Franz Ferdinand (band)
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Franz Ferdinand are an indie rock band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2001. Named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the band comprises Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals). The band first experienced chart success when their second single "Take Me Out" reached #3 in the UK Charts,[4] followed by their debut album Franz Ferdinand which debuted on the UK album chart at #3.[5] The band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act. NME named Franz Ferdinand as their Album of the Year. From the album, three top-ten singles were released, "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée", "This Fire" and "Michael" that peaked on #17. The band's second album, You Could Have It So Much Better, charted at #1 in the UK,[6] selling 101,884 copies in its first week, yielding the top ten hit "Do You Want To" and other hits such as "Walk Away" and "The Fallen".
HistoryFormationThe members of Franz Ferdinand had played previously in various bands during the 1990s including The Karelia, Yummy Fur, 10p Invaders and Embryo. Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson had 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. Kapranos met co-guitarist Nick McCarthy in 2001 who had returned to Scotland after studying jazz bass in Germany. [7] In May 2003, the band signed to Laurence Bell's independent record label, Domino Records. [8] The band had recorded an EP which they intended to release themselves, instead it was released by Domino as Darts of Pleasure, in the latter part of 2003. The cover art was designed by Thomson. It reached #43 in the UK chart.[citation needed]. The band won the "Phillip Hall Radar Award" at the NME Awards of 2004, announced in late 2003. Debut album and mainstream successThe band moved to Gula Studios in Malmö, Sweden with Cardigans producer Tore Johansson to record their debut album. In January 2004 the single "Take Me Out" (sample ) reached #3 in the UK charts. The album, Franz Ferdinand, was released in early 2004, debuting at #3 in the UK Albums Chart in February 2004 and at #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 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 #32 on the Billboard 200 later in 2004 and sold over a million copies in the United States.[7] Franz Ferdinand received a generally strong positive response from critics. NME 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."[citation needed] 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."[9] On September 7, 2004 the album was awarded the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. Take Me Out gained first place in the Australian Triple J Hottest 100 for 2004, winning more than twice the votes of the second-place entry. Franz Ferdinand proceeded to win an Ivor Novello Award in 2004 and two BRIT Awards in 2005. The avant-garde music video for Take Me Out earned them a Breakthrough Video MTV Award. The NME named Franz Ferdinand the best album of 2004[10], and also placed it 38th on their 100 Best Albums of All Time list.[11] The band performed at the Grammy Awards of 2005 where they performed "Take Me Out" as a live medley with Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani.[7] You Could Have It So Much BetterThe 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 October 2005. The band initially intended to leave the album self-titled like their debut,[12] but they changed it to You Could Have It So Much Better...With Franz Ferdinand before settling on the final title.[13] The album's cover design was modelled on Alexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik. The band attempted to broaden its musical range on the album; Hardy said, "There's more to life than disco-beat guitar music".[7] After the critical acclaim of their debut, some reviews towards the new album became more polarised, with some complaints that the recording was rushed.[citation needed] However, it was generally well-received in the press and seen as an album equal to, or better than their first by most critics, including the NME.[citation needed] It entered the UK Album Charts at Number 1 and the US charts at Number 8. 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.[citation needed] To support the album, four singles were 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. Third albumAccording to NME in 2005, the band had no intentions to stop and continued to record at a relentless pace.[14] The band began new recording sessions in January 2006, coinciding with some live dates in Australia and New Zealand.[15] The band however, revealed in early September 2006 that they were going to take a break after headlining the Carling Weekend[16] and playing two shows in Brazil. The band have been recording their third studio album, expected to be released sometime in 2008. Collaborations and Covers
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