Despite the poor charting of first single "Darts of Pleasure", the band saw chart success with its debut self-titled album (released in 2004) which debuted on the UK album charts at number three and won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act. From the album, three top ten singles were released, the smash hit and critically acclaimed "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée", followed by a top 20 hit "Michael".
Sometime around the end of 2001, Bob Hardy was sitting in Alex's kitchen in Glasgow. Alex had just been given a bass by his friend Mick, on the condition that he did 'something useful' with it. So he asked Bob if he'd like to learn how to play it. "Do you want to learn to play the bass then, Bob?", to which he replied, "No, I'm an artist, not a musician." Alex responded, saying, "It's the same thing", which eventually led to them play music together.[5]
Alex met co-guitarist Nick McCarthy at a party in Jo and Celias' kitchen. Alex went with his own drink, as was tradition in that particular place, whereas Nick (who was dressed up as a young Adam Ant) had a different idea: to try and steal other people's drinks without getting caught. Nick tried to steal Alex's vodka, but he was caught and a fight broke out.
But this quarrel cooled when the two began to discuss music. When Alex asked if he knew how to play the drums, McCarthy said that he could. However, when they met up in Nick's South Side mansion, Kapranos found Nick's answer to be a blatant lie. "...when he said he could play the drums what he meant was that he could hit them but in no coherent order". Yet Kapranos noticed he was feasible at the guitar, and thus they began to rehearse together at McCarthy's house.[6]
McCarthy was classically trained on the piano and double bass but initially played drums. The trio then met up with Paul Thomson who had played drums with Yummy Fur. Thomson originally was going to play guitar because he wanted to try something other than drums. However, because Alex and Bob were aware of how awful Nick was at playing it was decided that Paul would take over on drums, with Nick taking lead guitar. Thomson was described by Kapranos as the best drummer in Glasgow, but refers to how Paul wanted to be seen by the audience, hence refusing to use rack toms, However, by late 2005 Paul was using rack toms.
Nick and Alex decided that they needed somewhere bigger than Nick's home to play music in. Hunting for property, they went for a walk along the disused railway line that crosses over Paddy's market and the Clyde. They discovered two things: that the line wasn't disused after all, and a huge abandoned art-deco warehouse that overlooked the Clyde. They tracked down the landlord, and they persuaded him to give them the keys to the 6th floor. They were successful, eventually naming their new residence "the Château", and they made it their home.
After evicting the pigeons and fixing the windows, they found an electrician who managed to wire the building in a way that left the electricity board innocent of the knowledge that they were supplying the power. At one point in its history, the warehouse had stored sports equipment. In fact the band held a Sports and Leisure night: rowing machines strapped to trolleys were raced, vibra-belts wobbled, weights were lifted and rifles were shot from the saddle of a rocking horse. It was also here where the band held rave-like "happenings" combining music and art; Hardy was studying painting at the Glasgow School of Art at the time.
Eventually, though, the police went driving around the block, trying to find a way into where the noise was coming from. After some weeks, they found their way in and shut the events down because of the band running an illegal bar and contravening various health and safety, fire hazard and noise abatement legislation. Alex took most of the blame because he was the only one who didn't run away. When he was talking to the police down at the cells, they said that they had been looking for the place for a month.
"The Château" was now marked territory and could no longer be used as a centre of noise. So the band played shows in other places. Lucy McKenzie, a Glasgow artist, held nights in her Flourish Studios. These were similar to "the Château", but a little quieter. Stereo, a bar with a rare and supportive attitude was also a haunt. The Château was never abandoned, but another place, equally as magnificent was found.
On Tobago Street there is a Victoriancourtroom and gaol. When McCarthy discovered it, it had been abandoned for over 30 years. It was ideal for the band.
In a 2004 interview with VH1, Alex Kapranos described the sound they were seeking. "On songs like 'Come on Home,' we wanted to sound like Donna Summer and Link Wray mixed together, but it doesn't sound like that at all! We thought we could sound like Prince, too, but what we were really trying to do was take on the attitudes of different bands and combine them in our own way."[7]
The band had recorded an EP worth of material which they intended to release themselves. However, the band's reputation was spreading rapidly, and Domino Records offered them a contract to release an EP called Darts of Pleasure in the latter part of 2003. The band developed its reputation further by supporting Hot Hot Heat and Interpol as well as winning a "Phillip Hall Radar Award" at the NME Awards of 2004 (announced in late 2003). The band soon signed onto a contract with Sony Music Japan in Japan and Epic Records in 2004 for the United States.
