Franz Ferdinand singer tells Hot Press he fears for friends in the Ukraine

Talking about the tumultuous events of the past two years, Alex told our man Stuart Clark: "It's been a tricky old time, hasn't it? The news this morning isn't exactly positive either – fucking hell, Putin's really going for it.

"It's horrible because we've played in both Odessa and Kiev in recent years. They're both amazing cities and I know people over there who must now be so frightened and concerned for themselves and their loved ones. For Russians as well – the ones I've met when we've been there don't want to go to war. I do think Putin is criminally insane.

"What we're seeing everywhere is this perversion of patriotism into a dirty kind of Nationalism. You've got it in Turkey with Erdogan, in Hungary with Orban. Bosnia and Herzegovina is going through a really difficult time again – you could see the Balkans and the rest of Eastern Europe imploding. We played recently in Sarajevo – I stood on the corner where our namesake Archduke was assassinated in 1914, trying to take it all in – and what an amazing city it is too. You live your life presuming that sort of shit belongs in the history books and that we won't see it again, but it's happening right in front of our eyes.

"Even in India – I was there a couple of years ago and, my god, that place is shocking. The Hindu supremacism is bizarre. Sadly, it's across the entire planet."

On a more upbeat note, Alex was also talking about Franz's Hits To The Head compilation, which is out on March 11; mischief-making when they supported U2 in Argentina; that famous Terry Wogan couplet; Joe Strummer; The Libertines and much, much more!