| Alex Kapranos | |
|---|---|
Kapranos performing live in 2009 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley |
| Born | 20 March 1972 Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | Indie rock, post-punk revival, indie pop, art rock |
| Occupations | Guitarist, singer-songwriter, producer, writer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | Early 1990s–present |
| Labels | Domino |
| Associated acts | Franz Ferdinand, The Yummy Fur, The Karelia, The Amphetameanies |
| Website | www.franzferdinand.co.uk |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Telecaster Deluxe Gibson Les Paul Junior Double Cut |
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Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972 in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire), commonly known as Alex Kapranos, is a United Kingdom-based musician who is the lead singer and the guitarist of the Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand.[1]
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Alex Kapranos was born in Almondsbury, Gloucestershire, England to an English mother and Greek father.[2] He moved to the North East of England when he was three months old, spending his early childhood in Sunderland and South Shields, his mother's home town, and spent many summer holidays in his father's native Greece. Huntley is the name his father adopted from his father's aunt. He gets his middle name from Paul McCartney on whom his mother had a crush.
In 1980, he moved with his family to Edinburgh then to Glasgow in 1984 where he attended Bearsden Academy. At the age of seventeen, Kapranos attended the University of Aberdeen to study Theology. After dropping out, he continued his studies at the University of Strathclyde, eventually gaining a BA. He worked as a chef, barman, music promoter, driver, welder and lecturer prior to finding fame with Franz Ferdinand.[3]
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 (later known as The Karelia), long-standing ska stalwarts The Amphetameanies, Quinn (now known as A Band Called Quinn) and The Yummy Fur. He is also known to have contributed to Urusei Yatsura and Lungleg recordings.[1]
After dropping "Huntley" from his name, he formed Franz Ferdinand in 2001. The band comprises Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboard, backup vocals), Paul Thomson (drums, backup vocals, sometimes guitar) and Bob Hardy (bass). The band saw chart success after their second single "Take Me Out (released 12 January 2004)[4] reached Number 3 in the UK Charts[5] followed by their debut album Franz Ferdinand (released 9 February 2004)[6] which debuted on the UK album chart at Number 3.[7] The band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize[8] and two BRIT Awards in 2005[9] for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act.
In September 2005, Kapranos began Soundbites,[10] 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. Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand, a book of the column and unreleased material illustrated by Andy Knowles was released in 2006.
Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand was read by Alex Kapranos on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week for 4–8 December 2006, described as "his account about what he ate while touring the world."[11]
Kapranos produced "Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever" - the third album by British indie rock group The Cribs in Vancouver BC, released on 14 May 2007. He also produced their single only track, "Don't You Wanna Be Relevant?", which was featured with "Our Bovine Public" (from Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever) as a Double A side.
Kapranos makes a cameo appearance in the video for Our Bovine Public.[12]
His remix of the single, "New in Town", by British pop singer Little Boots was featured on various formats of the singles release.
When not on the road, using his leather "jump rope",[13] recording in the studio,[14] Kapranos spends time in his carpentry workshop, crafting abstract furniture.[15]
Kapranos narrated the 2008 BBC Scotland documentary Edwyn Collins: Home Again on the recovery of Orange Juice singer Edwyn Collins.
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