franz ferdinand tour glasgow

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• November 10, 2022 Setlist

Franz Ferdinand Setlist at The OVO Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland

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Tour: Hits to the Head Tour statistics Add setlist

• The Dark of the Matinée Play Video
• No You Girls Play Video
• Curious Play Video
• Walk Away Play Video
• Right Action Play Video
• Evil Eye Play Video
• Do You Want To Play Video
• Always Ascending Play Video
• Love Illumination Play Video
• Darts of Pleasure Play Video
• Jacqueline Play Video
• Lucid Dreams Play Video
• Take Me Out Play Video
• Ulysses Play Video
• Outsiders ( Joined by former drummer Paul Thomson plus Los Bitchos and Medicine Cabinet for drum ending ) Play Video
• Billy Goodbye Play Video
• The Fallen Play Video
• Michael Play Video
• This Fire ( Alex Kapranos staged dived at the end of the song flooring two girls who were then pulled on stage ) Play Video

Edits and Comments

7 activities (last edit by nbruderman , 8 Dec 2022, 14:10 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Darts of Pleasure
• Take Me Out
• The Dark of the Matinée
• Do You Want To
• Love Illumination
• Right Action
• Lucid Dreams
• No You Girls
• Billy Goodbye
• Always Ascending

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The ovo hydro.

• Franz Ferdinand This Setlist Add time Add time
• Los Bitchos Add time Add time

Franz Ferdinand Gig Timeline

• Nov 07 2022 Verti Music Hall Berlin, Germany Add time Add time
• Nov 08 2022 E-Werk Cologne, Germany Start time: 9:30 PM 9:30 PM
• Nov 10 2022 The OVO Hydro This Setlist Glasgow, Scotland Add time Add time
• Nov 13 2022 Store Vega Copenhagen, Denmark Add time Add time
• Nov 14 2022 Berns Stockholm, Sweden Add time Add time

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Franz Ferdinand

In support of their new 'best of' lp hits to the head, franz ferdinand have announced three uk dates as part of their 2022 european tour, including a night at the ovo hydro on 10th november.

About Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand formed in 2002 in their hometown of Glasgow, with Alex Kapranos on lead guitar and vocals, Bob Hardy on bass, Paul Thompson on drums and Nick McCarthy on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Though they took their name from the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in 1914 kick-started the First World War, the band have admitted to simply liking the way the name rolled off the tongue. In November 2021, after dropping a series of teasers on social media the band released the new single Billy Goodbye and announced news of a Best Of collection, Hits To The Head.

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Franz Ferdinand  

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Franz Ferdinand (formed in 2002) is a Scottish indie/alternative rock four-piece, led by frontman Alex Kapranos, hailing from Glasgow, Scotland.

Prior to forming Franz Ferdinand singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos played in the groups The Kareila and Yummy Fur, the latter alongside friend and percussionist Paul Thompson. Kapranos later taught his friend Bob Hardy how to play bass, and met co-guitarist Nick McCarthy soon afterwards, completing the band's lineup. Having initially practiced in McCarthy’s house, Franz Ferdinand soon found an abandoned warehouse, affectionately named the Chateau, where they could hone their skills. In early 2002 the band recorded a host of material that generated a significant amount of buzz, ultimately resulting in Franz Ferdinand signing with Domino Records in 2003.

The band’s debut label release “Darts of the Pleasure EP” was released in 2003, followed in early 2004 by the hit single “Take Me Out”. The single reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100, introducing the band to an international audience. Franz Ferdinand’s self-titled debut album was released in February 2004 to critical acclaim and comparisons to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, the Sex Pistols, and Blur. The album subsequently won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, an Ivor Novello Award, and two BRIT Awards in 2005.

Franz Ferdinand’s sophomore album “You Could Have It So Much Better” was issued in October 2005 once again on Domino Records. The record proved popular again among critics and fans, with the album topping the UK Albums Chart, aided by the singles “Do You Want To”, “Walk Away”, “The Fallen / L.Wells”, and “Eleanor Put Your Boots On”. Choosing to team up with pop producer Dan Carey, Franz Ferdinand’s third album took the group in a more dance/pop direction. Released in early 2009, “Tonight” was led by the single “Ulysees”, and subsequently “No You Girls” and “Can’t Stop Feeling”. Following appearances at Glastonbury Festival, Coachella Festival and on Green Day’s 2009 tour, the band released the dub compilation album “Blood” in June 2009.

“Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action” appeared in 2013, charting at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 24 on the Billboard 200. Recorded in Black Pudding Studio in Glasgow, Scotland, the album features producers Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, and Todd Terje. The album, like its predecessors found favour among critics and spawned the singles “Right Action”, “Love Illumination”, and “Evil Eye”.

Live reviews

Although the genre of post-punk isn't new, Franz Ferdinand was at the forefront of its revival during the mid-2000s in the United Kingdom.

Franz Ferdinand has a certain sound that anyone can pick up as soon as you hear one of their songs. Although their realm of music is saturated with artists all doing the same thing, you can always tell a Franz Ferdinand song as soon as you hear the first few notes, even before singer Alex Kapranos begins to sing.

This is evident in concert as well. In an outdoor festival in the daytime, they introduce themselves and immediately begin to play. As soon as the first two or three notes are played of a certain song, like "Take Me Out," the crowd begins to go crazy and starts cheering and jumping as the band gets past the song's introduction. Aside from the getting the audience pumped up with their music, Franz Ferdinand also has a classy stage presence.

All the members dress in dark colors, with Alex Kapranos wearing a button-down shirt. Behind them, a large screen projects images relating to the band. There isn't really much else going on visually, except maybe some lights for when it begins to get dark. The stage itself is huge, and is surrounded by crowds, of which some try and get close to band as they play. As Franz Ferdinand has become more popular, the crowds have become bigger.

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If you are aiming to dance nonstop during all the gig, Franz Ferdinand is the best choice. For Brazilians, it's a big deal the fact that they come almost every year to perform in São Paulo, but I do believe it's good deal for us to keep my hometown always in their route. As for the gig, it was awesome! New hits from RIGHT WORDS, RIGHT THOUGHTS, RIGHT ACTIONS mixed with the best of their previous albums. I may dare to say that there was nothing out. A lot of music, less talking - that's how I like it. 21 songs well played. whenever the audience got a little bit tired of jumping and dancing, they brought up a hit to make us get into the beat again. "DO YOU WANT TO" was great and so it was "WALK AWAY". Of course "TAKE ME OUT" made everybody scream from the top of their lungs. and that drum jam was unbelievable!! Just amazing! When they came back for the encore, again new versus old hits just perfectly matching. Also they shown a little bit of love to São Paulo when they played "THIS FIRE", which made us leave the gig wanting them to come next year. I'll be there for sure!

For a rock act to make their audience dance throughout the whole gig is quite an impossible feat yet Scottish group Franz Ferdinand do not seem to have any issues in achieving this. Their entire discography is tinged with that pop/rock sound that means it just makes you want to move and the piercing percussion pulses through the room and gets the whole venue jumping along to the beat. There has always been theatrics involved with Franz's show and tonight is no exception as there are operatic introductions added to the likes of 'The Dark of the Matinée'.

There is also huge encouragement from lead singer Alex Kapranos who whips the masses into heightened enthusiasm for 'No You Girls' a modern indie classic which is barked back in force by the delighted fans. You cannot fault the boys attitude onstage as they tear through a varied set with equal enthusiasm, clearly holding all their albums in equal affection. The fans do have clear favourites for 'Ulysses' and 'Take Me Out' which make a perfect closer to a set from a band that is fast moving from talented to iconic.

Franz Ferdinand are the most amazing live band I've ever seen. I always have so much fun when I see them cause of how awesome their songs sound live and how much fun they have performing together on stage. Their frontman, Alex Kapranos, is absolutely fantastic! He's charismatic, sexy and has a voice that's like warm honey and he really engages with the audiance. They performed four new songs off the upcoming album(Paper Cages, Huck & Jim, Lazy Boy & Always Ascending) as well as hits and fan favs off their four previous albums. I can't recommend enough how enjoyable these guys are to see live. They are my fav band and the guys are all so sweet, (Alex Kapranos, Bob Hardy, Paul Thomson) as well as the new addition of Julian Corrie and Dino Bardot who are so sweet and awesome as well. I've known the boys personally for years now and it's always exciting knowing that I'm going to see them even after all these years and more then 16 gigs later they still manage to keep their shows fresh and exciting.

