Travis front man Fran Healy speaks of his love for the West Midlands at Birmingham gig
Travis lead singer Fran Healy spoke of his love for the West Midlands as his tour stopped off in the region.
The band were formed in Glasgow, and Healy has a broad Scottish accent, but he was born in Stafford and only moved north as a child.
Healy, 48, told fans at Birmingham's Symphony Hall that he still has family in the region and that he has a particularly affection for Walsall.
The singer now lives in Los Angeles but is currently on tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary re-issue of their breakthrough album The Invisible Band.
The band played the whole album from start to finish before ending the concert with a mixture of new material and big hits.
Healy said he loved Birmingham and described the Symphony Hall as being like a "wonderful front room" to play in as it has among the best acoustics of any venue in the world.
He also said he was amazed at the development of Birmingham since his last visit, adding: "There are new buildings everywhere – it looks wonderful".
Healy's mother and other family were in the audience for the Symphony Hall show on Sunday. He paid tribute to her for putting up with him waking her at night when he was younger to play new songs to her.
The band are touring the UK before ending the tour later this year in the United States.
The quartet influenced a generation of bands including Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol. The group was one of the most prominent British trad rock groups of the period and crafted down-to-earth, heartfelt songs in the vein of classic British rock of the '60s.
Healy said he was delighted to be playing tracks from The Invisible Band, adding: "I hadn’t listened to the whole album for a while. It’s a lovely piece of work and it still sounds great at 20."
