Travis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Travis performing atVictorious Festival 2025 L to R: Dougie Payne, Fran Healy, Andy Dunlop, Neil Primrose | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Glass Onion (1990–1993) |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | Andy Dunlop Fran Healy Dougie Payne Neil Primrose |
| Past members | Geoff Martyn Chris Martyn Simon Jarvis Catherine Maxwell |
| Website | travisonline.com |
Travis are aScottishrock band formed inGlasgow in 1990, and composed ofFran Healy (lead vocals, rhythm guitar),Dougie Payne (bass guitar, backing vocals),Andy Dunlop (lead guitar,banjo, backing vocals), andNeil Primrose (drums, percussion). The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson (played byHarry Dean Stanton) from the filmParis, Texas (1984). The band released their debut album,Good Feeling (1997), to moderate success where it debuted at number nine on theUK Albums Chart[3] and was later awarded a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in January 2000.[4]
The band gained greater success with their second album,The Man Who (1999), which spent nine weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, totalling 134 weeks in the top 100 of the chart.[3] In 2003,The Man Who was certified 9× platinum by the BPI, which represented sales of over 2.68 million in the UK alone.[4] After that success, the band released their third album,The Invisible Band (2001). It matched the track record ofThe Man Who, debuting atop the UK Albums Chart[3] as well as peaking at thirty-nine on the USBillboard 200.[5] A year after the release ofThe Invisible Band, the BPI awarded Travis with a 4× platinum certification for the album.[4] Further releases,12 Memories (2003),The Boy with No Name (2007),Ode to J. Smith (2008),Where You Stand (2013),Everything at Once (2016),10 Songs (2020), andL.A. Times (2024) also achieved commercial success. In 2004, the band released their first greatest hits album,Singles.[3]
Travis have twice been awarded best band at theBrit Awards and were awarded theNME Artist of the Year award at NME's 2000 ceremony,[6] and in 2016 were honoured at theScottish Music Awards for their outstanding contribution to music.[7]
BothFran Healy andAndy Dunlop went to theGlasgow School of Art from 1989 to 1991. A 16 year old Healy played in front of a crowd for the first time in 1989 atHolyrood Secondary School when he was in 5th year. The band that would become Travis was formed by brothers Chris Martyn (bass) and Geoff Martyn (keyboards) along with Simon Jarvis (drums).Andy Dunlop, a school friend atLenzie Academy, was drafted in on guitar. The line-up was completed by a female vocalist, Catherine Maxwell, and the band's name became "Glass Onion", after theBeatles'song of the same name.[8]Neil Primrose then joined to replace drummer Jarvis. Parting company with their singer in the spring of 1991, they auditioned for a new vocalist. Having met each other through Primrose pouring him a pint, an untrained art student, Healy, joined after being invited to audition by Primrose. Healy joined the band on the day he enrolled at theGlasgow School of Art in the autumn of 1991. In 1993, with the option of playing music holding more appeal, Healy dropped out of art school and, inspired by songwriters such asJoni Mitchell, assumed songwriting responsibilities. With brothers Chris and Geoff Martyn on bass and keyboards, in 1993, the five-some released a privately made CD,The Glass Onion EP, featuring the tracks "Dream On", "The Day Before", "Free Soul", and "Whenever She Comes Round". 500 copies of the EP were made and were recently valued at £1000 each. Other songs they recorded, but were left off the CD, are "She's So Strange" and "Not About to Change".[9]
The band won a talent contest organised by the Music in Scotland Trust, which promised £2,000 so that Travis could deal-hunt at a new music seminar in New York. Two weeks before they were due to leave, however, the prize was instead given to the Music in Scotland Trust Directory.[citation needed] According to their publisher, Charlie Pinder: "They were a band that everyone in theA&R community knew about and would go and see every now and then. But they weren't very good. They had quite good songs; Fran always did write good songs."[10] While on a visit to Scotland, American engineer and producerNiko Bolas, a long-timeNeil Young andRolling Stones associate, tuned into a Travis session onRadio Scotland, and heard something in the band's music which instantly made him travel toPerth to see them. Healy said: "He told us we were shit, took us in the studio for four days, and taught us how to play properly, like a band. He was ballsy, rude, and New York pushy. He didn't believe my lyrics and told me to write what I believed in and not tell lies. He wasMary Poppins, he sorted us out." The band recorded a five-song demo, which included the song "All I Want to Do Is Rock".[citation needed]
