VF Exclusive - TRAVIS IN SPAIN

Spain | by Andrew Future | 10 August 2003

Fran and Doug chat to VF at Benicassim

Fran Healy's getting emotional on us. Again. "The truth," he pleads, "is one thing that is endless, above time, and that's why Neil Young's music still stands up. As an artist you have to take what is pure and truth, nothing else." After years of constant touring, and with millions of records sold across the world you could forgive the wily Scotsman for being a little distant. But dear old Fran is still his same old self.

He's still in love, drummer, Neil Primrose is thankfully still playing drums, and six gigs into their tour schedule, the lads have never looked happier. "We are high in water and life, purely water, and new songs..." Fran tells us. The long awaited ´new shit´ naturally doesn't sway in any major direction away from previous Travis recordings. On the evidence of what they play tonight, it's a politicised advance from The Invisible Band that sees Fran laying his heart on the line more than ever.

"We didn't have a producer it was produced by us, the sounds a little more like us, without somebody else's involvement." As was hinted at during Fran's solo performance at the One Big No anti-war concert earlier in the year (covered on VirtualFestivals.com), there is a strong political sentiment running through the Travis songwriter. "I think what the most important thing about all of this stuff with the Iraqi war, if we leave the politics to the politicians, cause politics is intrinsically to do with lies, let the politicians lie cause that's all they're good at."

Thus we have songs like "Beautiful Occupation" a class A Travis song, an ode, quite blatantly, to the Iraqi invasion, as well as tonight's closer, "Peace The Fuck Out", which features the line "You've got a choice, use it / You've got a brain, use it." Other new songs include the excellent, "How Many Hearts", in a greatest hits set than includes all their hits. Healy introduced "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" as ´classical music´. And his light side is still intact, despite all his restless nights worrying about what cap to wear next.

"I touched Neil Young's jeans," Healy quips, grinning like a teenage girl back from Top Of The Pops, and a brush with their teen idol. He wasn't wearing them though. They were on the table, Dougie explains. ´We haven't had much luck with swimming pools´ says the Travis guitarist, smiling as he bounds towards us. The poolside televisions will live to see another night then. "We're not having much fun yet. We've just jumped off the plane and haven't had a chance to chill out." Travis then, are back on the road. (You may remember their drummer luckily avoided being paralysed after breaking his neck in a diving accident.)

Everything about Travis is getting better, especially Fran's voice, as commented on by Noel himself. "It´s to do with your voice as a singer and it probably gets the best it can be between the years of 29-32, so my voice is just getting to its boiling point, it's an organic set thing." As his glorious falsetto rings through the early morning humidity here in Benicassim, it thrills as it fills the hearts of FIB's biggest crowd yet. That's one fucking beautiful occupation they've got there.