Ian Brown and Franz make Celtic dates

United Kingdom | | 05 January 2005

Ian Brown has been confirmed to play the Irish festival Oxegen, while Franz Ferdinand have said they'd love to play Scotland's T In The Park again this summer.

The two Celtic festivals take place over the same weekend, this year on the 9 - 10 July. In the past, many acts have played at both events on consecutive days.

With Ian Brown now booked to play Oxegen, don't be surprised to see him appear on the T In The Park line-up.

Meanwhile, Franz Ferdinand have hinted they would love to play T In The Park for the second year running, following their triumphant homecoming at the Scottish festival in 2004.

Speaking to the Daily Record newspaper, Alex Kapranos said: "Playing at T in the Park was just one of the highlights and it would be amazing to play it again. But we would never presume ourselves to be the headliners. There are so many great bands out there."

But with Franz Ferdinand about to start recording new tracks for their second album, it's difficult to see who might be above 2004's biggest new band in the pecking order for festival headliner.

Kapranos said: "We've written a few new songs and half the album is arranged and ready to go. We probably have all the ideas we need. We are hoping to have 20 songs to whittle down to the 11 we need for the next album. We'll take a couple of weeks break and start working on the new album at the end of January in Scotland - at a secret location in the countryside."

Oxegen takes place at Punchestown Racecourse, Co. Kildare, Ireland. T In The Park takes place at Balado Airport, Kinross, Scotland. Both are held on the 9-10 July. Tickets will go on sale in the spring.