EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
THE ENEMY WITHIN When it came to making a documentary about his band, Fran Healy invited their nemesis to star in it. Craig Angus talks to the Travis frontman about hardcore Mexican fans and those darned critics
‘C heck where I am!’ says Fran Healy, turning his screen to show the stunning blue skies and desert of the Joshua Tree National Park. He looks the very dei nition of contented, sitting on a porch with some coffee. ‘I’m in Maryhill,’ I offer drily. ‘That’s where I’m from!’ he replies, beaming. Healy’s a positive guy; the kind who would ask a music journalist who doesn’t like his band of over two decades to co-write and appear in a documentary about them, and from that unusual scenario visualises an endgame that’s not just amicable but that permeates warmth.
Wyndham Wallace is the aforementioned critic who Healy i rst encountered when both were living in Berlin. ‘He came up to me on a night out and just said, “you’re that guy from Travis: I really don’t like your band.” He just came straight off the bat and said it. I mean, nice to meet you too!’ Did Healy not think he was a piece of work? ‘He’s very posh and it was his idea of an icebreaker: “listen, this is what I think so I want to tell you straight away”. I get that a fair bit, it wasn’t something that hadn’t happened before.’ He raises his mug to mouth, eyes i xed on the landscape, adding, ‘I thought it was quite charming.’ As well as providing some insight into the dynamics behind one of the most successful Scottish bands of all time, Almost Fashionable takes a look at what it means to be a critic, what it means to be a fan, and where the lines get blurred. Healy and cinematographer Cristian Pirjol (who worked together on a short movie to accompany the band’s last album, Everything at Once)
22 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2018