• 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.

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