Having failed to achieve breakthrough success in the United Kingdom, the band relocated to New York, as they believed that the American music market might be more suited to their style of music.[10] Before heading to New York, Healy suggested that the band should send a demo to Charlie Pinder ofSony Music Publishing, whom they had known for a few years and regularly sent songs to, saying: "If he's not into it, then we'll [leave]."[10] Pinder was immediately impressed by the song "All I Want to Do is Rock", which he felt was a dramatic change for the band: "It was harder, more exciting, sexy; all things that they never really were. They [had] turned a corner."[10] After performing a secret gig for Pinder and his boss at Sony, Blair McDonald, they were signed to Sony Music Publishing. The immediate impact was that the founding member and keyboard player Geoff Martyn was removed while the bassist, his brother Chris, was replaced with Healy's best friendDougie Payne. The band was moved to London where they were given a rehearsal room and a house.[10]
Payne, who had not played bass guitar before, joined the band in 1994 after having completed a crash course of a couple of weeks.[11] Payne played with the new line-up for the first time in a free space aboveThe Horse Shoe Bar inGlasgow.[12]
Once set up in London, the band spent between nine months and a year recording new songs.[10] They played their first London show at theDublin Castle in Camden. With about twenty good songs ready, they approached managersColin Lester and Ian McAndrew of Wildlife Entertainment who then introduced the band to Andy MacDonald, owner ofGo! Discs Records and founder ofIndependiente Records.
Travis' second album, 1999'sThe Man Who, was produced byNigel Godrich and partially recorded at producerMike Hedges'chateau inFrance. The band continued recording at, among other studios,Abbey Road Studios in London. The titleThe Man Who is derived from the bookThe Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985) by neurologistOliver Sacks.[13][14] The album's sleeve notes include a dedication to film directorStanley Kubrick, who had died a few months prior to the album's release.[14]
Shortly after release,The Man Who initially looked as though it would mirror the release ofGood Feeling. Although it entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 7, with little radio play of its singles, it quickly slipped down. Worse, many critics who had raved about the rockyGood Feeling criticised the album for the band's move into more melodic, melancholic material.NME commented on the release of the album: "Travis will be best when they stop trying to make sad, classic records".
Increased radio airplay of the single "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" raised awareness of the band and resulted inThe Man Who gaining in the charts. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" became a commercial success for the band, reaching number one on theUK Rock & Metal Singles Charts,[15] number four in their native Scotland,[16] number ten in the United Kingdom,[17] and the top twenty in Australia, Finland, and New Zealand.[18][19][20] As of 2018[update], according toConcord Music,The Man Who has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide. It was among ten albums nominated for the best British album of the previous 30 years by theBrit Awards in 2010, losing to(What's the Story) Morning Glory? byOasis.[21] Travis followed the release ofThe Man Who with an extensive 237-concert world tour, including headlining the 2000Glastonbury,T in the Park, andV festivals, and a US tour leg withOasis.
The title of Travis's following album, 2001'sThe Invisible Band, again produced byNigel Godrich, reflects the band's genuine belief that their music is more important than the group behind it. Recorded atOcean Way Studios in Los Angeles, and featuring songs including "Sing" (the most played song on British radio that summer), "Side", theMcCartneyesque "Flowers in the Window", "Indefinitely", "Pipe Dreams", and "The Cage", the album made it to No. 1 on the UK chart and generally received widespread critical acclaim, with the band again taking Best British Band at the annualBrit Awards. It also receivedTop of the Pops' Album of the Year. The album also had an impact across the Atlantic, the popularity in the US of the single "Coming Around", a non-album track withByrdsesque harmonies and 12-string guitar, enhancing this.
In 2002, drummerNeil Primrose suffered a serious injury after he dived head-first into a shallow swimming pool while on tour in France, just after a concert at theEurockéennes festival.[22] Breaking his neck, he almost died due to spinal damage. If not for his road crew, he also would have drowned.[23] Despite the severity of the accident, Primrose has since made a full recovery.
