Franz Nicolay

Rock Sound 13 August 2012 at 11.53

Watch Franz’s new video for ‘Did Your Broken Heart Make You Who You Are’ as the singer tours the UK in support of new album ‘Do The Struggle’.

Punk rock troubadour Franz Nicolay releases his new album 'Do The Struggle' today through Xtra Mile Recordings and to celebrate we've got the exclusive first play of the video for 'Did Your Broken Heart Make You Who You Are'.

"I've wanted to do a puppet-based video ever since I saw what Puppet Kitchen did on the Puppet Playlist shows, in which puppeteers animate classic pop songs," Franz said recently. "This video combines some of my favorite things: the B-Side bar in New York, director Brad Kemp of Anti-Social Music, and an adorable, heartbroken robot. I recorded the opening through a tin can in Siberia and let Brad do the rest."

Director Brad Kemp was also pretty pleased with the collaboration: "When a troubadour asks you to make a video for him while he's playing stages in Mongolia, you get a lot of creative freedom whether he likes it or not," he said. "Luckily Franz Nicolay is no stranger to bars, puppets and friends - like Emily Hope Price and The Puppet Kitchen who pulled together to re-imagine his story of drunken heart break."

And the meaning of the song itself? We'll let Franz explain that one: "There is a school of thought, which I subscribe to, which says that it is the terrible things that happen to you which shape your personality as a grown-ass person," he admits. "In other words, those things make you who you are. But there are some people, maybe you are one, certainly you know one; they get their heart broken once and it's all they ever want to talk about again. I'm here to say that's not good enough..."

Franz is currently touring across the UK, go see him at any of the following shows:

AUGUST 
13 - NORWICH Olive's
14 - YORK Stereo
16 - EXETER Cavern
17 - DEVON Beautiful Days  
18 - CARDIFF Full Moon  
20 - MANCHESTER Star And Garter 
21 - HULL Adelphi  
22 - DUNDEE Cerberus Bar  
23 - GLASGOW The Admiral
24 - GATESHEAD The Central
25 - EDINBURGH Henry’s Cellar Bar 
26 - LEICESTER Soundhouse
27 - CHELTENHAM Green Belt Festival
28 - KINGSTON The Peel
SEPTEMBER 
01 - FALMOUTH Fish Factory Art Space (Afternoon show)  
01 - PLYMOUTH Jack Cham’s (Evening show) 
02 - SOUTHAMPTON WTFest 4
04 - BIRMINGHAM Adam and Eve

Franz Nicolay's third album ‘Do The Struggle’ is out today!