Nicholas McCarthy

Nicholas Augustine McCarthy, (Born December 13, 1974) is the lead guitarist and backing singer of the Glaswegian band Franz Ferdinand. Born in Blackpool, UK, McCarthy was raised in Rosenheim, Bavaria,

Nicholas Augustine McCarthy, (Born December 13, 1974) is the lead guitarist and backing singer of the Glaswegian band Franz Ferdinand. Born in Blackpool, UK, McCarthy was raised in Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany.

He was a troubled youth who broke into buildings and stole alcohol and cars (although he only went on joyrides and claimed that he always returned them), which earned him the name "Nick McCarthief." Despite his delinquencies, McCarthy still took his musical and theatrical aspirations seriously. He trained classically as a pianist and double bassist, at the Munich Conservatory, supporting himself with the earnings of his street-performing. He was a well known feature of the streets of Munich, where he entertained countless children with his tattered trousers, large shoes and shiny red nose. Whilst residing in Germany, Nick played double bass, cello and Arabic lute in a band called Embryo, whose music can be described as a 'fusion of jazz, rock and ethnic world music'. After extensively touring with Embryo, McCarthy decided it was time for somewhere new, returned to the UK and, on a friend's suggestion, moved to Glasgow.