Last night was the 20th time I’ve seen this amazing band and I’m always floored by what an epically awesome live band they are! Last night was incredible! Alex was in top form prowling, dancing and reaching out to the crowd enticing us to interact with him. It was the perfect mix of classic Franz and songs off of the new album. One of the highlights was hearing the amazing Come On Home, off their debut album, for the first time last night in years! I couldn’t stop laughing and singing with joy right along with Alex. What a treat! I have no voice left but it’s a small price to pay for such an incredibly fun night! Looking forward to seeing them at The Observatory in Santa Ana Saturday.

Absolutely killer show. The front man, Alex, is absolutely one of the biggest reasons to see this show. His energy and sweet dance moves rock the crowd along with the fantastic instrumental work of the rest of the band. The crowd involvement and hype that they generate just kept building throughout the night. What a show! My only complaint was the weird opener they had for this show, Bodega, who seemed to be going for that alt-punk/hipster sound but came out just sounding loud and out of tune. Definitely not a band for this audience and I don't expect they'll be playing many shows.

Franz 10/10!

Love Franz Ferdinand more than any other band and know all the lyrics. I've been waiting for their concert in NYC for so many years, but I have to admit it was a disappointment. There's only one reason -- they played new album FFS created with Sparks. Basically this album is not like Franz Ferdinand rock music that I love so much. It's not bad, just different. So no moshing, no wilderness.. But we'll be waiting for another solo Franz Ferdinand concert in NYC,because Alex Kapranos is genius and we love his oeuvre, not somebody's else.

The band were exception and played a varied mix of their biggest tunes. The performance was stunning, created with enmense energy from the band and attractive lights and backdrops. The atmosphere was good except from the grumpy old man standing next to me who didn't so much as tap his foot to the music, however this was just unlucky and could not be affected by the band. The band interacted well with the audience and at the end of the gig the lead singer threw me his pick.

I wanted to like this show more than I did. Some of the FFS songs were okay, others were just too theatrical and didn't really work for me. It was like Rush and Yes had a secret 13 day love child (I'm looking at you Elijah Blue) and this band is that child, a child that watched Jesus Christ Superstar once too many apparently. I saw FF ten years ago and they rocked, tonight I was disappointed for 2/3's of the show.

The Franz Ferdinand & Sparks show was unique, something i was not expecting! The attitudes of both lead vocalists really drove the event the entire portion of the night. They ended their world tour here in Oakland, and it was quite the showcase to go out. All in all they did a few Sparks covers and a few Franz Ferdinand covers, but last night they were one band on stage!

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Franz Ferdinand announce UK and European ‘Greatest Hits’ tour

Kicking off next spring

Franz Ferdinand have announced a UK and European headline tour for 2022 – see all the details below.

The Scottish band will head out on the road next spring in support of their ‘Hits To The Head’ ‘best of’ album, which is due for release on March 11 via Domino Records.

• READ MORE: Franz Ferdinand talk new single ‘Billy Goodbye’, their greatest hits and new line-up

Kicking off in Barcelona on March 15, the run of dates also includes shows in Madrid, Lisbon, Bilbao, Munich, Milan and Rennes.

Alex Kapranos and co. are set to return to the UK on April 1 for a gig at Alexandra Palace in London. Performances will then follow at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester (April 4) and OVO Hydro in Glasgow (April 5).

Further European dates are scheduled for between April 7 and July 8, when Franz Ferdinand will play the Adrenaline Stadium in Moscow. You can see the full schedule below.

Hits To The Head Greatest Hits tour! 🌎 https://t.co/Yg1zx3uAyh Pre-order our new album Hits To The Head from our official store or FNAC (FR) for pre-sale access to UK and French dates. General sale opens next Fri Nov 12th. pic.twitter.com/NGDyzjUCpS — Franz Ferdinand (@Franz_Ferdinand) November 5, 2021

Tickets go on general sale here at 10am GMT next Friday (November 12). Fans who pre-order ‘Hits To The Head’ can access a pre-sale at the same time next Wednesday (November 10).