Franz Ferdinand have been quoted as saying they wanted to make "music that girls can dance to." [1] This was combined with their art school background on their self-titled debut released in early 2004. It debuted at number 3 in the UK Albums Chart in February 2004 and at number 12 in the Australian album charts in April 2004. While the album had only reached the lowest levels of the Billboard 200 album charts in the US as of early 2004, it reached the top 5 of the indie 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 on MTV, the album eventually reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200 later in 2004 and has been certified platinum in the US for sales exceeding 1,000,000. Five singles were released from the album, namely:
"Take Me Out" was the breakthrough single and reached the #3 on the UK charts, #66 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #3 on the BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart. It also made the top 10 of the Irish and Canadian charts and the top 40 in a composite European chart as well as being voted number one in the Australian Triple J Hottest 100 for 2004 (more than doubling the votes for the song which received second place). It is also a song option for the videogame "Guitar Hero".
"The Dark of the Matinée" or "Matinée" reached #8 in the UK singles charts and the top 30 on the World Modern Rock Charts (a composite chart of US, German, UK, Swedish, Finnish, Canadian and Australian modern rock charts); and
"Michael" reached the #17 on the UK singles charts. A large amount of the single's sales were not counted, as they were not released in the correct format.
"This Fire" was released in North America in November 2004, and was a download-only single in the UK. It reached #17 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and reached #8 on the UK download chart.
The song "Michael" was the first in a trend among newer bands to write songs with lyrics reflecting a more fluid sexuality. "Michael" is a frenzied dance/rock song based on a private joke among the band about a friend of theirs who got drunk and was dancing unabashedly at a club.[citation needed]
The Franz Ferdinand album received a generally strong positive response from critics. The New Musical Express said that the band was the latest in the line of art school rock bands featuring Duran Duran, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roxy Music, the Sex Pistols, Wire, Travis and Blur. It rated the album as 9 out of 10 and said: "This album is the latest and most intoxicating example of the wonderful pushing its way up between the ugly slabs of Pop Idol, nu metal and Britons aping American bands. What these blossoming bands have in common is the absolute conviction that rock ‘n’ roll is more than a career option."
The BBC's review of the album said: "At only 38 minutes long Franz Ferdinand may not be a particularly long album, but it is a masterpiece of funky, punky, suave cool from the first track to the last."[2] The All Music Guide rated the album as four out of five stars and said "Franz Ferdinand ends up being rewarding in different ways than the band's previous work was, but it's apparent that they're still one of the more exciting groups to come out of the garage-rock / post-punk revival."[8]
The NME named Franz Ferdinand the best album of 2004[2], and also placed it 38th on their 100 Best Albums of All Time list [3].
You Could Have It So Much Better
The band spent much of 2005 in the studio in Scotland working on their follow-up album, You Could Have It So Much Better, which was released on 3 October2005. Throughout the recording process, the band had intended to leave the album self-titled like their debut, but they changed it to You Could Have It So Much Better...With Franz Ferdinand before settling on the current title. The first live performance of their new music came as the band headlined at the V Festival in August 2005.
After the ecstatic reception of their debut, some reviews towards the new album became more polarized, with some complaints that the recording was rushed. However, it generally was critically acclaimed and seen as an album equal to, or better than their first by most critics, including the NME. It entered the UK Album Charts at Number 1 and the US charts at Number 8.
The album is less associated with art music and dance, with the band taking a more raw, indie-rock-style approach. This stylistic change was reflected in more lively live shows, featuring band members jumping off the drum kit, smashing guitars and rolling around on stage.
On the tour that followed the album release, Franz broke the record for the longest run at the Alexandra Palace, North London, by playing 4 sold out nights during November-December 2005.
To support the album, four singles have been released. Included in that set is a double 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, while "Walk Away" and "The Fallen" / "L. Wells" entered the top 15 of the UK Singles Chart. The 4th and final single from the second album, "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" peaked at number 30.
Franz Ferdinand at Viña del Mar International Festival. February 27th, 2006
According to NME in 2005, the band had no intentions to stop and continued to record at a relentless pace.[9]
In January of 2006, they began new recording sessions, coinciding with some dates in Australia and New Zealand: "Then we’ll see how many songs we’ve got together but we’re talking about going into the studio at the end of January." Kapranos explained. "We’re popping over to Australia and New Zealand at the end of January as well, as you do. It’s brilliant, I’m looking forward to that. We get to miss the Scottish winter, which is not a bad thing at all."[10]
Their third album will likely be released in late 2007 or even 2008,[11] however the band revealed in early September 2006 that they were going to take a break after headlining the Carling Weekend[12] and playing two shows in Brazil.
On March 13, 2007, Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy spoke exclusively to Xfm about their next album. Alex had this to say regarding the next album...
