Biography

Lead singer & guitarist of the group Franz Ferdinand.

Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" won the 2005 Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.

Born to a Greek father and an English mother. As a child he went by his mother's maiden name, Huntley, to avoid possible discrimination.

Was a part of the bands The Karelia, The Yummy Fur, and The Amphetameanies prior to Franz Ferdinand.

Authored a book about the foods he ate while on tour with Franz Ferdinand entitled "Sound Bites: Eating on Tour With Franz Ferdinand.".

[on the death of Bo Diddley] It's rotten news about Bo Diddley. When I heard it I put 'Road Runner' on the record player. What a riff. What a guitarist - totally revolutionised the way the instrument was played with that loose sexy rhythm.

I adore the flamboyance of Freddie Mercury, the riffs and beats of Led Zeppelin and what Pete Townshend "did with his legs as he held his guitar". I prefer singles to LPs. I unashamedly love a good pop tune from "Blitzkrieg Bop" to "Push the Button" or Nelly Furtado's amazing new song, "Maneater". I despise ELP (Emerson Lake and Palmer), Yes and Marillion less for their unrestrained self-indulgence than for just being boring.

Just because you can leap off a drum kit doing a scissors kick while hitting a chord, people expect you to be an extrovert socially. But I'm not always comfortable with the idea of small talk at a party.

It's easy to be lazy when there's food lying around backstage or there's a fast-food joint a couple blocks away. But if you walk a little further, ask around a bit, of course there are exciting things to discover.

No matter what you do, if you're trying to create something new, your environment has a massive impact on you.