"The Dark of the Matinée" (known as "Matinée" on single versions) is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the third single from their eponymous debut studio album on 19 April 2004. The song reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart. In Australia, the song was ranked number 50 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.
The song is about walking home from Bearsden Academy fantasising about a better life in the future, telling Terry Wogan about it on UK national television, then being shaken from the fantasy as its own ridiculousness shatters its very existence. The chorus and title were inspired by bassist Bob Hardy remarking that the dark of a matinée performance was a utopian environment to play in.
The video features the band dressed as schoolboys, dancing in an automatic, almost possessed, fashion and miming along to the main vocal track. It was inspired by Dennis Potter's television play Blue Remembered Hills (1979), which features adults playing children, and the lip-sync device Potter used in his 'serials with songs' Pennies from Heaven (1978) and The Singing Detective (1986). Another part of the video shows the band dressed in white clothing and standing in front of a large photograph of Terry Wogan (who is namechecked in the song).
UK CD single
UK 7-inch single
UK 12-inch single
UK DVD single
European CD single