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.”