Franz Ferdinand

Scottish rock band. The quartet fuses rock, punk, and pop and combines it with witty lyrics to produce a smart, edgy sound. The group released the EP Darts of Pleasure in 2003, and followed with their self-titled full-length album, featuring the hit single ‘Take Me Out’, in 2004, for which they were awarded the UK Mercury Music Prize. They won the 2005 Brit awards for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act.

The band, who met at the Glasgow College of Art, comprises Alex Kapranos on vocals and guitar, Bob Hardy on bass, Nick McCarthy on guitar, and Paul Thomson on drums. Other singles include ‘Matinee’ and ‘Michael’ (both 2004).

The band, named for the Austro-Hungarian duke whose murder sparked World War I, formed in Glasgow in 2001. They began rehearsing and holding music and art events at an abandoned warehouse they nicknamed ‘the Chateau’. After being discovered by police, they moved to the former Bridgeton courthouse and jail. They signed to the Domino music label in 2003. After the release of their first EP, they toured with similar punk-revival groups such as Hot Hot Heat and Interpol, and are often compared with rock contemporaries The Strokes.