Perdita
19-09-2008, 08:35
They dominated the turn-of-the-millennium airwaves with hits like 'Sing' and 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?', their The Man Who album sold more than 2.5 million copies and Chris Martin reckons they "invented" Coldplay. Now Travis are going back to their roots with Ode To J. Smith, their loudest, rockiest album since their 1997 debut. Intrigued, we called frontman Fran Healy to find out more.
You recorded your new album very quickly. What prompted the burst of creative energy?
"Mainly our last tour, which was really energising. When we came off the road in November we knew [bassist] Dougie was going to have a baby in March, so that gave us a deadline to work to. We thought, 'If we can't get an album written and recorded by then, we're big girls' blouses and we shouldn't be in a band'."
Do you think the album will surprise people?
"People who know the band will think 'Ah, this is a Travis album' but it will definitely surprise some people. If you only know us from 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' and then you hear this album, you're going to have to adjust quite quickly."
Are you always as pleasant and affable as you seem?
"No, no, I'm a total c**t sometimes. Seriously? Travis are tagged with this 'they're so nice' thing and it's true, we are quite decent folk. I think it's because we're Scottish and Scottish people are quite nice, quite talky and they don't have attitude. Being Scottish, I think it's in my DNA to be quite modest and hope someone else blows my trumpet for me so I don't have to do it myself."
Looking back, what are your thoughts on the huge success of The Man Who?
"The thing people don't realise about us is that we've always been out of vogue. We make great records that are slightly out of fashion - and The Man Who was no exception. But something happened with The Man Who and it got played on the radio and people really liked it. It was odd for us, a band who'd been slightly out of vogue, to suddenly become really successful."
Chris Martin has said that Travis "invented" Coldplay. What do you think of that?
"It's outrageous and I think it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand it's complimentary, but on the other hand people might think we're responsible for inflicting Coldplay's music on the world! Chris and I are really good friends and I'm a big fan of Coldplay, but he knows what he was saying there. He knows Coldplay get a bad rap and he's sidling the blame onto me! But you know what, it's just a really cool thing to say."
Do you think it's true?
"I think being in a band is like looking for oil. We found this big empty area where everyone was saying, 'Don't be stupid, there's no oil there!' and we struck oil. It was gushing everywhere! Within a year there were 100 bands setting up round our area and we were like, 'Hang on, what's happening here?' But I think Chris Martin is definitely fully responsible for Coldplay and I don't want to take credit for Coldplay anymore!"
Do you ever look at Coldplay's sales figures and think, 'I wish that was us'?
"You know, we've sold ten million albums. If we'd only sold 40,000 records I would be *******ing well hacked off. Chris and I, though friends, are very different people. The guy doesn't sleep - he's incredibly determined. To be a giant, giant thing like that is incredibly difficult to manage and it's not something I'm attracted to."
Travis's new single, 'Something Anything', is out now. The album, Ode to J. Smith, follows on Monday.
You recorded your new album very quickly. What prompted the burst of creative energy?
"Mainly our last tour, which was really energising. When we came off the road in November we knew [bassist] Dougie was going to have a baby in March, so that gave us a deadline to work to. We thought, 'If we can't get an album written and recorded by then, we're big girls' blouses and we shouldn't be in a band'."
Do you think the album will surprise people?
"People who know the band will think 'Ah, this is a Travis album' but it will definitely surprise some people. If you only know us from 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' and then you hear this album, you're going to have to adjust quite quickly."
Are you always as pleasant and affable as you seem?
"No, no, I'm a total c**t sometimes. Seriously? Travis are tagged with this 'they're so nice' thing and it's true, we are quite decent folk. I think it's because we're Scottish and Scottish people are quite nice, quite talky and they don't have attitude. Being Scottish, I think it's in my DNA to be quite modest and hope someone else blows my trumpet for me so I don't have to do it myself."
Looking back, what are your thoughts on the huge success of The Man Who?
"The thing people don't realise about us is that we've always been out of vogue. We make great records that are slightly out of fashion - and The Man Who was no exception. But something happened with The Man Who and it got played on the radio and people really liked it. It was odd for us, a band who'd been slightly out of vogue, to suddenly become really successful."
Chris Martin has said that Travis "invented" Coldplay. What do you think of that?
"It's outrageous and I think it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand it's complimentary, but on the other hand people might think we're responsible for inflicting Coldplay's music on the world! Chris and I are really good friends and I'm a big fan of Coldplay, but he knows what he was saying there. He knows Coldplay get a bad rap and he's sidling the blame onto me! But you know what, it's just a really cool thing to say."
Do you think it's true?
"I think being in a band is like looking for oil. We found this big empty area where everyone was saying, 'Don't be stupid, there's no oil there!' and we struck oil. It was gushing everywhere! Within a year there were 100 bands setting up round our area and we were like, 'Hang on, what's happening here?' But I think Chris Martin is definitely fully responsible for Coldplay and I don't want to take credit for Coldplay anymore!"
Do you ever look at Coldplay's sales figures and think, 'I wish that was us'?
"You know, we've sold ten million albums. If we'd only sold 40,000 records I would be *******ing well hacked off. Chris and I, though friends, are very different people. The guy doesn't sleep - he's incredibly determined. To be a giant, giant thing like that is incredibly difficult to manage and it's not something I'm attracted to."
Travis's new single, 'Something Anything', is out now. The album, Ode to J. Smith, follows on Monday.