songs. Around the same time, Kapranos taught his friend Bob Hardy how to play bass after being given a bass guitar by Mick Cooke ofBelle & Sebastian. Kapranos met guitarist Nick McCarthy, who had returned to Scotland after studyingjazz bass in Germany, in 2001.[2]
Once the members came together, they settled on the name Franz Ferdinand for their band. The name was originally inspired by aracehorse called Archduke Ferdinand.[3] After seeing the horse win theNorthumberland Plate in 2001, the band began to discussArchduke Franz Ferdinand and thought it would be a good band name because of thealliteration of the name and the implications of the Archduke's death:his assassination was a significant factor in the lead-up toWorld War I.[4] In an interview, Hardy recollected that "mainly we just liked the way it sounded. We liked the alliteration." Kapranos continued, saying "he was an incredible figure as well. His life, or at least the ending of it, was the catalyst for the complete transformation of the world and that is what we want our music to be. But I don't want to over-intellectualise the name thing. Basically a name should just sound good ... like music." Thomson concluded, saying “I like the idea that, if we become popular, maybe the words Franz Ferdinand will make people think of the band instead of the historical figure.”[5]
Franz Ferdinand and international breakthrough (2003–2005)
In May 2003 the band signed to Laurence Bell'sindependent record label,Domino Recording Company.[6] The band moved to Gula Studios inMalmö, Sweden, withCardigans producerTore Johansson to record their debut album. In the latter part of 2003, the band released their debut single, "Darts of Pleasure". In January 2004, the single "Take Me Out" reached No. 3 in the UK charts. The album,Franz Ferdinand, was released in early 2004, debuting at No. 3 in the UK Albums Chart in February 2004, and at No. 12 in the Australian album charts in April 2004. The album only reached the lowest levels of the Billboard 200 album charts in the US as of early 2004, but reached the top 5 of theindie rock chart and the Heatseeker chart for debut artists. After a couple of North American tours and heavy rotation of the "Take Me Out" video onMTV, the album eventually reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200 later in 2004, and sold over a million copies in the United States.[2]Franz Ferdinand received a generally strong positive response from critics.NME rated it 9 out of 10, and said that the band was the latest in the line of art school rock bands featuringthe Beatles,The Rolling Stones,The Who,Roxy Music, theSex Pistols,Wire,Travis andBlur.
Franz Ferdinand performing live inDundee, Scotland in 2006
The band spent much of 2005 in the studio in Glasgow working on their follow-up album,You Could Have It So Much Better, which was released on 3 October 2005. The band initially intended to leave the album self-titled like their debut,[9] but they changed it toYou Could Have It So Much Better...With Franz Ferdinand before settling on the final title.[10] The album's cover design was modelled onAlexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait ofLilya Brik. The band attempted to broaden its musical range on the album; Hardy said, "There's more to life than disco-beat guitar music".[2] It was generally well received in the press and seen as an album equal to, or better than, their first by most critics.[11] It entered the UK Album Charts at Number 1 and the US charts at Number 8. The album eventually sold 2 million copies worldwide.
To support the album, four singles were released. Included in that set is adouble A-side single that contained a video-clip-only single as well (both the AA-side "L. Wells" and the video-clip "Jeremy Fraser" are not featured on the album, recorded in early 2006 during the band's tour of Australia in support of the album). Also included is another video-clip-only single called "Wine, In the Afternoon" which is the B-side to "Eleanor Put Your Boots On", and was also not featured on the album, but recorded on tour in Michigan. "Do You Want To" made it to number 4 and was declared by Q to be the greatest single of 2005, while "Walk Away" and "The Fallen" entered the top 15 of the UK Singles Chart. The fourth and final single from the second album, "Eleanor Put Your Boots On", peaked at number 30.You Could Have It So Much Better went on to earn a nomination for Best Alternative Album at the48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006, as did "Do You Want To" for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
On 26 January 2009, the band released their third studio album,Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, which they had been recording in Glasgow since mid-2007.[12] The band recorded the album in a disused building in Glasgow that had been a town hall in the past. Alex Kapranos has stated that "The last record was...like a teenager having sex. This one's a bit more assured and a bit friendlier for the dance floor."[13]Tonight was mixed by Canadian Mix EngineerMike Fraser.[14] The song "Ulysses" was chosen to be the first single and was released on 19 January 2009. It was first played by Zane Lowe on 17 November 2008. Shortly afterwards it hit YouTube.[15] It did not see that much success in theUK Top 40, reaching only No. 20, but it fared better in Spain and Japan where it reached No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. It also entered the Top 20 of the US Modern Rock Chart. The album,Tonight was released 26 January 2009 and debuted at No. 2 in theUK Album Chart and No. 9 in theUS Billboard 200. The second single, "No You Girls" saw success both in the charts and on the radio prior to release, eventually reaching No. 7 on the US Modern Rock Chart and was performed by Franz Ferdinand on Comic Relief 2009 Top of The Pops special. "Can't Stop Feeling" was released on 6 July as the third single from the album and on 28 August, "What She Came For" was released as the 4th single in the form of a remix single. The band performed "What She Came For" onThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on Wednesday, 26 August 2009.[16]
The band appeared on Radio 1's live lounge performing their second single "No You Girls", and did a cover of Britney Spears' comeback single "Womanizer". In February 2009,Glastonbury Festival announced Franz Ferdinand as the first major band playing at that year's festival.[17] The band also unveiled a 19-date tour of the US during the spring, in support of the new album. The tour included a set at theCoachella Festival.[18] The band were also one of the main stage acts performing at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon in May. On 6 May 2009, it was announced that Franz Ferdinand would be the third opening act for theGreen Day's21st Century Breakdown World Tour. They played 8–26 August 2009, and they followedKaiser Chiefs andThe Bravery.
