• 1990-

  Fran HealyVocals, guitar

  Andrew DunlopGuitar

  Douglas PayneBass

  Neil PrimroseDrums
• This Scottish band used to practice in the Horseshoe Bar in Glasgow. The landlord let them use the room above the bar for free.
• The band met while at art college.
• They went through several names before arriving at Travis, including Glass Onion and Red Telephone Box. They decided on Travis after watching the film Paris, Texas and naming themselves after Harry Dean Stanton's character, Travis Henderson. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Joanne - Glasgow, Scotland, for above 3
• Although he still wrote songs for every Travis album, Fran Healy took a break from being the sole songwriter after his son, Clay, was born in 2006. He returned to the role for 10 Songs in 2020.
• Readers of Q Magazine named them the best act in the world at the 2000 Q Awards. Badly Drawn Boy won for best new act and Coldplay's Parachutes got best album. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bertrand - Paris, France
• Bassist Dougie Payne has been married to actress Kelly Macdonald since 2003. She is known for her roles in such mainstream movies as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
• In 2002, drummer Neil Primrose broke his neck after diving into a shallow pool while the band was on tour in France. Thankfully, the other band members were nearby to pull the unconscious sticks man out before he drowned. Primrose sustained serious spinal injuries but made a full recovery.
• Steve Lillywhite, who produced U2's first three albums, produced Travis' debut, Good Feeling (1997).
• Travis' sophomore album, The Man Who, left behind the rockier elements of their debut in favor of introspective, melodic Britpop. The quieter tones weren't so much a conscious decision but were borne out of necessity thanks to Healy's cantankerous neighbor, who was "a mental case." Healy told The Quietus in 2013: "If you creaked the floorboards then he would scream at you from underneath. So I wrote the entire record really quietly, and all these quiet songs came out."
• Noel Gallagher of Oasis became a fan of Travis when the Scottish band supported Oasis on their Be Here Now tour in 1997. Healy also referenced the ubiquitous hit "Wonderwall" (and borrowed the chords) on the Travis cut "Writing To Reach You."
• Healy brought Liam Gallagher of Oasis to tears when he played him The Man Who song "Luv."
• Healy released his debut solo album, Wreckorder, in 2010, which featured Paul McCartney on bass.

Comments: 3

• Travis from Laconia, NhMy names Travis and I'm a big fan of Travis.
• Clare from Chichester, EnglandTravis got their name from the main character in the movie Paris Texas. It's the same film that gave the group Texas their name and the soundtrack, which was written by Ry Cooder, inspired their first hit I Don't Want A Lover.
• Matthew from Shrewsbury, EnglandGlass Onion, if anyone's too lazy to check, is the name of a Beatles' track. That's the one that fuelled the controversy about Paul McCartney's death, claiming "The walrus was Paul". The walrus is the symbol of death in Indian myth.

More Songfacts:

Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)Lou Bega

The party tune "Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)" was the theme song for the 2000 Democratic Convention (the party of Bill Clinton), until someone noticed the line, "A little bit of Monica in my life."

Up-Up and AwayThe 5th Dimension

Jimmy Webb was inspired to write The 5th Dimension song "Up-Up and Away" after seeing a hot-air balloon his friend flew on promotions for the Southern California radio station KMEN.

Unchained MelodyThe Righteous Brothers

"Unchained Melody" first appeared in a 1955 movie called Unchained. The Righteous Brothers recorded it in 1965, and their version was resurrected in the 1990 movie Ghost.

Paul RevereBeastie Boys

In Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere," the title refers to the name of a horse. They took it from a song in the musical Guys And Dolls where a character sings, "I got the horse right here, the name is Paul Revere."

Everything ZenBush

References to David Bowie, Tom Waits and Allan Ginsburg are peppered into the Bush song "Everything Zen."

Return To SenderElvis Presley

When the Elvis stamps came out in 1993, lots of folks used them to mail letters with bad addresses so they would be Returned To Sender.

Editor's Picks

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Damn YankeesSongwriter Interviews

Revisit the awesome glory of Night Ranger and Damn Yankees: cheesily-acted videos, catchy guitar licks, long hair, and lyrics that are just plain relatable.

Glen BallardSongwriter Interviews

Glen Ballard talks about co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album, and his work with Dave Matthews, Aerosmith and Annie Lennox.

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.