People of the Year 2004: Alex Kapranos

Franz Ferdinand danced-up rock & roll, wore cool clothes and wrote the best song ever about making out with another dude: "Michael." Along the way, they scored three Grammy nominations, and frontman Alex Kapranos (below, far right) nearly got arrested for international fruit-smuggling.

Craziest year of your life?

Certainly the most intense. I'm going to have to wait about three years before I can fully appreciate it. I mean, who gets to do this stuff? It's fantastic.

Any big purchases?

I spent £290 on a bashed-up old Mercedes. It was so cheap because it's so old. I like cars you can leave anywhere.

Where was the wildest Franz Ferdinand gig?

We played this tiny workingman's club in Leeds that holds 300 people. It was supposed to be a secret, but about 1,800 people showed up, and it started to get a bit ugly. So Nick [McCarthy, guitarist] and I picked up a couple of acoustic guitars and played a set in the car park, in the rain.

Did you get arrested in the past year?

No. I did get stopped by customs for trying to smuggle an orange into New Zealand. That's not particularly hardcore, is it?

Nope. Your band instituted a "no-groupie" policy this year. That's a new one.

I've been on tour with guys who totally misuse their authority. I speak on behalf of the band when I say that we're all very romantic people, and any romance we enter into, we'd like it to be on even terms.

Next: Arnold Schwarzenegger