Also made for the Record Store Day, on 16 April 2011 Domino released the compilationCovers E.P., which featured songs ofTonight: Franz Ferdinand played byPeaches,LCD Soundsystem,Stephin Merritt,ESG andDebbie Harry (who recorded in duet with the band). The first edition was only vinyl, and on 2 May 2011 it was released on CD.
Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action andFFS with Sparks (2012–2015)
The band performing live at the 2014 Sun Festival inMálaga, Spain
Writing for a fourth studio album began in 2010.[21] Kapranos stated that the band promised themselves they would also focus on not over-publicising their progress as he felt that's something he regretted about their previous album. In May 2012, the band returned to touring, playing several festivals during the summer of 2012 including a headlining slot atField Day festival in London's Victoria Park.[22] Other appearances included Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival, Montreal's 2012 Osheaga Music Festival, Chicago's 2012 Lollapalooza Music Festival, Belgium's Dour Festival, Portugal's Marés Vivas Festival and San Francisco's 2012 Outside Lands Music Festival.
During their 2012 tour, the band gradually introduced new songs to their repertoire,[23] along with a reworked version ofTonight cut "Can't Stop Feeling" combined with "I Feel Love" byDonna Summer. In March 2013, Franz Ferdinand continued touring and premiering new songs. In early March they performed "Evil Eye" and "Love Illumination", while the end of the month saw the live premiere of "Goodbye Lovers & Friends". On 16 May 2013, Franz Ferdinand officially announced their fourth album, titledRight Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, along with cover art, track listing and a release date of 26 August 2013.[24] The band launched the new album at a show at the Electric Brixton. FMV Magazine's Dan Jenko praised the gig, saying that "there's no reason why latest LPRight Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action can't be the belated soundtrack of the summer".[25]
On 9 March 2015, it was announced that the band had formed a supergroup withSparks under the nameFFS, with plans to release a studio album and tour Europe during that summer.[26] A teaser titled "The Domino Effect" was released on the group's YouTube channel that same day.[27] TheJohn Congleton-produced album,FFS, was officially announced on 1 April 2015.[28] Three official singles were released from the album: "Johnny Delusional", which was released on 13 April,[29] "Call Girl", which was released on 28 May,[30] and "Police Encounters", which was released on 23 October.[31]
In July 2016, the band announced that guitarist Nick McCarthy would not be involved in the recording and touring of their next album, in order to concentrate on his family and other musical interests. The band, however, have stressed that it is possible he may rejoin the band at a later date.[32][33] On 14 October 2016, the band released "Demagogue", a song protesting and satirising the candidacy ofDonald Trump in theU.S. presidential election of 2016. It was released as part of the30 Days, 50 Songs programme that featured 50 songs lyrically against Trump and his candidacy.[34][35]
On 19 May 2017, two days prior to the start of their North American tour, Franz Ferdinand announced their new five-piece line-up,[36] with formerYummy Fur and1990s member Dino Bardot on guitar[37] andJulian Corrie on keyboards, synth and guitar.[38] On 25 October, the band released the single "Always Ascending" from their fifth studio album,Always Ascending (2018). They revealed the album's release date, 9 February 2018, and announced dates for a world tour.[39] Corrie joined the band for the recording sessions of the album, while Bardot joined after recording was completed.[40]
Departure of Thomson,Hits to the Head andThe Human Fear (2021–present)
On 21 October 2021, the band announced through social media that Paul Thomson had departed the band, with Glasgow-based drummer Audrey Tait joining as his replacement, as well as confirming that studio recordings had been undertaken with Tait. The announcement was accompanied by a statement from Thomson and a photograph of him passing his drumsticks to Tait.[41][42][43] Tait's debut performance with the band had taken place several weeks before the announcement, at theBalmain fashion show in Paris on 29 September.[44]
Franz Ferdinand released a new single, "Billy Goodbye", on 2 November 2021.[45] The track is one of two new songs on the greatest hits compilationHits to the Head, which was released on 11 March 2022.[45]
Franz Ferdinand performed at Night for Ukraine, a fundraising benefit held at theRoundhouse in northLondon on the evening of March 9, 2022, with the funds raised being donated to theDisasters Emergency Committee appeal, to provide aid to people fleeingUkraine following theRussian invasion. The event was organised byFabien Riggall in collaboration with the Ukrainian pop duoBloom Twins.[46]
On 11 September 2024, Franz Ferdinand announced their sixth studio album,The Human Fear, to be released on 10 January 2025. The lead single, "Audacious", was released following the announcement of the album. The album will be the first full-length album to feature Audrey Tait on drums following the departure of Paul Thomson. The band will tour the UK and Europe in the first half of 2025, beginning on 14 February in Lisbon and concluding in Glasgow on 7 March.
