Franz Ferdinand

Glasgow's art-damaged rock quartet Franz Ferdinand -- named for the Austro-Hungarian Archduke whose murder sparked World War I -- features bassist Bob Hardy, guitarist Nick Mccarthy, drummer Paul Thomson, and singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos. In late 2001, Kapranos and Hardy had begun working on music together when they met Mccarthy, a classically trained pianist and double bass player who originally played drums for the group despite no prior experience as a drummer. The trio had been rehearsing at Mccarthy's house for a while when they met and started playing with Thomson, a former drummer for The Yummy Fur who felt like playing guitar instead. Eventually, Mccarthy and Thomson switched to guitar and drums, and the band switched practice spaces, stumbling upon an abandoned warehouse that they named the Chateau.



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