With Primrose having recovered, Travis regrouped and re-evaluated. Moving into a cottage in Crear,Argyll and Bute, they set up a small studio, and over two weeks came up with nine new songs that would form the basis of their fourth studio album, 2003's12 Memories.[24] Produced by Travis themselves,Tchad Blake, and Steve Orchard, the album marked a move into more organic, moody, and political territory for the band. The album's lead single "Re-Offender" was a commercial success for the band, reaching number seven in both Scotland and the United Kingdom.[25][26]12 Memories was also a commercial success, reaching number three in the United Kingdom[27] and forty one in the United States.[28]
In 2004, Travis embarked on a successful tour of Canada, the US, and Europe (supported byKeane in the UK), and in November 2004 the band released a successful compilation of their singles,Singles, as well as the new tracks, "Walking in the Sun" and "The Distance" (written by Dougie Payne).[29] On 2 July 2005, Travis performed atLive 8'sLondon concert, and four days later at theEdinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push concert. Travis also participated inBand Aid 20's re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?"—Healy and friendNigel Godrich playing leading roles in its organisation.
Travis released a fifth studio album,The Boy with No Name, on 7 May 2007.Nigel Godrich was the album's executive producer, whileMike Hedges andBrian Eno were also involved. The album is named after Healy's son, Clay, whom Healy and his partner Nora were unable to name until four weeks after his birth. Healy has described the process of making the album as "like coming out of the forest".[30] Travis played atCoachella on 28 April 2007. At the Virgin Megastore tent in the festival,The Boy With No Name was available to purchase over a week early. Reviews of the album were mixed. The album's first single, "Closer", was released on 23 April 2007 and peaked at No. 10 on theUK singles chart. Two further singles were released fromThe Boy with No Name – "Selfish Jean" and "My Eyes".[31]
After a brief tour of the United Kingdom, during which the band tested new material, they recorded their sixth album, in two weeks between February–March 2008, having been inspired by the speed and simplicity of their recent recording session with Beatles engineerGeoff Emerick while participating in a BBC programme celebrating the 40th Anniversary of theSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.[32] It was announced around this time that the band and their long-term record label Independiente had split amicably.[33]
In early June 2008, a vinyl EP of the song "J. Smith" was announced online as the first release fromOde to J. Smith, for 30 June.[34] It was an EP limited to 1000 copies and not an 'official' single; instead more of a taster of the album for fans. Fran Healy said, "The album is calledOde to J. Smith partly giving a heads up to the key song and partly because all the songs are written about nameless characters or to nameless characters." He has also described the album as a novel with 12 chapters, with each chapter being a song.[35]
The album was released through their own record label, Red Telephone Box, with the lead single "Something Anything" being released on 15 September.[36] On 29 September,Ode to J. Smith was released.[37] Travis headlined a 12-concert UK tour to coincide with the releases between 22 September and 8 October. Early reviews were very positive, with some calling it Travis's best record ever.[38][39] The second single released fromOde To J. Smith was "Song to Self", on 5 January 2009.
A live acoustic album featuring Healy and Dunlop was released on 19 January 2010.[40] In 2011, Travis returned to live performances. They played at theMaxidrom Festival in Moscow, in May; at G! festival, Faroe Island, and the Rock'n Coke Festival in Istanbul, Turkey, in July. On 31 October, Fran Healy performed a concert inBerlin along withKeane'sTim Rice-Oxley.[41] Travis recorded songs for their next album at the end of September 2011, and they continued writing new songs in February 2012 with Tim Rice–Oxley of Keane, in both Berlin and London.[41]
A pre single teaser track called "Another Guy", from the band's forthcoming seventh album, was released as a free download from the band's official website on 20 March 2013.[42] On 25 April 2013, they revealed that the new albumWhere You Stand would be released on 19 August 2013 viaKobalt Label Services, and that the first eponymous single "Where You Stand" would be released on 30 April.[43]
A post from Travis on theirInstagram page confirmed that recording had commenced on the band's eighth album atHansa Tonstudio in Berlin in January 2015.[44] On 25 November 2015, Travis shared a free-download single "Everything at Once" and announced two UK live shows for January 2016.[45] A new album, also titledEverything at Once, was released on 29 April 2016. In 2016, at the 18th annual Scottish Music Awards, Travis were presented with an award for their outstanding contribution to music.[7]
Travis's June 2016 tour ofMexico formed the backdrop forAlmost Fashionable: A Film About Travis, a documentary directed by Healy. The film stars Wyndham Wallace, a music journalist and acquaintance of Healy's in Berlin, who was invited to travel with Travis to Mexico because he had previously expressed his distaste for the band.[46] The film had its premiere in 2018 at the 72ndEdinburgh International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.[47]
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In 2017, Travis celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut 1997 albumGood Feeling and the 18th anniversary of their seminal 1999 albumThe Man Who. As part of the occasion, the band re-released the albumThe Man Who as a limited edition box set.[48] In September 2017, the band also performed the album in full at two shows inManchester and London,[49] followed by more full-album UK shows in June and December 2018.[50]
For the 20th anniversary ofThe Man Who, the band re-released the album reissue box set, along with the live albumLive at Glastonbury '99, a recording of the set that is credited to be "a pivotal moment in kickstarting Travis' commercial success", this being despite the band members feeling that they had performed poorly when they originally performed at Glastonbury in 1999.[51]
On 10 December 2019, Travis released "Kissing in the Wind", a song from their upcoming new album, a song that had previously been included in their 2018 documentaryAlmost Fashionable: A Film About Travis.[52] Another single, "A Ghost", was released on 3 June 2020, along with details of the band's upcoming ninth studio album10 Songs, released on 9 October of the same year.[53] As a result of the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic, the band were unable to schedule a tour to promote the release of10 Songs; however, when restrictions were lifted, they rarely played any of the tracks from the album live.[53] On 17 July 2022, the group supportedGerry Cinnamon at his concert atHampden Park in Glasgow.
