Music Folks
Travis: The Glasgow Band That Made Melancholy a Hit
October 16, 2026 · by Music Folks
Travis are the Glasgow band whose gentle, melancholy guitar songs became one of the surprise success stories of late 1990s Britain. Their second album, The Man Who, spent nine weeks at No. 1 in the UK, and its quiet, melodic style opened a door that a wave of younger British bands soon walked through. More than three decades after they started, the same four musicians are still together.
Quick Facts
- Formed: 1990, Glasgow, Scotland (first as Glass Onion)
- Members: Fran Healy (vocals, guitar), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar), Dougie Payne (bass), Neil Primrose (drums)
- Genre: Alternative rock, Britpop, indie pop
- Key albums: The Man Who (1999), The Invisible Band (2001), L.A. Times (2024)
- Key songs: “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?,” “Turn,” “Driftwood,” “Sing,” “Side”
- Awards: Brit Awards for Best British Group (2000, 2002) and British Album of the Year (2000)
From Glass Onion to Travis
The band began in Glasgow in 1990 under the name Glass Onion, borrowed from a Beatles song. Guitarist Andy Dunlop and drummer Neil Primrose were there from the start, singer and songwriter Fran Healy came in soon after, and bassist Dougie Payne completed the lineup in the mid 1990s. The new name came from Travis, the main character in the 1984 film Paris, Texas.
Their debut album, Good Feeling (1997), was a fairly rocky, upbeat record that reached No. 9 in the UK. It earned them a following, but not yet a breakthrough.
The Man Who and a Lucky Downpour
For the follow-up, Travis slowed down. The Man Who, produced mainly by Nigel Godrich and released on May 24, 1999, swapped the guitars of the debut for softer, sadder melodies. Reviews were mixed, and after entering the chart at No. 5 the album started to slip.
Then came “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” and Glastonbury. When the band played the song at the 1999 festival, rain began to fall just as Healy started singing, and the moment caught the attention of the press and fans alike. The single went top 10, the album climbed back up the chart to No. 1, and it ended up the third best-selling album of 1999 in the UK. It has since been certified 9× platinum there. At the 2000 Brit Awards, Travis won both Best British Group and British Album of the Year, and Healy collected two Ivor Novello Awards for the song.
The Invisible Band and Beyond
The Invisible Band (2001) also went to No. 1, and its lead single “Sing” reached No. 3 and was the most played song on British radio that summer. The band won Best British Group at the Brits again in 2002.
That year also brought a scare. After a show at the Eurockéennes festival in France, Neil Primrose dived into a shallow swimming pool and broke his neck. He came close to dying but made a full recovery, and the band went on to release 12 Memories (2003), which reached No. 3. Later albums, including The Boy with No Name (2007), Where You Stand (2013), Everything at Once (2016) and 10 Songs (2020), all reached the UK top 20.
L.A. Times, their tenth studio album, followed on July 12, 2024. Produced by Tony Hoffer, it is a reflective record about middle age and a troubled world, and its song “Raze the Bar” features Chris Martin and Brandon Flowers on choir vocals. It reached the UK top five and topped the Scottish chart, and Travis supported the Killers on their 2024 UK and Ireland tour.
Where They Are Now
As of October 2026, Travis remain a working band with their classic lineup intact. In January 2026 they played The Man Who in full across five Australian shows, their first visit to the country in 24 years. For a band once thought too quiet to be big, it is quite a long run.