Live in the Scottish Borders

Franz Ferdinand performed in front of 450 competition winners for the Rock Against Racism (RoAR) gig, organised by Radio Borders and Scottish Government’s anti-racism campaign. Led by singer Alex Kapranos, the band belted out a full repertoire of their hits, including ‘Take Me Out’, ‘The Dark of the Matinee’ and ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling.’

Guitarist Nicholas McCarthy and drummer Paul Thomson revealed the Royal Burgh was their first choice for the campaign gig.

Speaking on the location of the event Paul told us: “We were given an option of four different venues in Scotland to do this show and we chose Selkirk. We recorded half of our second album in the Borders, but have never really played in the southern part of Scotland so we chose Selkirk above the other venues available.

“A friend of mine ran Domino Records in the United States, which is our record label. He was from New York and was kind of obsessed with Frightened Rabbit and ended up tour manager for them. “If you are good enough then it doesn’t matter where you are.” Nicholas added: “Everyone used to say you had to move to London to make it. If you can do it in Glasgow you can do it anywhere, but Glasgow does have a great scene and everyone is supportive of one another there.”

The band-mates agreed recent events in politics had meant their involvement in promoting the anti-racism message which the RoAR shows provides was even more pertinent. Paul said: “It is important in these times when there is a resurgence in far right groups. If you have a platform it is sometimes good to use it.”