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Franz Ferdinand announced their upcoming ‘best of’ collection by sharing a new single, ‘Billy Goodbye’, earlier this week. The album will also include another unheard track called ‘Curious’.

Speaking to NME in a recent interview , Alex Kapranos described the latter as “quite a different-sounding song” for the group. “Sonically, it’s more at the silky dance floor end of what the band is about,” he added.

Kapranos also spoke about the process of deciding on a tracklist for ‘Hits To The Head’, explaining that it was “like how you would choose the setlist at a festival”, mixing “bangers” with more “retrospective” moments.

News of Franz Ferdinand’s new compilation and the accompanying tour comes after the band parted ways with their original drummer , Paul Thomson.

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Franz Ferdinand bring greatest hits tour to Glasgow’s Hydro in sensational hometown gig

• Stephen Walsh
• Published : 10:39, 12 Nov 2022
• Updated : 10:41, 12 Nov 2022

Every five years or so a new guitar band comes along that makes you stop and listen and, for my friends and I, it was Franz Ferdinand.

We were just a little too young to appreciate The Strokes and the scene that followed at the time, and the mid-noughties indie boom (or indie landfill as it became known) was still a couple of years way.

The Glasgow outfit are playing a small number of dates in support of their new Hits To The Head greatest hits compilation, marking 20 years of the band - yikes, has it been that long?

I’d seen them twice before - and they always deliver - but the last time I saw them it was at T In The Park , not exactly yesterday.

So it was that I found myself in the Hydro , but do they still have it after all these years?

The answer is, definitively yes.

Although the band only retains two of its original lineup - Alex Kapranos on lead vocals and guitar, and Bob Hardy on bass - they’ve lost none of their original appeal and fantastic live sound.

They open with The Dark of the Matinee and immediately I’m reminded of how ubiquitous - rightly so - their self-titled debut was, with early singles such as this on constant rotation on the radio and music channels at the time.

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The spiky guitars and art-pop sound of the opener, which also is reminiscent of The Kinks in parts, gets things going with the crowd singing along to the catchy chorus.

Kapranos is the consummate frontman, clad in a sequinned jacket, he struts around the stage and has the crowd eating from his hands, this is a hometown gig after all.

What follows is a stacked setlist, where the band delve into 20 years worth of bangers - from Walk Away to Do You Want To - and you remember just how good they are, beyond the iconic first album.

Kapranos is an old-school frontman in how he interacts with the crowd he tells us he’s ‘very lucky’ to be here after the past two years, and it’s fair to say the message is reciprocated.

Soon he begins to tell us the origins of one of their early classics, and how the person who inspired the song isn’t able to attend.

With bated breath the crowd pauses as he plays the opening chords and mournful vocals of Jacqueline, before the song kicks into gear and the audience follows suit - the misdirection between the opening and bombastic final part of the song still holds up.

Their breakthrough single, and indie classic, Take Me Out soon follows and the crowd is hanging off every word as the band tears through the unmistakable stomper.

The three guitarists and bass players walk towards the centre of the crowd, along the short walkway, and do their synchronised poses.

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There’s a break from the the fast-paced punchy set during track Outsiders, where former drummer Paul Thomson and members of support acts Los Bitchos and Medicine Cabaret join the band for an extended ‘drum-off’ outro.

The encore followed and after a brief break the band finish off the night with five closing tracks, including a blistering rendition of Michael and a rendition of first single, This Fire with Kapranos leaping into the crowd in a riotous ending to their return home.

We may all be older - myself included - but Franz Ferdinand's ability to pull off a tremendous live show remains intact.

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2022 Tour Date Updates

We’re sorry to announce that due to ongoing covid restrictions across Europe and the logistics involved with putting on a tour at this time, we have had to reschedule the first half of our upcoming tour.

We’ve kept in all the dates we are logistically able to do but for all others we have had to re-schedule for later in the year. Sadly, this has also meant we have had to cancel the shows in Padova, Brest and Prague. Venues have also been changed in Brussels, Warsaw, Milan, Munich, Cologne and Stockholm.

