Franz Ferdinand (band)

Franz Ferdinand is a Scottish rock and roll band. The band's debut self-titled album released in 2004 debuted on the UK album charts at number 3, and won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize. So far, the band has released six singles of which "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée" and "Do You Want To" were top 10 hits in the UK. They are influenced by 1980s post-punk and garage rock.

Name

The name for the band was originally inspired by a racehorse called The Archduke Ferdinand. After seeing the horse run on television the band began to discuss the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and thought it would be a good band name because of its sound and the implications of his death. They discussed it in a very early interview with Scottish magazine, Is This Music? http://www.franzferdinand.org/press/f_isthismusic_000603.htm:

Related Topics:
Racehorse - Archduke Franz Ferdinand

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?Mainly we just liked the way it sounded,? says Bob. ?We liked the alliteration.? ?He was an incredible figure as well,? continues Alex. ?His life, or at least the ending of it, was the catalyst for the complete transformation of the world ? he was a pivot for history. But I don?t want to over-intellectualise the name thing. Basically a name should just sound good ? like music.? Paul has a rather grander notion. ?I like the idea that, if we become popular, maybe the words Franz Ferdinand will make people think of the band instead of the historical figure.?

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