Travis is a Scottish indie band formed in Glasgow in 1990, composed of Fran… Read Full Bio ↴Travis is a Scottish indie band formed in Glasgow in 1990, composed of Fran Healy (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dougie Payne (bass guitar, backing vocals), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar, banjo, backing vocals) and Neil Primrose (drums, percussion). The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson (played by Harry Dean Stanton) from the film Paris, Texas (1984).

The band released their debut album, Good Feeling (1997), to moderate success where it debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart and was later awarded a silver certification from the BPI in January 2000. The band gained greater success with their second album, The Man Who (1999), which spent nine weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, totalling 134 weeks in the top 100 of the chart. In 2003, The Man Who was certified 9× platinum by the BPI, representing sales of over 2.68 million in the UK alone. Following this success, the band released their third effort, The Invisible Band (2001) album. The Invisible Band went on to match the success found with their previous album, where it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spent a total of four weeks at the top spot, fifteen weeks in the top ten, and a total of fifty-five weeks in the top 100 chart, as well as peaking at thirty-nine on the US Billboard 200 album chart, spending a duration of seven weeks in the Billboard 200 chart. A year following the release of The Invisible Band, the BPI awarded Travis with a 4× platinum certification for the album.

In recent years, the band's discography has included studio albums 12 Memories (2003), The Boy with No Name (2007), Ode to J. Smith (2008), Where You Stand (2013), Everything at Once (2016) and 10 Songs (2020). In 2004, the band released their first greatest hits album, Singles, which spent nineteen weeks in the top 100 of the UK albums chart. Travis have twice been awarded best band at the BRIT Awards and were awarded the NME Artist of the Year award at their 2000 ceremony, and in 2016 were honoured at the Scottish Music Awards for their outstanding contribution to music. The band are widely said by the media to have paved the way for other bands such as Keane and Coldplay to go on to achieve worldwide success throughout the 2000s, particularly with the success of The Man Who.

Craft Recordings celebrated the 20th anniversary of Travis' breakthrough year with two simultaneous releases: Live at Glastonbury '99, plus expanded editions of The Man Who – both of which were released on 21 June 2019.

All the Young Dudes
Travis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Written by David Bowie

Billy rapped all night about his suicide
How he kick it in the head when he was twenty-five
Speed jive don't want to stay alive
When you're twenty-five
Wendy's stealing clothes from Marks and Sparks
And Freedy's got spots from ripping off the stars from his face

Funky little boat race
Now television man is crazy saying we're juvenile deliquent wrecks
Oh man I need TV when I got T Rex
I'm a dude dad
All the young dudes
Carry the news
Boogaloo dudes
Carry the news
All the young dudes
Carry the news
Boogaloo dudes
Carry the news
Now Jimmy looks sweet though he dresses like a queen
But he can kick like a mule it's a real mean team
But we can love we can love
And my brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones
We never got it off on that revolution stuff
It was such a drag too many snags
Well I've drunk a lot of wine and I'm feeling fine
Got to race some cat to bed
Is there concrete all around me
Or is it in my head
Yeah
I'm a dude dad
All the young dudes
Carry the news
Boogaloo dudes
Carry the news
All the young dudes
Carry the news
Boogaloo dudes
Carry the news
All the young dudes
Carry the news

Boogaloo dudes
Carry the news

Overall Meaning

Travis's cover of "All the Young Dudes" by David Bowie is a song about the struggles and disillusionment of youth in the 1970s. The song is about a group of friends who are dealing with various issues, from Billy's suicide to Wendy's shoplifting. It seems that everyone is trying to find a way to cope with their problems, whether it's through drugs or music or something else entirely.

The lyrics are full of references to popular culture of the time, from T. Rex to the Beatles and the Stones. The TV man is crazy and calls them "juvenile delinquents," but they don't care because they have each other and their music. The chorus, "All the young dudes carry the news," suggests that they are the ones who will shape the future and bring about change.

The song has a sense of urgency to it, with its fast pace and frantic lyrics. It's a call to action for the young people of the time to stand up and be counted. Even though they may be struggling with their own issues, they can still make a difference.

Line by Line Meaning

Billy rapped all night about his suicide
Billy spoke all night about his suicidal tendencies

How he kick it in the head when he was twenty-five
How Billy wanted to end his life when he was twenty-five years old

Speed jive don't want to stay alive When you're twenty-five
When you're young and full of energy, you don't care much about staying alive

Wendy's stealing clothes from Marks and Sparks
Wendy is stealing clothes from a store called Marks and Sparks

And Freedy's got spots from ripping off the stars from his face Funky little boat race
Freedy has spots on his face from removing star-shaped makeup He has a unique and interesting appearance

Now television man is crazy saying we're juvenile delinquent wrecks
The man on TV is calling us troubled and delinquent youngsters

Oh man I need TV when I got T Rex
I don't need TV when I have the band T Rex to listen to

I'm a dude dad All the young dudes Carry the news Boogaloo dudes Carry the news All the young dudes Carry the news Boogaloo dudes Carry the news
I am a young man and my fellow young men are spreading the word about something important (though it's not specified what)

Now Jimmy looks sweet though he dresses like a queen But he can kick like a mule it's a real mean team
Jimmy looks feminine but he is tough and can fight

But we can love we can love
But despite our differences we can show love and compassion for each other

And my brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones We never got it off on that revolution stuff
My brother enjoys the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and we didn't resonate with the idea of a revolution

It was such a drag too many snags
The idea of a revolution was difficult and faced many obstacles

Well I've drunk a lot of wine and I'm feeling fine Got to race some cat to bed
I've had a lot to drink and I'm feeling good But I need to quickly go to bed and sleep

Is there concrete all around me Or is it in my head Yeah
I'm not sure if I'm surrounded by concrete or if it's just my imagination

Contributed by Nathaniel E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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