Franz Ferdinand Page 2

Bestival drew to a close last night (8th Sep) as thousands of revellers - dressed in their finest ocean-themed gear - celebrated the ten year anniversary of the annual fancy dress and performing arts event. Mermaids, Vikings, Tritons, Neptunes, and plenty of Spongebob Squarepants watched rapper-turned-reggae-singer Snoop Lion (formerly Dogg) headline the main stage on Saturday night.

Snoop: Lion Or Dogg, The Man Has Perfected His Stoner "Act."

As all eyes turned to the red, green and yellow backdrop, everyone wondered if and how the new Snoop - the one who claims to be an incarnation of Bob Marley - would do things differently to the shizzle and bizzle of the 'Smoke Weed Everyday' days. Turns out, things had barely changed. Before the big man himself had emerged onstage his 'hype' crew had already asked the crowd which coast their loyalties lay with and if anyone had smoked weed that day. Lion then sauntered on stage looking as laid back as ever and begins to perform 'Here Comes The King' whilst suspiciously subdued.

Continue reading: Bestival 2013: Snoop Dogg, Franz Ferdinand, Johnny Marr & The Knife Rock The Boat

Snoop Dogg and Franz Ferdinand dominated Saturday at Bestival on the Isle of Wight. Festival goers enjoyed a rare bit of sunshine yesterday (September 7) and Snoop Dogg performed a set, featuring some of his biggest hits to a backdrop of his own face (because of course he did.)

Snoop's new persona isn't exactly a hit with fans.

Check out more pictures from this year's festival in our gallery.

Continue reading: In One Last Bout Of Summer Festival Euphoria, Snoop Dogg And Franz Ferdinand Rock Bestival

Releasing a fourth album isn’t as easy as you’d think; sure you’ve made the relevant contacts, established a fan base and have a depth of experience under your belt – all of that came with the previous hat trick of records – but fourth albums are basically never any good.

Franz Ferdinand performing in Portugal

Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is an album that nearly didn’t exist. Frontman Alex Karpranos – who shot to prominence with the band after their hit, Take Me Out – was getting sick of the routine, and wanted Franz Ferdinand to be no more. "I wanted to split the band up, because in my head it felt like one of those jobs . . . the ones I had to jack in. I didn't like the routine and the obligations," Kapranos said. "And whether those obligations lay with my contemporaries, my peers, my record label, the fans, the audiences – or maybe myself . . . I felt . . . It was time to, erm, stop that."

Continue reading: The Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action For Franz Ferdinand: Not Breaking Up

Glasgow rockers Franz Ferdinand have announced plans to release their fourth album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, through Domino Records on August 4, 2013. Frontman Alex Kapranos has made no secret of the band's intentions to release a new album in 2013 and now the details have been confirmed.

Recorded in London, Scotland and Scandinavia, the album is described as "The Intellect Vs The Soul, played out by some dumb band," by Kapranos himself. It was recently reported that Roxanne Clifford of Veronica Falls will feature as a guest vocalist on the album, though the album tracklisting doesn't appear to confirm this. The band debuted seven new songs at a tiny show at Glasgow's Nice N Sleazy recently, playing Treason! Animals, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action and Fresh Strawberries.

The group will play various European festivals this summer, including Coke Live 2013 in Krakow, Pukkelpop 2013 in Hasselt-Kiewit and Frequency Festival in St Poelten before heading back to the Isle of Wight for Bestival.

Continue reading: Hey, Remember Franz Ferdinand? They're Back With A New Album!

Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley, the director of Blur's 2009 track Good Song, has been installed as the 2/1 favourite for this year's Turner Prize. Shrigley is best known for his humorous line drawings, though also makes sculptures, animated films, photographs and paintings. Additionally, his jokes and commentaries have appeared on greetings cards as well as in records by Scottish band Franz Ferdinand and Talking Heads singer-songwriter David Byrne.

His latest exhibition, Brain Activity at London's Hayward Gallery, was nominated for its "comprehensive overview" that revealed Shrigley's "black humour, macabre intelligence and infinite jest." This year's Turner exhibition will be held at Ebrington in Derry-Londonderry, the UK's City of Culture of 2013, and sees Shrigley up against Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, French installation artist Laure Prouvost and British-German performance artist Tino Sehgal. 

Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is awarded to a contemporary artist under the age of 50, living, working or born in Britain who is judged to have put on the best exhibition of the past 12 months. The winner will receive £25,000 at an awards ceremony on December 2, while past winners have include Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley and last year's recipient, Elizabeth Price. 

Continue reading: Blur Music Video Director Is 2/1 Favourite For Turner Prize 2013