Effective period / Period of releases: 2003 - 2022

Members: Alex Kapranos, Paul Thomson, Nick McCarthy, Robert Hardy, Julian Corrie, Dino Bardot, Audrey Tait

Franz Ferdinand are a band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The name of the band was originally inspired by a racehorse called Archduke Ferdinand. After seeing the horse win the Northumberland Plate in 2001, the band began to discuss Archduke Franz Ferdinand and thought it would be a good band name because of the alliteration of the name and the implications of the Archduke's death (his assassination was a significant factor in the lead up to World War I).