Franz Ferdinand

The British indie rock band Franz Ferdinand was founded in Glasgow in 2001 by Alex Kapranos (singer, guitar), Bob Hardy (bass), Nick Mc Carthy (keyboards, guitar) and drummer Paul Thomson. Their name goes back to the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was shot dead before the First World War. The band gave their first concerts in the so-called Chateau, a former warehouse in Glasgow. The debut single "Darts of Pleasure" was released in 2003 and reached 44th place in the British charts. The debut album Franz Ferdinand followed at the beginning of 2004, reaching the top 3 in the UK, 16th place in Germany and 26th place in Austria. The following year, the band received two BRIT Awards, including Best British Band. The second album You Could Have It So Much Better was released in September 2005 with the songs "The Fallen" and "Outsiders", among others. It climbs to the top of the charts in the UK, reaches number 2 in Germany and number 4 in Switzerland. In 2010, French actress Marion Cotillard records the song "The Eyes of Mars", written by Franz Ferdinand, for a Dior advertisement. In the same year, the band contributed the song "The Lobster Quadrille" to the remake of Alice in Wonderland. nick McCarty leaves Franz Ferdinand in 2016 and Dino Bardot (guitar) and Julian Corrie (keyboard) join in 2017. in 2021, drummer Paul Thomson also leaves the band and is replaced by Audrey Tait. In March 2022, the album Hits to the Head is released, which reaches number 4 in the Scottish charts, number 7 in the UK and number 9 in Germany. Another Franz Ferdinand studio album, The Human Fear, follows at the beginning of 2025.