How Franz Ferdinand Chose Their Name

Franz Ferdinand have just released the new track "Always Ascending" off their forthcoming album with the same name. The album is set for release on the 9th of February, 2018 and is available for pre-order. Now that the band are top of mind once more, we did some digging into their past and found out how Franz Ferdinand came to be known as Franz Ferdinand – it involves a horse, an assassination and some good old fashioned alliteration. But first...

Always Ascending

The band's original co-founders were Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy, and Paul Thomson. In 2016, Murphy left the band to focus on family matters and other projects. Since then, two new members have joined Franz Ferdinand – Dino Bardot and Julian Corrie (known by his stage name Miaoux Miaoux.) The new 5 piece Franz Ferdinand will be releasing their first sounds in 2018 and have set loose their first single on the world.

Here we are under a bridge in Glasgow, with new members Dino Bardot (on the left) and Julian Corrie (on the right).

See you in N. America. pic.twitter.com/Zy0Kmnkt4y
— Franz Ferdinand (@Franz_Ferdinand) May 19, 2017

Franz Ferdinand - The Name

There was a racehorse named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose winning race was witnessed by the band and after a discussion about the name, they decided they liked the alliteration as well as the meaning. Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination was a precursor to the start of World War I. The end of a life being a catalyst for war was a rich enough metaphor for the band to roll with it, and that is how we have come to know, love and shout for talented musicians on stage and in studio who make music that we label as Franz Ferdinand's.