For the shows that have been rescheduled, all tickets purchased remain valid for the new dates but if you are unable to attend refunds will be available from point of purchase.

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Franz ferdinand: always ascending.

It may have come to your attention that the mighty Franz Ferdinand are poised to return with a new line-up. The band’s latest configuration features Julian Corrie, aka synth pop maestro Miaoux Miaoux, on keyboards and vocals and Dino Bardot, once of glam indie pop trio 1990s, on guitar. They also have a brand spanking new…

February 7, 2018

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Franz Ferdinand Nearly Called It Quits—and Came Back Brasher and Gutsier Than Ever

By Eve Barlow

Photography by Elizabeth Weinberg

Back in 2005, a then-quartet from Glasgow, Scotland, named Franz Ferdinand was opening for U2 on their Vertigo Tour, one of the highest-grossing tours of all time. They were told that under no circumstances should they use Bono's so-called “ego ramp”—a catwalk extending into the audience—during their own performance. Alex Kapranos, a most gentlemanly rebellious frontman, decided he’d waltz down it anyway. Regaling with this story on the set of their “Feel the Love Go” video shoot—the song’s inspired by bassist Bob Hardy's dabbles in Buddhism—the now 45-year-old marvels at that notion of inflated self.

In a church in Valencia, California, the corridors are filled with actors posing as members of a congregation. Kapranos is pacing the halls, gee-ing himself up for his big performance as a televangelist leader. Diane Martel, the video's director, is notorious for wanting musicians to truly dig into their roles. In turn, Kapranos has been studying his preaching. The power, the pomposity, the fun of commanding a room. He takes pleasure in his role as an extroverted leader, and today he's imposing himself on someone else's stage again, except this time it's a real deity’s stage, should you believe in such a thing.

“I've got an alternative career here,” he says with a smile, his hair a friskier blond than the mousy brown it used to be. Kapranos is not a believer, so his initial attempts to follow religious scripture fail. Instead, he addresses the room spouting his own thoughts on “the spirit of optimism.” He recognizes, of course, the parallels between getting this congregation animated versus driving a paying concert crowd wild through the power of jangly guitars and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. “When I was researching old footage, some of these guys genuinely believe they're doing something good. Others are total con men. But,” he pauses, “all of them are having a great time, and that's not too far removed from the world that we're in.”

Always Ascending —Franz's fifth album—plays out like proof that the band is also having a great time. It's up there with their best efforts, mirroring the dance-floor post-rock of their self-titled 2004 debut LP (you may know it from the breakout hit “Take Me Out,” a garage-rock stomp). This record’s a reflection in a disco ball, just...an upgraded, shinier disco ball. “Futuristic naturalistic” is the typically flamboyant term Kapranos has coined to describe it, such has always been his dismay for critics' own misguided obsession with trying to pigeonhole his band as “art punk” (“What the fuck? Because we all went to art school?”), indie (“HATE that”), or—heaven forbid—rock (“When you say rock, I just think: Aerosmith”).

A few days after the shoot, Kapranos is in an L.A. hotel taking a sip of Sauvignon Blanc, inhaling a plate of garlic shrimp. “My greatest regret—and there are not many—is not coming up with a genre which we occupy,” he says. “This time, we're trying to push ourselves into our imagined version of the future: Not in 2,000 years' time, this year's future.” The futurism is where they've “gone electric,” rewiring their brains and employing new techniques in the studio between London and Paris with the help of madcap and very French producer Philippe Zdar (one half of house duo Cassius). The naturalistic side pertains to Franz Ferdinand’s humanity. As of now, they’re yet to be replaced by a bunch of hypersmart, musically inclined automatons. In short: They’re still a live band.

“We were joking in interviews that the name of the new genre was 'natural futurism,' not 'future naturism,'” continues Kapranos, pleased with his own inventiveness. “The latter sounds like this horrible beach I stumbled across in Croatia by mistake one time. There were a lot of leathered Germans and gravity was winning.” He laughs into his wine glass, searching for an adjective for the sight. “Yeah…crispy.”