Franz Ferdinand covered theLCD Soundsystem song "All My Friends" which appeared as a B-side on the single and LCD Soundsystem covered their song Live Alone in return, which appeared on a covers EP alongsideStephin Merritt,ESG andDebbie Harry who all covered songs fromTonight.[47] They have also covered "Sexy Boy" byAir, "It Won't Be Long" bythe Beatles,Pulp's "Mis-Shapes",Gwen Stefani's top 5 hit "What You Waiting For?",Blondie's "Call Me",Britney Spears' "Womanizer" andDavid Bowie's song "Sound and Vision", featuringGirls Aloud[48] on backing vocals, for a compilation disc marking the 40th anniversary ofBBC Radio 1, along with other leading artists. Additionally, Franz Ferdinand recorded a cover ofthe Fire Engines' song "Get Up and Use Me". In return, the Fire Engines recorded a cover of "Jacqueline". The band also took a similar approach with Dutch bandDe Kift, covering the song "Heisa-Ho" whilstDe Kift recorded a cover of "Love and Destroy" with Dutch lyrics. The cover by De Kift is named "Liefde En Puin" which is the title "Love and Destroy" translated into Dutch. The band has had remixes by electronic artistsDaft Punk,Hot Chip,Justice,The Avalanches,Microfilm andErol Alkan.
The band also performed, played and recorded withJane Birkin, covering theSerge Gainsbourg song "Sorry Angel" for the 2005 albumMonsieur Gainsbourg Revisited. In addition, Franz re-recorded the track "Brown Onions" for David Shrigley's compilation albumWorried Noodles.[49] The band kept instrumentation identical but used lyrics written by Shrigley which include the consistent repetition of the word "No" and occasionally "No brains, no teeth, no legs, no eyes...".Hot Chip, a band who are reported to be a favourite of Franz Ferdinand, also performed their own version of "No" on the same album. The band partnered withSony in Tokyo, filming commercials for the launch of theA Series Walkman music player on 8 September 2005.[50][51] A limited edition Franz Ferdinand-themed Walkman A Series player was released by Sony Japan in January 2006, with only one hundred made.[52]
The band performing in the United States during theHits to the Head tour, 2022
The band wrote the lyrics and plays the music for the song "The Eyes of Mars", while the actress is on vocals. Kapranos noted that it was refreshing working with her as she had a lot of fun going and retrying the song time and time again. In 2010, Franz Ferdinand contributed to theAlice in Wonderland soundtrack with their adaption of the song "The Lobster Quadrille". Later that year, Kapranos and McCarthy collaborated on the song "Do It Again" withEdwyn Collins on his albumLosing Sleep.[54]
In 2016,Alex Kapranos took part in a documentary about Glasgow music andChemikal Underground Records calledLost in France. The film was directed by Niall McCann and brought Kapranos (along with members ofThe Delgados,Mogwai and others) toMauron, Brittany, to recreate a gig they played when Kapranos was in his earlier band,The Karelia. The film features Kapranos playing live withStuart Braithwaite of Mogwai, and other musicians such asEmma Pollock andRM Hubbert, andHoly Mountain, as well as interviews with Kapranos and his old label-mates.Lost in France premiered at theEdinburgh International Film Festival to wholly positive reviews and was called "funny, vital and sobering"[55] by Scotland's arts bibleThe Skinny. In 2022, Franz Ferdinand's single, "This Fire" served as the opening theme song for the Polish-Japanese animated series,Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.[56]
Many of the videos to promote the band's singles take inspiration from Russianavant-garde much like their LP and CD sleeves.
The avant-garde music video for "Take Me Out", directed byJonas Odell, was inspired byDadaism (especially Max Ernst'sUne Semaine de Bonté),Busby Berkeley choreographies and Russianconstructivist design.[69] Alex Kapranos explained the many and varied influences behind the 1930s-style promo for second single "Take Me Out": "It's kind of two dimensional in a three dimensional style if that makes any sense. It's a montage of images; ourselves, pictures and things taken from other places and put together in a strange, abstract way. That's what gives the video that strange, jerky, style".[69]
The lyrics of "Do You Want To" make reference to parties at the "trendy" Glasgow art gallery Transmission, and the video includes a variety of the work of contemporary artistVanessa Beecroft.
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