1999 marked a momentous year for Scottish rock band Travis.
Singer/songwriter Fran Healy, guitarist Andy Dunlop, drummer Neil
Primrose, and bassist Dougie Payne had been together since the beginning
of the decade, and were gearing up for the release of their sophomore
album, The Man Who, following the release of their 1997 debut, Good
Feeling. Though the album found moderate success in the UK and set the
band up for extensive touring—opening for the likes of Oasis—Travis were
still reasonably unknown internationally. All of that was about to
change.
With The Man Who having only been in the record shops for a month,
Travis played the Other Stage at the Glastonbury Festival. It had been
glorious weather, but, as they played their soon-to-be-released single
“Why Does It Always Rain on Me?,” the heavens opened. The soggy crowd
went wild, and the performance went down as one of the all-time great
shows in the festival’s 50-year history. By the time “Why Does It Always
Rain on Me?” was released as a single five weeks later, Travis and The
Man Who were on the precipice of international stardom, and would go on
to headline Glastonbury a year later.
To commemorate the anniversary of The Man Who, Travis hand-selected 19
B-sides, which will be available on digital and CD reissues of the
album. Additionally, a deluxe box set (previously offered in a limited
quantity via Travis’ online store, available again now due to popular
demand) offers the expanded album on two CDs and two LPs, while the 12” x
12” lift-top box will also include a 58-page commemorative photobook.
The Man Who sounds as fresh today as it did then. One of the most
successful British albums of the last 20 years, it spawned the timeless
singles, “Writing to Reach You,” “Driftwood,” “Turn,” and possibly the
band’s most iconic song, “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” Produced by
Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, U2, Pavement), The Man Who spent an
astonishing 11 weeks at Number One in the UK, going on to sell 3.5
million copies worldwide. Critical recognition quickly followed
including Ivor Novello Awards for Best Songwriter and Best Contemporary
Song for “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” and BRIT Awards for Best
British Band and Best British Album. Travis would spend the next 18
months on a 237-date world tour.
Looking back, frontman Fran Healy remains modest: “We just enjoyed
it—for as long as it lasted. We didn’t force it. We rode the
rollercoaster for as long as we could, but we didn’t hang on for dear
life.” Travis had, he reasons, a healthy quotient of achievement, a
manageable dose of fame, and just the right amount of ambition. “At the
end of The Man Who, I was just totally energized,” recalls Healy. “We
didn’t take the chance to stop and smell the roses—we didn’t want to—we
just kept going, right through [2001’s] The Invisible Band.”
Reflecting on their now-legendary Glastonbury performance, Healy muses,
“We all thought it was a really below-par performance and a literal
washout. When I got home that night, I switched the tv on and the
presenters on the Glastonbury highlights were hailing us as the
performance of the festival. I watched it years later on YouTube. It was
a great performance. A band teetering on the pivot and then tipping all
in one gig.”
To date, the four members of Travis are still very active as a band. The
last two years have seen the group release their eighth album—the
refreshingly punchy Everything at Once—undertake another hefty world
tour, and make a documentary film—the candidly titled, Almost
Fashionable. Healy, now based in Los Angeles, sums it up: “We’re like a
couple who celebrate their 60th anniversary and they’re still in love.
It’s all about the relationship. This is the marriage of four men—and
it’s hard enough to keep two people interested, never mind four.”