 Sydney, AU (Sony BMG Music Entertainment) - Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos spent some time in Sydney last week, and said he enjoyed his stay in the inner east suburb of Darlinghurst so much that he'd consider living there. Alex, who hit town ahead of his band's national tour as part of the Big Day Out juggernaut, also hopped on a bike to check out some of Sydney's beaches, and hung out with fruit bats at the Botanical Gardens. "Staying (in Darlinghurst) made me want to live there, to have a veranda full of prehistoric looking plants, to pop out each morning for a Flat White and a copy of the Sydney Morning Herald, to sit back in the evening and watch the wild cockatoos and fruit bats fly overhead," wrote the Scottish star in his online blog. "Australia and New Zealand do seem to have taken a lot of the better elements of UK and US life and shifted them around the globe. As you walk around, it feels that the general quality of life is higher - the fruit seems juicier, the sun seems shinier, there's an unobtrusive positivity about the place." Describing Darlinghurst as a "vibrant and exciting area", Alex also explored the rest of the city on a bike he picked up from a second hand store, and hit Tamarama, Bronte and Bondi beaches - not without a little pain for his efforts though. The backs of his hands got so sunburned that they looked like "shanks of Parma Ham"!
Check out what else Alex, Paul, Bob and Nick have been up to while on tour in their online blog at franzferdinand.co.uk. The men of Franz kicked off the Australian leg of their tour in style on the weekend, with a stellar performance at the Gold Coast Big Day Out that saw them rip out tracks from both their debut self-titled album and newie 'You Could Have It So Much Better'. Last year's JJJ Hottest 100 winner 'Take Me Out' would have raised the roof if there was one, and 'Michael' was awesome. Highlights from 'YCHISMB' included 'Walk Away', and this year's Hottest 100 contender, 'Do You Want To'.
Franz Ferdinand's album 'You Could Have It So Much Better' is in stores now, along with the band's self-titled DVD
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