Alex Kapranos
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| Alex Kapranos | ||
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 Alex Kapranos
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley | |
| Born | March 20, 1972 | |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar | |
| Years active | Early 1990s–Present | |
| Label(s) | Domino Records | |
| Associated acts |
Franz Ferdinand The Yummy Fur The Karelia The Amphetameanies |
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| Website | http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk | |
| Members | ||
| Alex Kapranos Nick McCarthy Paul Thomson Bob Hardy |
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Alex Kapranos is the guitarist and lead singer of the British band Franz Ferdinand. He was born to a Greek father and an English mother. Kapranos is currently dating Eleanor Friedberger
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[edit] Early life
Kapranos was born in Almondsbury and spent his early childhood in Sunderland and South Shields,[citation needed] his mother's home town, and spent most summers in his father's native Greece. He has a sister named Anne and a brother, Phillip. Huntley is the name of his father's aunt. His mother insisted on the middle name Paul, because of a long-term crush on Paul McCartney.
In 1980, he moved with his family to Edinburgh, then to Glasgow in 1984. At the age of seventeen, Kapranos attended the University of Aberdeen to study theology. He continued his studies at several different universities, including the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow where he gained a BA in Hotel and Catering Management. He worked as a chef, barman, music promoter, driver, welder and lecturer prior to finding fame with Franz Ferdinand.
[edit] Music pre-Franz Ferdinand
From the early 1990s, he was a fixture of the Glasgow music scene, running live nights at the 13th Note, most notably The Kazoo Club. While working as a chef, bartender, lecturer in IT at the city's Anniesland College, and other various jobs, he played in some of Glasgow's popular bands, including The Blisters, long-standing ska stalwarts The Amphetameanies, The Yummy Fur and The Karelia (formerly known as The Blisters). He is also known to have contributed to Urusei Yatsura and Lungleg recordings.
[edit] Franz Ferdinand
Eventually, after dropping "Huntley" from his name, he formed a new band in 2001 with old friends and new acquaintances called Franz Ferdinand, which has received international attention. The band is comprised of Kapranos, Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboard, backup vocals), Paul Thomson (drums, backup vocals, sometimes guitar) and Bob Hardy (bass). Eight singles, two albums and an EP have charted in the United Kingdom to date, and their eponymous debut album won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, two BRIT Awards, a Breakthrough Video MTV Award and an Ivor.
[edit] Writing
In September 2005, Kapranos began Soundbites[1], a weekly food column for G2 in the Guardian newspaper, which detailed his culinary adventures as Franz Ferdinand traversed the globe on their world tour. A book of the column and unreleased material illustrated by "Fifth Franz" Andy Knowles was released November 2nd in the UK in Hardback and December 26th in the US in paperback through Penguin/Fig Tree publishings.
Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand was read by Alex Kapranos on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week 4-8 December 2006, described as "his account about what he ate while touring the world." [2]
[edit] Production
Kapranos produced Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever - the third album by British Pop Group The Cribs in Vancouver BC. It is due to be released later 2007.
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
| Franz Ferdinand |
| Alex Kapranos | Robert Hardy | Nicholas McCarthy | Paul Thomson |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: Darts of Pleasure | Franz Ferdinand | You Could Have It So Much Better |
| Singles: "Darts of Pleasure" | "Take Me Out" | "The Dark of the Matinée" | "Michael" | "This Fire" | "Do You Want To" | "Walk Away" | "The Fallen" / "L. Wells" | "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" |
| DVDs: Franz Ferdinand |
| Related articles |
| Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria | Domino Records | Tore Johansson | Rich Costey |