"Nick and I are writing some more tunes," Kapranos explained, "We’ve got a wee place in Glasgow where we’re doing some new songs. Its a wee bit different from last stuff but still very danceable, that’s the main thing. It’s always pop. Franz Ferdinand has always been pop."
On February 14, 2007, Bonnaroo released the initial 2007 lineup, which included Franz Ferdinand, the two confirmed that this would be the only festival they'll perform in this year, in the same interview held with XFM discussing the next album, Alex said this to XFM.
"We’re gonna play Bonnaroo [in the US alongside The Police, White Stripes and Flaming Lips], but no British festivals. We don’t really want to play any British festivals until we’ve written a bunch of new songs for people to hear. I don’t really see the point of keeping on going out and playing the same old stuff again and again. You wanna come back with something exciting."
On March 26, 2007, the band's MySpace website was updated with a video of them recording an instrumental song dubbed Flight of the Galvatron, however there is not any more information on the song and whether it will be released on the next album or not.
On May 9, 2007, Alex Kapranos updated the band's MySpace blog with brief mentions of two new songs, entitled A New Thrill and English Goodbye. Nothing else is known about the songs except, as Alex clarifies, "The latter is about the expression 'saying an English goodbye', not a call for Scottish independence."
In Spring of 2007 live show in Glasgow, the band debuted those two songs live. In addition, they played "Favourite Lie," "Turn It On," and "Anyone In Love."
On May 30, 2007, Rock'n Coke Festival in Istanbul released the lineup, which included Franz Ferdinand.
On the band's Myspace blog, Alex Kapranos informs that at the Hey You Get Off My Pavement show in front of Glasgow's Mono featured three brand new songs. Their working titles are "Live Alone," "Kathrine Kiss Me," and "Ulysses."
At The Edinburgh International Film Festival on August 15, 2007, Nick and Alex performed a short acoustic set. They performed a new song entitled "Kathrine Kiss Me" along with "Hallam Foe, Dandelion Blow" and crowd favorites, "Dark of the Matinee" and "Jacqueline."
In late August2007, the Official Site reads simply "Not Yet" in grey letters. This has prompted plenty of speculation that the third album will be coming soon and some also believe that "Not Yet" may indeed turn out to be the title of the third album.
In an interview with the Sunday Mail on September 92007, Alex implied that the band was working with Xenomania on the new album, as Alex is a fan of their work with Girls Aloud. As a result, Franz Ferdinand collaborated with Girls Aloud on their cover of David Bowie's "Sound and Vision" for the forthcoming Radio 1: Established 1967 album.[13]
On September 22nd Franz Ferdinand did play a UK festival headlining at Loopallu, a festival in it's 3rd year, held in the beautiful and remote village of Ullapool in the NW Highlands. They played a mix of old and new tracks in a tent by the side of Loch Broom to rapturous applause.
The new song book "Worried Noodles" will have a song in it called "No" by Franz Ferdinand.[14]
Sony's Singstar karaoke Series on the Playstation 2 featured "Take Me Out" on the "Party" collection and "Do You Want To" was included in the "Rocks" collection.
Take Me Out was used in an ad campaign for Sony's PlayStation Portable game system (PSP). Do You Want To was used in an ad campaign for Sony's Walkman players (in Japan).
"Do You Want To" is used in a commercial for L'Oreal Vive Pro shampoo and conditioner.
Previews
This Boy is used in German previews for the TV series Jimmy Neutron.
The intro of "40' " was used in the Dutch previews for the TV series "Catscratch"
Part of the song I'm Your Villain was used in a preview for the 2006 film "The Guardian".
Do You Want To was used in a preview for the 2007 film "Good Luck Chuck."
"Do You Want To" was also used to promote the films "Fun with Dick and Jane" and "Daddy Day Camp".
The beginning of "40' " was also used in a television commercial for the film "In Good Company" in 2004 and also for the film "A Good Year" in 2006.
Television
The song "Come on Home" features on "Almost: Round Three" , a skateboarding video by Almost Skateboarding Company and played in Cooper Wilt's part. And also features on "Live 8" DVD, the follow up to "Live Aid". Music from the song is played at the beginning of the DVD, during the explanation of what Live 8 was. Also, the intro was used in Brazilian MTV Travel show Mochilão MTVopening. The keyboard solo and intro were also used in Sky One science program "Braniac".
The song "Take Me Out" is used as the theme music for Australian Television Program "Any Given Sunday." In Australia it is also used on Channel Ten's Sports Tonight. The song is also used on Eurosport channel, when it advertises Eurosport 2 and was included on the kid-oriented album Kidz Bop 8, and the TV show Video Mods.