In the summer of 2016, things could very well not have been great for Franz Ferdinand. Things could have been over, finito, kaput. When Nick McCarthy, the original guitarist and keyboard player, decided to leave the fold and concentrate on family life, Kapranos, Hardy, and drummer Paul Thomson were faced with the question of replacement. But it turns out ending the band was only a momentary question. “Did we actually have that conversation?” Kapranos asks Thomson.

“Yeah, I think you flat out asked each of us, 'What do we do? Do we continue?' And Bob and I both said…” Thomson takes a dramatic pause. “Yes!”

Merely asking the question changed everything. “It's like getting a slap on the side of the head,” says Kapranos. “Your ears are ringing.” Julian Corrie, an Englishman who'd been living in Glasgow for years and came via the recommendation of Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite, was brought into the mix. Then, while recording the LP, Kapranos felt their new sonic ambitions would be most amply met live with the addition of another member. So four became five Franz Ferdinands, with Dino Bardot, a bassist in many previous Scottish outfits, including 1990s and V-Twin, completing the gang.

By Alex Pappademas

By Vince Mancini

By Jake Kring-Schreifels

Franz Ferdinand always had more potential legs in them than their 2000s cohorts. They were happier than Bloc Party, smarter than Kaiser Chiefs, and contained none of the hunger for self-destruction that imbued the everyday existence of the Libertines. After "Take Me Out" exploded them across the Atlantic, they spent a decade carving out an equally rewarding back catalogue. You Could Have It So Much Better , their second album, led with the infectious singalong of "Do You Want To." Their third album contained "Ulysses," produced by Dan Carey (CSS, Hot Chip, La Roux), adding an LCD Soundsystem–ish dance-punk weapon to their arsenal. After releasing their fourth record in 2013, they undertook a surprising but no less welcome supergroup collaboration with ’70s L.A. glam rockers Sparks, called FFS, and toured together. That would become lead guitarist McCarthy’s swan song. After ten years on top, it was a pretty dream one at that.

His departure and the more electronic leanings of Always Ascending aren't coincidental. Signaling the end of a chapter, Kapranos was eager to begin a decade of band life anew. “We had to evolve,” he says, unlike some of their peers. “I don't like slagging off other bands, but there are ones who still live in the decade where they had most success.” Franz Ferdinand never played ball with the emerging British indie scene— NME 's so-called "new rock revolution" featuring those bands mentioned above. You know the type. So why change now? “It's a nice life, but I don't feel like spending the rest of mine in suspended animation.”

With fresh blood in the mix, it was time for some reinvigorated experimenting. This go-around, Franz Ferdinand’s songwriting method was at odds with anything they'd tried before. For a track called “The Academy Award,” for instance, they programmed the bass line digitally, like you would a cracking techno number, then learned to play it live. “I wrote on piano,” says Kapranos, surprised. “My hands stopped falling into the same shapes they'd been falling into for the last 14 years. It's like finding yourself in a different city, trying to navigate to a supermarket.”

This approach of re-producing electronic music with live instrumentation sounds like a similarly ostentatious process to Daft Punk's last album, Random Access Memories , though, hopefully, less expensive? Kapranos laughs. “That's Philippe's mentality,” he says, referencing Zdar's approach. “It's a French thing. You should see what he's like with his strawberry tarts…” Zdar has to have the best of everything, so when the band arrived at his studio in Paris, he insisted that they eat strawberry tarts. “But you can only have strawberry tarts from this one pâtisserie round the corner from his house,” explains Kapranos, adopting a French accent. “Zey're twice ze price of any other tart in Par-ees, but we only eat zose tarts.”

At first listen, Always Ascending sounds like early Franz Ferdinand, but closer inspection reveals Easter eggs: a lilting piano melody, a souped-up bassline, a syncopated disco throb. “He's ruthless. It's the antithesis of multi-layered contemporary production, which is nonsense.” It's true, then, that when making an album you only really need pastry and strawberries. “Exactly,” Kapranos agrees. “It just has to be the best pastry.”

