Franz are a tour de force in America

Published on Sunday 12 September 2004 00:36

TWO years ago they did not exist, a year ago they would have struggled to fill a Glasgow pub, but last night they were on their way to conquering the toughest music market in the world.

Without pausing for breath, Scots rockers Franz Ferdinand have topped their Mercury prize victory with a sell-out tour of the United States, complete with tickets selling at double their face value, prime-time TV show appearances, and even earning comparisons with the Beatles.

As Franzmania swept the US, the band was declared the hottest British act in years, paving the way for more Scottish groups to make the leap into the American market.

Brad Pitt goes to their after-gig parties, and last month their US popularity was confirmed when they won an MTV Video Music award for best Breakthrough Video for ‘Take Me Out’, their biggest Stateside hit to date.

Promoters say other up-and-coming Scots bands are set to ride the wave of popularity created by Franz Ferdinand and cross the Atlantic to try to break the notoriously difficult American market.

Of Franz Ferdinand’s eponymous debut album this year, Rolling Stone magazine raved: "For once, the inevitable UK press hype is justified. Franz Ferdinand’s debut draws from beloved Brit pop and post-punk bands without the usual plagiarism."

After selling out the 3,500-capacity Roseland Ballroom in New York on Thursday, their biggest US gig to date, it was on to Philadelphia on Friday, where every ticket had been snapped up weeks before they won the Mercury Prize. Three months ago they were playing venues a third that size.

Worldwide sales of the debut album are pushing the two million-mark in just seven months, with Americans buying 500,000.

"They’re kind of a phenomenon aren’t they?" said Matt Levin, a film-maker who had travelled from Washington DC to see the band at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory. "It’s impossible for rock bands to have a Beatle-like mania these days, but Franz Ferdinand seem to be getting that way."

"I love Franz Ferdinand," screamed student Amanda Bullock. "They are going to be the next big thing."

Tim Schultz, a lawyer from Philadelphia, said: "This kind of sound just takes me to the 1980s and the kind of garage rock bands I grew up with. Franz Ferdinand have a great sound that’s their own but also reminds you of those great British bands from the past."

Singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos, Bob Hardy (bass), Nick McCarthy (keyboards) and Paul Thomson (drums) formed the band in Glasgow just over two years ago and have an indie sound compared to Talking Heads and David Bowie.

"It’s insane what’s happened to them in so short a time," said Neil O’Brian, of Asbury Park, New Jersey. "I made the trip here specially because the New York shows were sold out. British indie rock seems so vibrant and exciting compared to American bands."

Proof, if it were really needed, of their new status comes from the fact that when they wrap up their current North American tour in New York next month they will go on to appear on US television’s The Late Show with David Letterman.

The band themselves think their appeal is simple to explain. "I think, if anything, it’s because we’ve got great pop tunes that are easy to listen to," said Hardy.

"They’re not pretentious and not trying to be clever. They’re immediate."

Dave McGeachan, band booker for Scotland’s biggest promoters DF Concerts, said: "Scotland has always been really strong. About 10 or 12 years ago you had the Bellshill thing with Teenage Fanclub and others and the sound was very similar. In the last two or three years with Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol and Belle and Sebastian there is no one set sound.

"This can encourage a lot more local bands to do what they want to do, in Glasgow especially. You get a lot of A and R guys coming up to Tuts especially and this will keep that vibe going. I don’t think interest has peaked yet."

McGeachan attended the South by South West festival in Austin, Texas, for the past three years. In the first two years there were one or two Scottish bands. This year there were 17, including Franz Ferdinand, who were the festival’s hottest ticket.

"Franz Ferdinand were playing and it was rammed, the same with Snow Patrol. People who liked these two bands would say let’s go and see another Scottish band, especially in America."

"There is evidence that a few other bands have been going over to the States earlier than they would normally go over. It’s not just Franz Ferdinand, it’s the whole Scottish and Glasgow bands vibe in general.

"The whole vibe about Scotland and Glasgow was absolutely incredible in Texas earlier this year, God knows what it will be like now with Franz Ferdinand."

A spokesman for the band’s record label, Domino, told Scotland on Sunday that Franz Ferdinand are now the biggest British act in the US.

"This US tour was arranged before the Mercury win and I’m sure they would have sold out because they were touring earlier, but the Mercury will definitely help," said the label spokesman.

Andrew Seams, a student from Philadelphia, spoke for many when he said: "I plan on buying their new album the first day it’s out," adding, in the highest praise afforded by the American vernacular: "These guys are, like, awesome."