First vinyl reissue for Travis’ ‘The Boy With No Name’ announced
On May 28th, the Top Five album from Scottish rock band Travis, “The Boy With No Name”, returns to vinyl for the first time. Cut at London’s Metropolis Studios, Craft Recordings’ new reissue of the bands fifth studio album comes housed in a gatefold sleeve and features a bonus 7” single. As well as the standard black vinyl (available to pre-order beginning today), a limited gold vinyl edition will be available exclusively at Travis’ official store. Meanwhile, Newbury Comics will offer an exclusive brown pressing coming later on September 17th.
Formed in Glasgow in 1990, Travis (Fran Healy, vocals, guitar; Andy Dunlop, lead guitar; Dougie Payne, bass; Neil Primrose, drums) came of age during Britpop’s heyday, but always stood at a remove from that scene’s barely contained mania. When the Britpop hangover kicked in at the end of the ’90s, Travis’ gentle, uplifting songs were the perfect antidote for the chaos of the preceding years. From its title on down, Good Feeling set the mood: an upbeat album unafraid to wear its emotions on its sleeve. By the time Travis took to Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in 1999, delivering a career-defining performance, they were poised to become household names, opening the door for a new generation of introspective songwriters to come through.
Entering the new millennium as one of the biggest bands in the UK following the success of sophomore album, 1999’s “The Man Who” (now certified 9x platinum, with over 2.7 million albums sold in the UK), Travis spent the remainder of the ’00s developing their sound without ever forgetting their core commitment to songwriting. “The Invisible Band” (2001) consolidated the group’s status as the grown-ups’ indie rock band of choice, while 2003’s 12 Memories revealed a newfound electronica influence. 2007’s “The Boy With No Name” was the band’s most eclectic album to date, and, in the years since, the group have only continued to build on their enduring appeal. 2008’s Ode to J Smith included the fan-favourite single “Something Anything”, while “Where You Stand” (2013) and “Everything At Once” (2016) returned Travis to the UK Top 5.
Travis’ emotionally charged and deeply heartfelt ninth studio album, “10 Songs” (2020), marked another new chapter in the band’s extraordinarily prolific and unflappable career. “10 Songs” is yet another body of work that showcases the band as one of the UK’s finest songwriting exports. Recently, the band announced their return to the stage, with a slew of UK dates beginning in May 2022.
In 2007, ten years after the release of their debut album “Good Feeling”, much had changed for Travis’ Fran Healy (vocals, guitar), Andy Dunlop (guitar), Dougie Payne (bass), and Neil Primrose (drums) – and yet, much remained the same. With Healy now a father (“The Boy With No Name” takes its title from a nickname briefly given to his son), his songwriting on “The Boy With No Name” turned to the world of relationships, with singles “Closer” (which marked the bands return to the Top 10 on the UK singles chart) and “My Eyes” focusing on his newborn son. Featuring production work from Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck, Paul McCartney) and pioneering artist Brian Eno, the album was praised by media all over the world.
‘“The Boy With No Name is a dense album,’ Fran reflected. ‘Andy MacDonald, our A&R man fracked me hard, possibly a little too hard, for songs. As a result, there were many strong contenders for singles. “Battleships,” “Sailing Away,” and “Big Chair” are among some of which should have been released but never made it. As a result, it’s possibly our most eclectic album, packed with some of our most memorable songs.’
“The Boy With No Name”’s re-release comes on the heels of the vinyl reissue for Travis’ debut album, “Good Feeling” (released April 2nd on Craft Recordings). Leading up to the release, all four band members participated in an exclusive Q&A conversation with mega-producer Steve Lillywhite, who they worked with 24 years ago on “Good Feeling”. The fascinating and at times hilarious conversation between Lillywhite (who spent several decades as one of the most acclaimed and successful producers in British pop music) and Travis covered specifics around the making of the album, plus the band shared the impact Lillywhite had on individual tracks and the conversation also features some unheard stories from that time.
In celebration of the album’s anniversary and upcoming re-release, all four band members will be hosting a global listening party for their fans on May 7th.
