This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Whenever we hear that the lead singer in a band has recorded a solo album, we roll our eyes and think about all of the frontmen in history who crashed and burn with their hubris.
But Brandon Flowers will not be quitting The Killers, and Fran Healy (above) has not told his Travis bandmates to take a long walk off a short catwalk. Each says he is committed to his band, and each performs tonight at The Depot — all by themselves.
Opening for Brandon Flowers will be 37-year-old Scottish frontman Healy of the alt-pop-rock band Travis. The two-decade-old band is revered in the United Kingdom but hasn't made the same inroads in the United States. Yet songs such as "Sing" and "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" and albums such as "The Man Who" and "Invisible Band" have earned the band a devoted following.
The band's sensitive, soft-rock sound is thought to have inspired bands such as Coldplay and Snow Patrol, among others.
The songs on Healy's solo debut aren't markedly different from those he has written for Travis, but he will be performing them differently for his show at The Depot: just him and his acoustic guitar. The vulnerability of performing an unplugged concert makes him feel "superhuman." He says he welcomes the opportunity to tell stories in between songs without worrying about bugging other members of a band.
The band's relationship is great, but after crisscrossing the globe several times the last several years, "Everyone wanted a break from Travis," he said. But as the main songwriter for Travis, Healy didn't stop thinking about music. "I started writing songs since I was 13," he said. "I've always kept writing. To me, it's a continuation."
The fragile-voiced tenor described deciding to record a solo album as cracking the door open and being excited about what he saw outside. But first, Healy asked his bandmates if it would be rude to record an album without them, and they gave him their blessing.
Healy's music industry credibility opened the doors for him to collaborate with Neko Case on one song, while Paul McCartney played bass on the song "As it Comes." Healy was so honored by McCartney's willingness to contribute that he wanted to repay the singer. He asked himself what Sir Paul, one of the richest men in England, would possibly need? So Healy and his wife became vegetarians, just like McCartney. When Healy told McCartney, the latter was stunned, and three days later a collection of Linda McCartney vegetarian cookbooks arrived in the mail for the Healys.
It is hard for Healy to take compliments, pooh-poohing praise about his new look by insisting that his "tramp-chic" style makes him "look like a hobo." He also passes along credit for inspiring the "faux-hawk" as a hairstyle, though the British press says he started the craze. "I can't take credit for it," Healy said. "My hairdresser can."
Brandon Flowers of The Killers with Fran Healy of TravisWhen • Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 8 p.m.Where • The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake CityTickets • $25 in advance, $30 day of, at SmithsTix