Franz Ferdinand's eponymous debut with its efficient, clean, sleek and catchy sound elevated the slick Glasgow-based four-piece to world-wide fame in 2004. Several awards, platinum status and a Grammys appearance later, their second album, 'You Could Have It So Much Better', released in October, instantly cemented their iconic pop star status. Poppier, exuberant, and more mature with a broader musical and emotional range, the follow-up is arguably even better than the debut and marched triumphantly to number one in the UK Album Chart, number eight in the US Billboard and into the top ten in a number of European countries.
A former divinity student and lately appointed food columnist by 'The Guardian' for the duration of their world tour, Alex Kapranos is the band's celebrated singer, lyricist and guitarist. Nick McCarthy gave up playing the double bass, which he studied at the Munich conservatoire, to become their lead guitarist. Bob Hardy, a fine art graduate and at 25 the youngest of the gang, swapped his brush for the bass, while Paul Thomson, who got married last year and settled in East London, works the drums.
Although we have an appointment with McCarthy and Hardy, we are surprised when McCarthy cancels without explanation and later attempts to arrange a telephone interview are politely rebuffed. Such are the pressures on a modern rock star - we could've had it so much better.
Sat now in the equipment room at Alexandra Palace, where they're playing one of four sell-out London shows, Hardy, with his tousled blonde hair on a cheeky face and perfect manners, has a public school demeanour that disguises his Yorkshire roots. He almost, but not quite carries off a buoyant, relaxed pose. Appearing boyish on photos, in the flesh Hardy looks more mature, perhaps because he cuts a robust figure in dark wool trousers, matched by a dark jumper with a shirt collar poking out, and brown pointed suede shoes.
Reminiscing about the origins of their name, Hardy reveals it was a race horse that prompted the band to adopt the Franz Ferdinand moniker. He cracks a smile: "We saw a race horse called 'Archduke' on television and got talking about the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, that it would make a good name for a band, because it alliterates and sounds good. And about the way his death changed the course of history (it provoked WWI)," Hardy says earnestly. "Any band should try to change the course of musical history."
While the band would have reason enough to be complacent about their global success, Hardy stresses the only thing the band, who famously set out to 'make music for girls to dance to', "ever" hoped for is to make recordings they enjoy and think are successful pieces of music.
Style lovers as they are, the new album cover features a copy of a 1920s' photograph by the band's much-liked Russian avant-garde artist Alexander Rodchenko, "because it looks cool", Hardy says, adding after a pensive pause, "It fits in with the music as well. It's a clean, bold design."
Drawing influences not only from art, but also from books, films, people they meet or conversations, Kapranos's lyrics on the new album usually master the delicate balancing act between pretension and art, though sometimes they slip into the obscure: “and the Kunst won't talk to you / because you kissed St. Rollox adieu / because you robbed a supermarket or two / well who gives a damn about the prophets of Tesco?” ('The Fallen'). Hardy comments: "It's very dull to listen to a song and the lyrics are (he sing-songs) 'I'm so in love, I'm so happy'. There are lyricists who write that type of crap. The best lyrics are the ones that are ambiguous and that you can put your own imagined meanings on." Even if you run the risk people don't get them? "It's quite obvious what our songs are about. Maybe I'm too close, but ... nah, I think, nah ..."
The first single to be released from their second album was the boisterous 'Do You Want To'. 'Walk Away' followed earlier this month. A romantic tragedy dressed in a ballad's clothing, it's a welcome change for the Franz Ferdinand camp. "We listened to the finished album and that song stood out for us," says Hardy. "It's a nice change as well from what people expect from Franz Ferdinand singles."
Not far from 'Walk Away' sits another ballad, 'Eleanor Put Your Boots On', and Hardy explains that by having a range of musical styles they wanted to show how wide their personal taste in music is. "On the first record there were songs that potentially could have been ballads, like 'Come On Home' or 'Auf Achse'. But we arranged them in a different way, with a full drum beat, four to the floor, base drum. We didn't just want to repeat that formula of dance disco or dance rock."
Hardy also says the first record seems quite cold in comparison to the second. "On the second record we captured the energy we have as a live band more faithfully, of the four of us in a room playing together. This is something Rich Costey (Muse, Bloc Party) was keen on producing."
Live, Franz Ferdinand's winning formula easily carries the crowd. Looking good in tight jeans and fitted leather jacket or a sexy Western-style shirt, their show has everything: Good sound, impeccable style, jerky energy, catchy sing-along choruses, and, in between, quieter, more reflective moments to breath; backed by smart, arty visuals - geometric patterns, videos or iconic photographic images of themselves.
Asked how it feels onstage, Hardy's eyes lit up in an exuberant rush. "Exciting! Anything could happen! That's what you try to keep. The band performance feeds from the crowd. But it's reciprocal. It's a big circle," which he lavishly draws with his arms. "If the crowd have a lot of energy, we perform better. But there're also points where you look around at the four of you, and it feels like 'Here are the four of us!', 'Here we are!'"
Offstage (again), much has been commented on the public row between frontman Kapranos and lead guitarist McCarthy at the end of 2004. Hardy counters that people argue, that it's a natural part of a social circle. Becoming a little impatient, there's now more urgency in his voice. "If every argument you have with your house mate or your brother was reported in the papers, it would be ridiculous. Obviously there's some kind of friction especially in a band with four very strong, creative characters. We have a common ground, our taste in music. But we're not the same person, we can clash sometimes."
"The way Alex (Kapranos) and Nick (McCarthy) write together is quite unusual," he says more relaxed. "They have an excitement about life, about making music, and a common consensus on what's good music. Alex's very passionate about his ideas, but so are all of us. Franz Ferdinand wouldn't be Franz Ferdinand if it lost any of the members."
Hardy concedes he won't be doing music for the rest of his life, though he thinks the other three will be in some form or other. But at the moment, reaching the public's conscience on a global scale, the Glasgow four are having the time of their life and are not planning an end. "We're still having a great time, so we keep going while it's fun."
When would it stop being fun? "We don't know. Hopefully we won't find out."
Live photo by: Linda Chasteau
