Pauline M. Millard
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - The impromptu show was supposed to be a secret. So why were hundreds of extra people lined up to see Franz Ferdinand outside a small club in Yorkshire, England?

Alex Kapranos, lead singer of the group that's generating megawatt buzz, didn't know how word got out, but he didn't want to let down his fans. So he and Nick McCarthy took their instruments out on the street and gave a bare-bones Franz Ferdinand performance.

"It was a great time and the show inside was even better," Kapranos, 29, said, his velvety Scottish accent coming rapid-fire. "People threw underwear on the stage. It was a little puzzling at first."

Just one album

Franz Ferdinand, named after the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire whose assassination started World War I, have only released one album with a mere 11 tracks. But they sell out all their shows and reviewers have lavished praise on the newbie foursome from Glasgow.

A Time magazine critic said the record was so good he nearly cried with joy. Entertainment Weekly called them "danceable and ferociously melodic." The group's self-titled CD has sold more than 174,000 copies in the United States since its March 9 release, and it is currently number 37 on Billboard's Top 200 chart.

"The first time I saw them I was dumbfounded by how good they were," said Spin magazine columnist Sarah Lewitinn, adding that their upbeat mix of punk and rock with a hint of disco is a welcome change from mellow Radiohead clones. "When they're on stage they have this incredible chemistry between them."

Kapranos is not afraid to be called "pop," and he welcomes comparisons to other bands. "I think we get compared to the Strokes a lot, but not in terms of sound. I think our similarities lie in the fact that we are just ordinary people who got together and made music on our own terms, outside of the music industry standard."

The guys were living a sort of roustabout lifestyle before signing with England's Domino records in June 2003. Kapranos and bassist Bob Hardy, now 23, were friends through an art school in Glasgow. Kapranos suggested to Hardy that he learn how to play the bass. At first Hardy balked since he had never played an instrument before. By night's end, he was thumping along to Kapranos' guitar.

McCarthy, now 28, and Kapranos met at party. Kapranos managed to diffuse a scuffle over vodka bottle when he asked if McCarthy happened to play drums. Mutual friend Paul Thomson, now 27, joined soon after on guitar. Later, Thomson and McCarthy switched instruments.

The group moved into an old warehouse in Glasgow, which became a sort of makeshift music venue as well as an illegal bar.

Noise complaints drew the police one night to break up a party. Unfortunately, the raid went down when 400 people were there and Franz Ferdinand was performing covered in fake blood.

"I don't even know why we had the fake blood," Kapranos says. "But the cops were calling in for backup. I think they were scared, as if they had stumbled upon some sort of fight club. I wanted to tell them there was no need for that since they had a room full of the softest people in Glasgow."

'Take Me Out' at No. 3

The band relocated to an abandoned jail, and the runaway European success of their first album soon followed. The single "Take Me Out" hit number three on Britain's pop chart. Word spread to the States, which led to a $1 million deal with Epic records.

Kapranos doesn't seem too worried about all the attention. As long as they get to tour and perform, that's enough for him.

"We like to perform and if you don't like to perform, you might as well stay in your bloody bedroom."