Coldplay 'bodysnatched' our sound, says Travis singer Fran Healy

breakstuff · December 2019

Not a fan of either, but 'Turn' is a bloody great song.

To me, at least, one of the defining songs of the era.

thecolourbox · December 2019

I went to see Travis perform The Man Who this year and Fran Healy did talk about Coldplay but was quite respectful about them in actual fact. He said, quite rightly, that Coldplay just absorb what is popular at any given moment and then use it to their own end, and as such he had no problem with them at all.

Is it perhaps similar journalistic quoting to Stormzy yesterday?

Winny_Pooh · December 2019

Hi kids, here's daddy

robinbowes · December 2019

Travis' original bass player was Chris Martyn - true story.

mixolyd · December 2019

When The Man Who came out I took exception to how much their sound resembled Radiohead but after a while I realised that their melodies were very strong, they just didn’t really have much of their own sonic identity. A bit like Teenage Fanclub who had incredible melodies but in terms of arrangement were really generic.

Teyeplayer · December 2019

Winny_Pooh said:

Hi kids, here's daddy

And so much stronger and more interesting on all counts.

I don’t mean to malign either Travis or Coldplay, both have some beautiful songs. However, neither band could create such organised chaos as Radiohead do here, that’s a unique skill.

thecolourbox · December 2019

I've never had any sonic connection between Travis and Radiohead, and I like both of them. In what way are they similar?

Teyeplayer · December 2019

Edit: fat thumbs posting a reply and then my not realising there.

A lot of the wider music press have cited Radiohead’s acoustic moments as having influenced the late 90s early 00s acoustic rock bands.

thecolourbox · December 2019

Teyeplayer said:

Edit: fat thumbs posting a reply and then my not realising there.

A lot of the wider music press have cited Radiohead’s acoustic moments as having influenced the late 90s early 00s acoustic rock bands.

How bizarre, but apart from using similar instruments, I can't see any common ground other than being a bit downbeat. I suppose I can hear it a bit with High And Dry being a similar strumming rhythm and I guess the tune is a bit similar in style. But then that song doesn't sound very much like Radiohead to me either.

Crazy thing, perception

Teyeplayer · December 2019

I guess @thecolourbox if you consider ‘high and dry’, ‘fake plastic trees’, ‘karma police’ and ‘exit music’, you have the basis of the sound for the afore mentioned bands. Neither of which are capable of ‘my iron lung’, ‘paranoid android’ or ‘the national anthem’.

Matt_McG · December 2019

I can definitely hear a fair bit of the more mainstream bits of Radiohead in Coldplay. Not so much in Travis.

I used to work with one of the guys usurped from Travis just before they hit big.

I also was in a pizza place in Glasgow one drunken New Year at the height of Travis’ success when Fran came in. He was charming and low key with the people wanting autographs, and people I knew who knew him seemed to think he was a nice guy. Not a fan of their music but I am mildly well disposed to them as a band. I find Coldplay utterly irritating, though.

roberty · December 2019

thecolourbox said:

I've never had any sonic connection between Travis and Radiohead, and I like both of them. In what way are they similar?

The mid-tempo acoustic rock on The Bends is pretty much responsible for both Travis and Coldplay. Verses about personal shit and then in the chorus a catch-all about the human condition. Rinse and repeat

Haych · December 2019

Travis were soooooo dull. When they first came out they were never off the radio, I’m surprised they weren’t banned from air for fear they’d send drivers to sleep. All their songs sounded the same!

Coldplay were dull too but nowhere near as dull as Travis. If Fran Healy wants to believe another band would want to be as boring as Travis then let him.

mixolyd · December 2019

thecolourbox said:

I've never had any sonic connection between Travis and Radiohead, and I like both of them. In what way are they similar?

The singing on The Man Who is mimicking Thom Yorke - listen to “As You Are”, it’s embarrassing.

Not only does he lift the singing style precisely but he’s using the same techniques on the same kind of melodic colour tones.

Octave melodies on the lead guitar, drenched in filter and delay is a core element of their sound throughout the album.

Piano and glockenspiel reinforcing the chords.

Those doubled, panned guitars coming out of the middle 8 are straight from The Bends.

Overall the sound on that album is pure Radiohead - they used the same producer and must have told him “do what you did on The Bends/OK Computer”.

https://youtu.be/6evBAR5qG_4

UnclePsychosis · January 2020

For some baffling reason Travis were on BBC Scotland's hogmanay coverage playing live last night. They have not aged well, and I didn't think they were great to start with.

darthed1981 · January 2020

I always kind of liked Travis, especially their first album before they went down the "Man Who" road.

For example...

Fretwired · January 2020

Healy should listen to 1960s style British beat music. Plenty of chiming guitars.

thecolourbox · January 2020

mixolyd said:

thecolourbox said:

I've never had any sonic connection between Travis and Radiohead, and I like both of them. In what way are they similar?

The singing on The Man Who is mimicking Thom Yorke - listen to “As You Are”, it’s embarrassing.

Not only does he lift the singing style precisely but he’s using the same techniques on the same kind of melodic colour tones.

Octave melodies on the lead guitar, drenched in filter and delay is a core element of their sound throughout the album.

Piano and glockenspiel reinforcing the chords.

Those doubled, panned guitars coming out of the middle 8 are straight from The Bends.

Overall the sound on that album is pure Radiohead - they used the same producer and must have told him “do what you did on The Bends/OK Computer”.

https://youtu.be/6evBAR5qG_4

It's bizarre though because As You Are is my favourite song of theirs, and I've literally never made any connection whatsoever with Radiohead. Radiohead are admittedly a relatively recent discovery for be as I never really liked them at the time of Travis (I was only 11, give me a break) and always thought Travis were more akin to an over-sensitive introverted Oasis to be honest.

Plus I have always found it fairly easy to sing and play Travis, fits my range perfectly, however never anywhere near Thom Yorke's style vocals.

Lovely thing, perception

Stuckfast · January 2020

Yes exactly, both Travis and Coldplay copied Thom Yorke's incredibly annoying singing mannerisms.

And weren't Teenage Fanclub in their turn just a mash-up of the Byrds and Big Star?

lasermonkey · January 2020

Stuckfast said:

Yes exactly, both Travis and Coldplay copied Thom Yorke's incredibly annoying singing mannerisms.

And weren't Teenage Fanclub in their turn just a mash-up of the Byrds and Big Star?

Alex Chilton was incredibly self-critical and never understood Big Star's accolades. And yet he loved Teenage Fanclub.
I love both bands, but apart from the "melodic guitar group with nice harmonies" part, I really don't think they're more than superficially similar. Yeah, they're not groundbreaking, but when you have a back catalogue like theirs, you don't have to be.

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Coldplay 'bodysnatched' our sound, says Travis singer Fran Healy

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