One of Travis' chief claims to fame when they launched their career in 1997 was the fact that they were the first band to be signed to Independiente Records, the new label started by Andy McDonald following his departure from Go! Discs. Heavily influenced by classic rock acts such as Neil Young, Travis were formed in Glasgow, Scotland from the ashes of local act Glass Onion. The line-up comprises Francis Healy (vocals), Neil Primrose (drums), Andy Dunlop (guitar) and Dougie Payne (bass), the latter the last to join in 1996. McDonald had been keen to sign the band while still at Go! Discs, but was unable to do so due to difficulties with parent company PolyGram Records. However, the band were an intrinsic part of his plans when he elected to set up Independiente, and his label paid for them to relocate to London. Independiente also found the band a manager (Ian McAndrew, manager of Brand New Heavies) and encouraged songwriter Healy to sign a publishing contract with Sony/ATV Music. By this time the band had released their debut single, "All I Want To Do Is Rock", on their own Red Telephone label.
A support slot for Oasis heralded a debut album, on which Healy's dramatic and often Lennonesque vocals drew attention away from their average songwriting. The excellent The Man Who built on the band's reputation as a charismatic live act. Released in May 1999 it proved to be one of the summer's surprise hit records, with "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' providing the band with a UK Top 10 single in August. A surge in sales following a hugely successful performance at the UK's V99 festival resulted in The Man Who finally topping the album charts and becoming one of the major successes of the year. It also inspired a new wave of UK-based acoustic rock bands, with Coldplay and Starsailor the most successful challengers to the chart dominance of urban and dance acts. Travis" difficult third album arrived in June 2001 to mixed, but largely favourable reviews. Gentle songs with simple melodies were the order of the day, but The Invisible Band lacked a classic single with only "Sing" and "Follow The Light" coming close. Primrose was forced to undergo surgery the following July after sustaining multiple fractures to his upper vertebrae in a swimming accident in France.