On 20 March 2024, Travis debuted the singles "Gaslight" and "Bus", and announced their tenth studio album,L.A. Times, which was released on 12 July 2024.[54] The album was produced byTony Hoffer and written by Fran Healy in his studio on the edge ofSkid Row, Los Angeles.[55] The cover of the album is a photograph of the band in Los Angeles taken by Stefan Ruiz, who also took photographs for the covers of the previous albumsThe Man Who,The Invisible Band, andThe Boy with No Name.[56]
The band announced they would be supportingthe Killers on their seventeen-concert Ireland and UK tour in mid-2024.[57]
The band have played with a number of other artists includingPaul McCartney,Graham Nash,Noel Gallagher andJason Falkner. Travis guest-starred onFeeder's "Tumble and Fall", performing backing vocals at the end of the song due to the fact that when Feeder recorded their albumPushing the Senses, Travis was in the next studio.[citation needed]
An adaptation of the Oasis song "Half the World Away", as performed by Healy, was used as the intro music for a sketch inThe Adam and Joe Show entitled "The Imperial Family". The sketch itself was a parody ofThe Royle Family (the Oasis song lends itself to it as the theme music).[citation needed] In June 2007, Travis participated inBBC Radio 2's project to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Beatles'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. All of the album's tracks were re-recorded by contemporary artists, supervised by the original engineer,Geoff Emerick, using the samefour-track studio equipment. Travis contributed a rendition of "Lovely Rita". The band wanted to be as faithful to the original as possible, to the extent they recorded the guitars in the stairwell ofAbbey Road Studios to recreate the acoustics.[58]
In 2010, Travis contributed a live version of their song "Before You Were Young" to theEnough Project andDowntown Records'Raise Hope for Congo compilation. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment ofCongo's women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in the Congo.[citation needed] Healy released his first solo album, entitledWreckorder, in October 2010. Recorded inBerlin,New York, andVermont, and produced by Emery Dobyns (Patti Smith,Noah and the Whale), the album featuresPaul McCartney,Neko Case, and Tom Hobden of Noah and the Whale.[59][60]
The band are credited by the media for paving the way for bands includingColdplay to achieve worldwide success throughout the 2000s, particularly with the success ofThe Man Who.[65]
TheBrit Awards are theBritish Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Travis | British Breakthrough Act | Nominated |
| 2000 | Travis | British Group | Won |
| The Man Who | British Album of the Year | Won | |
| "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" | British Single of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2001 | "Coming Around" | British Video of the Year | Nominated |
| 2002 | Travis | British Group | Won |
| The Invisible Band | British Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| "Sing" | British Video of the Year | Nominated |
TheQ Awards are the United Kingdom's annual music awards run by the music magazineQ.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Travis | Best New Act | Nominated |
| The Man Who | Best Album | Nominated | |
| "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" | Best Single | Won | |
| 2000 | Travis | Best Act in the World Today | Won |
| Best Live Act | Nominated | ||
| "Coming Around" | Best Video | Nominated | |
| 2001 | Travis | Best Act in the World Today | Nominated |
| The Invisible Band | Best Album | Won |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
