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Vive la Franz
 |
| Helen Chase: Labour of love |
THIS band will change
your life," declared the
front cover of the NME in
January 2004. For one
woman, they did exactly
that.
Such was her passion for the group
that Helen Chase, a mother of two from
Morpeth, Northumberland, took a year
long career break from her job as a primary
school teacher to write a book on
the band - An A-Z of Franz Ferdinand -
which has just been launched.
Published by Northumbria University
Press and written with the full co-operation
of the band, An A-Z of Franz Ferdinand
is based on extensive research
and in-depth and up-to-date exclusive interviews.
It contains never before published
tour pictures, including pictures
that the band themselves have supplied,
exclusive artwork, and extracts from the
band's journals.
The book is the result of an 18-month
labour of love. "I can honestly say I enjoyed
every moment of it. At the beginning
I wasn't sure how much the band
would want to be involved but when I approached
them for the exclusive interviews
contained in the book, they were
more than happy to oblige and were extremely
generous with their time," says
Helen. "I've also been helped by other
fans all around the world who've allowed
me to reproduce their own personal
pictures."
Franz Ferdinand are are one of the
UK's most successful pop bands in recent
years. Formed in Glasgow at the beginning
of 2002, their 2004 breakthrough
single Take Me Out catapulted them to
international stardom. The band has
gone on to sell more than six million albums
and were the first to receive a Mercury
Prize, Brit Awards and NME
Awards within the space of 12 months.
Lead singer Alex Kapranos was raised in
Sunderland and South Shields.
Strikingly designed, each chapter of
the book, rather than taking a straightforward
chronological approach, explores
a particular theme in depth.
■ An A-Z of Franz Ferdinand
(Northumbria University Press, £15.95)
www.northumbriauniversitypress.co.uk
5:26pm Wednesday 21st November 2007
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