FFS: “As fate turned out, we bumped into each other on the street”

FFS (Franz Ferdinand and Sparks) is a collaboration that’s been in the works for some time. But in the new issue of DIY (out 22nd May), they recall how the beginnings of their new album came together from a chance encounter.

“As fate turned out, we bumped into each other on the street,” says Alex Kapranos. “Through some spectacular mishap, I’d broken a molar. I can’t go into the details, it’s too harrowing - all we’ll say is the articulated lorry did manage to get its bump-start,” he smiles. “Our tour manager said, ‘Huey Lewis has this great dentist, he’ll sort you out,’ and then, lost in San Franscisco, I heard this voice behind me, saying ‘Alex, is that you?’ And it was Ron and Russ. If I hadn’t followed my mother’s advice and eaten all those sweets, I wouldn’t have broken my teeth.”

“It’s taken us twelve years of searching to find a moustache that meets the expectations of our namesake,” Alex goes on, referencing the well-groomed facial hair of the actual historical figure Franz Ferdinand, along with Ron Mael of Sparks’ iconic ‘tache. “It eliminated a lot of bands,” Russell Mael chips in. “That band Theodore Roosevelt that came to us one time….” adds Ron Mael, tongue firmly in cheek. “It just didn’t work out, you know?”

“If it wasn’t for teeth and moustaches…“ Alex muses, “where would we be?”