Hallam Foe Dandelion Blow was written specifically for the upcoming film Hallam Foe, other Domino artists contributed music as well. Hallam Foe premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on the February 162007 and competed for the Golden Bear for Best Motion Picture. The film won the Silver Bear for Best Music.
Concerning the Sound and Vision cover, in an interview with the Sunday Mail on September 92007, Alex implied that the band were working with Xenomania on the new album, as Alex is a fan of their work with Girls Aloud. As a result, Franz Ferdinand collaborated with Girls Aloud on their cover of David Bowie's "Sound and Vision" for the forthcoming Radio 1: Established 1967 album.[16]
The band performed played and recorded with Jane Birkin, covering the Gainsbourg song "Sorry Angel".
Kapranos sang on the Handsome Boy Modelling School track "World's Gone Mad," and provides backing vocals on the song "Jarhand" by Immaculate Machine.
In early 2005, Kanye West declared Franz Ferdinand to be his favourite band, and coined the term whitecrunk to describe the band's gritty drum sounds. West and the band met at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards, where they sat down together to share praise and advice. West feels that the white crunk vibe has affected his new work, and is best exemplified on the track "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", from his 2005 album Late Registration. The band itself is also greatly influenced by Kanye and sought advice from him on how to improve production for their 2005 album You Could Have It So Much Better.[citation needed]
Rapper Snoop Dogg has also declared an admiration for the band, and famously expressed interest in collaborating with the group, though he could not remember the band's name at the time. He stated:
"I'm working on an album that I plan to do with a lot of European artists," he revealed. "I wanna do something with the people that sang "Take Me Out"."
In response, Kapranos playfully replied, "Someone told me the guy who does "Drop It Like It's Hot" wants to collaborate with us... That's great. I love that song and like his style."[17]
Andy Knowles has served as a live support member of the band, as an auxiliary keyboardist and second drummer. Knowles has not appeared on an album, but drums on "Brown Onions," an instrumental B-side on The Fallen / L. Wells double A-Side single. He is also seen briefly in the video for Walk Away.
At the 2006 Reading Festival, Madness drummer Daniel Woodgate (Woody) appeared with the band on stage and played on the song 'Outsiders'. When they performed the song on the Jools Holland show, Jamie Hince of The Kills, Ross Jarman of The Cribs and Kieran Hebden joined them as drummers.
Last October 8 of 2006Nick McCarthy did a special appearance at a concert for the Mexican band Zoé at the Palacio de los Deportes, where he performed "Human Space Volt".
At the 2005 Grammies, the band performed Take Me Out as a live medley with Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani.
The name of the band was originally inspired by a racehorse called The Archduke.[20] After seeing the horse run on television the band began to discuss Archduke Franz Ferdinand and thought it would be a good band name because of the sound of the name and the implications of the Archduke's death (his assassination was one of many factors which lead to World War I). They discussed it in a very early interview with the Scottish magazine Is This Music?[21]
"Mainly we just liked the way it sounded," says Bob. "We liked the alliteration." "He was an incredible figure as well," continues Alex. "His life, or at least the ending of it, was the catalyst for the complete transformation of the world ... he was a pivot for history. But I don't want to over-intellectualise the name thing. Basically a name should just sound good ... like music." Paul has a much grander notion. "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."[22]
The song "Take Me Out", on the band's first album, was the second single to be released by the band. The single release of "Take Me Out" came with the B side, "All For You Sophia", based on the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, whose name was Sophie, not Sophia. The band changed the name Sophie to Sophia to give the song a better ring to it.
The avant-garde music video for Take Me Out, directed by Jonas Odell, was inspired by Dadaism, Busby Berkeley choreographies and Russian constructivist design.[23] The lyrics of Do You Want To make reference to parties at the 'trendy' Glasgow art gallery Transmission and the video includes a satire of the work of contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft.
They own an Ackuset, a Swedish sound mixer, and used it on You Could Have It So Much Better. Not much is known about it except that it's rather old, sometimes malfunctions, and is one of only seven units in the world. Of the seven, only three are functional.
Nick McCarthy owns two 1959 Hagstrom p46 Deluxe Guitars, one of the rarest and most prized Hagstrom models, one red and another a blue sparkle. The red model McCarthy used primarily on the band's tour for their first album, but still could be seen while the band was promoting You Could Have It So Much Better (YCHISMB). The blue guitar can be seen on the video for The Dark of the Matinée. The elusive blue model can also be spotted being played by Alex Kapranos during a performance of This Fire on the Franz Ferdinand Live DVD, as well a few other performances. His other guitar is an Epiphone Wilshire.
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