Franz Ferdinand

Scottish indie-rock band Franz Ferdinand took their name from the Austrian Archduke whose 1914 assassination set off World War I. ∙ The band’s 2004 self-titled debut won the Mercury Prize and was nominated for the Best Alternative Album Grammy Award, the first of their five Grammy nominations. ∙ Their sophomore LP, 2005’s You Could Have It So Much Better, produced by Rich Costey (Foo Fighters, Muse, Sigur Rós), was their first US Top 10 album. ∙ Starting in 2005, lead singer and former chef Alex Kapranos wrote a food column for the The Guardian, chronicling the meals and snacks he ate while on tour with the band. ∙ The 2011 EP Covers features songs from their third album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, as interpreted by such artists as LCD Soundsystem and Peaches. ∙ Together with the legendary rock duo Sparks, they formed the supergroup FSS, releasing their acclaimed debut in 2015.