What do you think?
Rate this book
Franz: An A-Z of Franz Ferdinand
Based on extensive research and elite interviews, this reference is a celebration of the highly successful pop-band Franz Ferdinand. The band comes together with their fans from around the world in this comprehensive encyclopedia to furnish reflections on their guitar-driven and disco-influenced music, making this a vastly entertaining as well as an informative guide. With a song-by-song guide to the musicians' award-winning lyrics and exclusive photographs that showcase the members' unique personae, this resource imitates the inventive nature of this iconic, contemporary band.
- GenresMusic
182 pages, Paperback
First published November 18, 2007
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 1, 2025
SO GOOD!! Perfect for a huge fan like myself wanting more information about the band. Loved it!!!
August 30, 2026
"And remembers the next day [after FF's last 2006 gig in São Paulo] as being a sad occasion -- everyone was going their separate ways. What had started in a bedroom in Glasgow, and ended on the stage of an arena in Brazil, had to come to a temporary halt so new songs could be written and batteries recharged. After nearly four years of constant activity, Franz Ferdinand had come to the end of the road -- for now."
The way I'm holding on to this gem and never letting go. Initially, I'd braced myself for yet another disappointment because FF's track record with books outlining their band history and deep-diving into what makes them tick isn't exactly a glorious one. This one, however, is a breath of fresh air, and much of it has to do with the moment it was written; first published in late 2007, Helen Chase spent the better part of 2006 and some of 2007 with relentless research and interviewing, meaning a good part of the text came together while the band was still actively flying high during what I personally consider their golden glory days. It is, therefore, also a very special document of its time, capturing the band's first four years and rapid rise to global success just as they were entering the next chapter of their career (they had just started working on the Tonight record). Not to sound overly sentimental and sappy, but I think this timing is precisely what makes it work so well for me. This particular look back could only come together at this specific point in their history. Had someone written it after their third or fourth record, or were someone to write it today, it would inevitably have shaped (possibly overshadowed, the more recent 20th anniversary interviews serve as a good indicator) by everything that happened afterwards. Here, by contrast, there's still something of the raw excitement of those early days in it -- the sense that their rise was still recent enough to feel astonishing, while everything that came next was completely unknown.
And, of course, some of the appeal is pure nostalgia; I don't want to romanticize the mid-2000s as some idyllic age (too much of that occurring in online discourse these days anyway), but there are things about this era that really were beautiful in ways that are difficult to explain now. The internet was already big enough to bring people together, but still felt small enough to develop their own little worlds, and there was something wonderfully intimate about the ways people connected through them. Reading so much about this period and all the things that shaped it -- the music, the videos, the shows, the forums, the friendships -- really made it come alive again. Some of it genuinely came close to making me cry.
It definitely helps that the book is so well put together. It is extremely well researched, and, occasional typos aside, wonderfully written, with the exclusive interviews and original quotes adding an immediacy that a purely restrospective account could never quite achieve. There's so much texture in hearing these stories and commentaries from the four guys themselves; some of it had me howling with laughter, and some age-old conspiracy theories finally got cleared up (Nick's second middle name never was 'Augustine', Bob made that up when he and Paul were fooling around with Nick's wikipedia page).
The way I'm holding on to this gem and never letting go. Initially, I'd braced myself for yet another disappointment because FF's track record with books outlining their band history and deep-diving into what makes them tick isn't exactly a glorious one. This one, however, is a breath of fresh air, and much of it has to do with the moment it was written; first published in late 2007, Helen Chase spent the better part of 2006 and some of 2007 with relentless research and interviewing, meaning a good part of the text came together while the band was still actively flying high during what I personally consider their golden glory days. It is, therefore, also a very special document of its time, capturing the band's first four years and rapid rise to global success just as they were entering the next chapter of their career (they had just started working on the Tonight record). Not to sound overly sentimental and sappy, but I think this timing is precisely what makes it work so well for me. This particular look back could only come together at this specific point in their history. Had someone written it after their third or fourth record, or were someone to write it today, it would inevitably have shaped (possibly overshadowed, the more recent 20th anniversary interviews serve as a good indicator) by everything that happened afterwards. Here, by contrast, there's still something of the raw excitement of those early days in it -- the sense that their rise was still recent enough to feel astonishing, while everything that came next was completely unknown.
And, of course, some of the appeal is pure nostalgia; I don't want to romanticize the mid-2000s as some idyllic age (too much of that occurring in online discourse these days anyway), but there are things about this era that really were beautiful in ways that are difficult to explain now. The internet was already big enough to bring people together, but still felt small enough to develop their own little worlds, and there was something wonderfully intimate about the ways people connected through them. Reading so much about this period and all the things that shaped it -- the music, the videos, the shows, the forums, the friendships -- really made it come alive again. Some of it genuinely came close to making me cry.
It definitely helps that the book is so well put together. It is extremely well researched, and, occasional typos aside, wonderfully written, with the exclusive interviews and original quotes adding an immediacy that a purely restrospective account could never quite achieve. There's so much texture in hearing these stories and commentaries from the four guys themselves; some of it had me howling with laughter, and some age-old conspiracy theories finally got cleared up (Nick's second middle name never was 'Augustine', Bob made that up when he and Paul were fooling around with Nick's wikipedia page).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews