Franz Ferdinand return with greatest hits album ‘Hits To The Head’, brand new track "Billy Goodbye"

Franz Ferdinand have announced details of Hits To The Head, a 20-track greatest hits collection showcasing the world-conquering success of the band’s career to date.

Released on Friday March 11th 2022, Hits To The Head  also features two brand-new tracks "Billy Goodbye" and "Curious," produced by Alex Kapranos, Julian Corrie and Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys).

Armed with an astute sense of what constitutes the ‘classic pop song’ (famously proclaiming that they write music ‘to make girls dance to’) the music of Franz Ferdinand continues to resonate globally and over the course of nearly two decades they’ve become, commercially and critically, one of the biggest UK bands in the world, selling over 10 million albums, 1.2 billion streams to date, 14 platinum albums, winning Brit, Ivor Novello + Mercury Prize awards, Grammy nominations and selling 6 million tickets for their incendiary live show worldwide.

Talking about the process of picking tracks for the album, lead singer Alex Kapranos said:

"It's the same as writing a set-list for a festival: you want to play the songs you know people want to hear. The hits. Bring the hits to the head. The heart. The feet. That means obvious singles, but also songs you know have a special meaning for both band and audience like Outsiders. We also added two new songs, recorded last year: Billy Goodbye and Curious, both co-produced at the last stage with Stuart Price. I have friends who believe you’re somehow not a “real” fan if you own a best of rather than a discography. I disagree. I think of my parents’ record collection as a kid. I loved their compilation LPs. I am so grateful that they had Changes or Rolled Gold. Those LPs were my entrance point. My introduction.

Franz Ferdinand signed to Domino in May 2003 and released their first single, "Darts Of Pleasure" shortly after. Second single, "Take Me Out" exploded onto the international stage, putting the band firmly on the global map and was a precursor to their eponymous debut album which went on to sell nearly four million copies worldwide.

Artistically always forging forward, their following albums, You Could Have It So Much Better (2005), Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009), Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (2013) and Always Ascending (2018) all offered a new take on the Franz template and saw them work with some of the most pioneering producers around including Dan Carey, Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Todd Terje and Philippe Zdar.  Having headlined festivals including Reading & Leeds, Rock En Seine, Primavera and All Points East, Franz Ferdinand will be announcing details of major live shows in the near future.

Alongside the announcement of Hits To The Head, the band have also announced a run of UK and European dates next spring.

Having in the past headlined festivals including Reading & Leeds, Rock En Seine, Primavera and All Points East, the full list of dates, which includes a return to London’s historic Alexandra Palace, is as follows:

15.03.22 -  Sant Jordi Club - Barcelona           

16.03.22  - WiZink Center - Madrid

17.03.22  - Campo Pequeno - Lisbon

19.03.22  - Bilbao Arena - Bilbao

22.03.22  - Zenith - Munich

23.03.22  - GT Geox – Padova

24.03.22  - Mediolanum Forum - Milan

26.03.22  - 6MIC - Aix en Provence

28.03.22  - Brest Arena - Brest

29.03.22  - Le Liberté - Rennes

30.03.22  - Arkea Arena - Bordeaux

01.04.22 - Alexandra Palace - London

04.04.22  - Victoria Warehouse - Manchester

05.04.22  - OVO Hydro - Glasgow

07.04.22  - Palladium - Cologne

08.04.22  - Verti Music Hall - Berlin

09.04.22  - VEGA - Copenhagen

11.04.22  - Cirkus - Stockholm

12.04.22  - Sentrum Scene - Oslo

14.04.22  - Rockhal - Luxembourg

15.04.22  - AFAS Live - Amsterdam

19.04.22  - Forest National - Brussels

20.04.22  - Zénith Paris – Paris – La Villette

23.04.22  - Halle 662 - Zurich

25.04.22  - Dom Sportova - Zagreb

27.04.22  - Arena Open Air - Vienna 

28.04.22  - Forum Karlin - Prague

30.04.22  - Expo XXI Hall 4 - Warsaw

01.05.22 - Haus Auensee - Leipzig

03.05.22  - Schlachthof - Wiesbaden

04.05.22  - Zénith - Dijon

06.05.22  - Zénith Arena - Lille

07.05.22  - Zénith – Rouen

06.07.22 – A2 Club – St Petersburg

08.07.22 – Adrenaline Stadium - Moscow

Tickets for the shows go on pre-sale at 10am on Wednesday 10th November and general sale at 10am on Friday 12th November via www.franzferdinand.com

Fans who pre-order the album will also be given first access to pre-sale tickets. The album can be pre-ordered HERE