Franz Ferdinand

In an early interview, Franz Ferdinand drummer Paul Thomson dreamed that future success might see their name become more famous for the band, than for the Archduke who's assassination set the wheels of World War I in motion. After two successful albums and a string of hit singles, that dream is not as spurious as it once seemed: many young people around the world will know the band, but not the history behind the name. Franz Ferdinand - the band - are the bane of history teachers worldwide.

Forming in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2001, the band famously held illegal parties in a disused warehouse which they dubbed "the Château", where they honed their skills, sound and attitude to make "music that girls can dance to". Their second single, released in January 2004, brought them widespread popularity and critical acclaim - "Take Me Out" became a worldwide indie anthem. Their debut eponymous album soon followed, and it was greeted with universal praise by the music press and reached No. 2 in the UK charts. Five singles were released, meaning Franz Ferdinand could be heard everywhere through the spring/summer of 2004, and later that year the album won the Mercury Prize for Best British Album.

It was a lot to live up to, but in late 2005 Franz Ferdinand released another critically acclaimed record: You Could Have It So Much Better. It went to No.1 in the UK and No.8 in the US; and lead single "Do You Want To" became another huge hit. Though it didn't share the effervescent energy of the debut, the follow-up was more original: it was a step away from the retro post-punk stylings of the first, into more rounded song-writing including slower, ballad-like songs.

In 2007 Franz Ferdinand debuted a number of new songs at various live performances, and third album, Tonight, hit the stores in 2009.