A Wee Blether with Travis bassist Dougie Payne
The Travis bassist on reissuing two of their most popular albums on vinyl
“We’ll keep writing, recording, touring – if we remember how!
How exciting is it to be reissuing Good Feeling and The Boy With No Name?
It’s been a nice opportunity to go through our archives. I’ve found loads I’d forgotten about. It’s like having a time machine. It’s kept us occupied while we can’t play live.
What makes these albums so special?
With Good Feeling, our first album, it was about the excitement, the thrill of going into a studio. You can hear that on that record. The Boy With No Name is the opposite, the fifth album. By then we’d toured the world, had No 1 records, we’d gone through the wringer.
Do you have a favourite track on The Boy With No Name?
Colder. It has that snowy, glittery atmosphere to it. I really like the dive-bombing plane sounds at the start from Andy Dunlop’s guitar. We’ve played Selfish Jean, Closer and My Eyes a million times, but sometimes we’ll dig out one of the deeper cuts to play and that’s always nice.
Did you always want to be a bassist?
My twin fascinations were pop music and art. I was going to be a sculptor and then Fran Healy asked me to join the band and play bass. I’d never played a bass, but he said, “We’ll get one and see how you get on.”
When did you notice Travis hitting it big?
We stopped at an off-licence and All I Want To Do Is Rock came on the radio. And then they used More Than Us from Good Feeling Eastenders!
Are you looking forward to touring again?
It’s been weird releasing an album and not being able to tour it. We’ve never done that before. There are songs on the latest record, 10 Songs, that have never been played live. If there’s anything positive to take from the last year, it’s valuing social situations and seeing people more.
What’s your favourite thing about touring?
Walking on stage is the best, the nerves, the positive energy. Then there’s a moment in every set when there’s a little bit of magic and everybody feels bound together.
Where’s your favourite place to perform?
The Barrowlands in Glasgow. Further afield, I love playing in Mexico. Mexico’s an amazing country, amazing people.
What’s been your highlight in the band?
The people you meet. I met David Bowie a few times. Being at Paul Mccartney’s house for his 65th birthday party. And headlining Glastonbury, though that was tinged with terror!
What’s happening next for the band?
We are going to start writing the next record. It’ll be less than a year from now that we start touring. We want a new record ready by then. Keep writing, recording, touring – see if we remember how to do it!
Special Edition vinyl of Good Feeling, The Boy With No Name and 12 Memories are available now.