Let’s be clear here: Always Ascending is not a concept album. Kapranos doesn't like those. “Frankly, I don't believe artists who say their albums are about one thing.” Hardy butts in. “Ours is about Brexit, though. Wait, no. Don't print that!” Kapranos howls. “Oh my God, could you imagine that concept album?” The title track is inspired by news footage of the Akron airship in 1933, which was blown into the air with hundreds of soldiers dangling from it, then plummeted to Earth. It explores the conflict of relief and terror. “You know when you're in an accident and you're about to die, everything's slowing down and it's like, Fuck ?” offers Corrie.

Thomson asks if anyone has been in a car crash before. They all have.

Thomson: “I was in a car crash, and I broke my thumb. I was in a band called The Lapse, and we were going down to play Reading Festival, I was quite excited. We were driving down, and it was the first time I was ever playing a music festival. The van crashed. I remember everything slowed down.”

Corrie: “You become hyperaware of everything, that flood of adrenaline.”

Kapranos: “There's also an acceptance. I've crashed a car before as well, and I know what it's like just at that point where you know you're gonna crash and you just go, It's happening. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm just accepting it now. And I wonder if that's what goes through my mind, imagining that literally as you let go, you're accepting, you're accepting your situation no matter how horrifying it actually is.”

It's a pretty Zen approach to mortality, which makes sense for a band that was asking themselves if they should even exist anymore. But now their camaraderie seems stronger than ever. “I like hanging out with those guys. I really do,” Kapranos says.

When reminded that they once said the ultimate goal was to become more famous than the original Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Hardy gets excited. “Two thousand fourteen was a low point for us in terms of Google hits, because it was the centenary [of his assassination].” The band was even invited to play the centenary—in Sarajevo. They thought it was a stupid, sick idea. “Also it was tempting fate a little,” Kapranos says.

With Always Ascending , though, Franz Ferdinand is beginning a shiny new chapter in their own Google history.

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Franz Ferdinand: HITS TO THE HEAD TOUR

Matthew dear.

• Date Aug 19 , 2022
• Event Starts 8:00 PM
• Doors Open 7:00 PM
• On Sale On Sale Now
• Ages All Ages

Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand explains on GMB why they won't perform in Russia

The popular rockers from Glasgow have previously toured Russia and Ukraine, but have made the difficult decision to cancel their shows in Russia due to ongoing tensions between the two countries.

• 12:02, 11 MAR 2022

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Glasgow-based band Franz Ferdinand appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning to discuss the reasonings behind their cancelling of tour dates in Russia, amid ongoing tensions between the country and Ukraine.

Lead singer Alex Kapranos spoke to hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Sheppard about the difficult decision they made as a band to cancel their dates in Russia .

Speaking on ITV this morning, Alex said: "I love going to Russia, the country, culturally, has had a big impact on the band, and a big influence on our artwork.

READ MORE - Martin Compston says Greenock pals would mock Scottish 'phone voice' on ITV show

"I also feel a close connection with our Russian fans over there as well, and that's the tragedy of it.

"When speaking to our fans over there, as nowadays you do on social media and stuff, they don't want this war either.

"The overwhelming response is, we don't want this to be happening, it just shows the craziness of the leadership."

Kate Garraway also mentioned the fact that the band have played in Ukraine before, and the fans there are also suffering as a result of this war.

Alex continued: "On our last tour, we played in Odesa and Kyiv, and they are amazing, beautiful cities, that are incredible to walk around in.

"And now, I'm seeing the footage of the cities, with tanks rolling in and militaries arriving both on the news and on social media as well.

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"I'm being sent videos from people I met over there showing me 'Look, there's my apartment building being blown up', and it's just horrible to watch."

Franz Ferdinand also showed their support to Ukraine by playing a concert on Wednesday night, titled 'Concert in Support of Ukraine', to raise funds for aid to be sent over.

Alex added: "It was a great thing to do because I think all of us at the moment feel helpless, and you feel you've got to do something to support the people of Ukraine.

"It was a really good night and it was a good thing to do in aid of those people."

Franz Ferdinand will continue their tour in Luxembourg on April 14, with the two Russian dates on June 29 and July 1 cancelled with immediate effect.

Good Morning Britain continues on Monday and every weekday from 6am onwards.

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