Franz Ferdinand (band)

Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand performing live in 2018. From left to right: Dino Bardot, Julian Corrie, Alex Kapranos, Paul Thomson (on drums) and Bob Hardy
Background information
Origin	Glasgow, Scotland
Genres	Indie rock post-punk revival dance-punk garage rock revival dance-rock art rock
Discography	Franz Ferdinand discography
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Domino
Spinoffs	FFS
Spinoff of	The Yummy Fur
Members	Alex Kapranos Bob Hardy Julian Corrie Dino Bardot Audrey Tait
Past members	Nick McCarthy Paul Thomson
Website	franzferdinand.com

Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. Their original line-up was composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals), Bob Hardy (bass guitar, percussion) and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Julian Corrie (keyboards, lead guitar, backing vocals) and Dino Bardot (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) joined the band in 2017 after McCarthy left during the previous year, and Audrey Tait (drums, percussion) joined the band after Thomson left in 2021. The band are one of the more popular post-punk revival bands, garnering multiple UK top 20 hits.^[1] They have been nominated for several Grammy Awards and have received two Brit Awards—winning one for Best British Group—as well as one NME Award.

The band's first single, "Darts of Pleasure", just missed out on the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 44. Their second single, "Take Me Out", proved their big commercial breakthrough, peaking at number three. "Take Me Out" charted in several other countries and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal; it became the band's signature song. Their self-titled debut studio album won the 2004 Mercury Prize and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album.

In 2005, the band released their second studio album, You Could Have It So Much Better, produced by Rich Costey. It peaked within the top-ten in multiple countries and earned Grammy-nominations for Best Alternative Album and for one of the singles, "Do You Want To". The band's third studio album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, was released in January 2009; by then the band had shifted from a post-punk-focused sound to a more dance-oriented sound. A remix album of Tonight, titled Blood, was released in July 2009.

Four years after the release of Tonight, the band released their fourth studio album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, in August 2013. In 2015, Franz Ferdinand and American rock band Sparks formed the supergroup FFS and released a one-off self-titled album in June 2015. The band underwent multiple lineup changes following FFS, beginning with McCarthy's departure in 2016. After acquiring Corrie and Bardot, the band released their fifth studio album Always Ascending in February 2018. Thomson departed in 2021 and was replaced by Tait. The band's sixth studio album, The Human Fear, is scheduled for release in 2025.