WHEN Travis took to the stage at Glastonbury in 1999 and the heavens opened as they played Why Does it Always Rain on Me, it was to mark a defining moment in the band’s fortunes.

The incident generated a storm of publicity that had hitherto eluded them, propelling them from indie near-do-wells to major players. As their chipper bass player and backing vocalist Dougie Payne explained, it's something that will linger long in the memory.

"I thought it might have been some collective hallucination, but it did actually happen, just as we started playing the first chords of the song it was raining, the maddest thing ever.

"We never get bored of playing songs like that and Sing. When we see the reaction of crowds, that’s what it’s all about," recalled the Glasgow-born former arts student.

As he concedes, fate can often work in mysterious ways, but eight years on from their Brit Award-winning The Man Who album, they are back with the kind of raw passion that set them off in the beginning.

Along the road they have survived critical mauling, an ever-shifting music scene that has seen many contemporaries fall and the near-death of drummer Neil Primrose in a swimming pool accident in 2002.

But more than a decade on, studio album number five, The Boy With No Name is an undoubted return to form after the edgy and decidedly troubled 12 Memories which Fran Healy described as their "therapy record".

After regrouping in the wake of its commercial failure, they set about recording the follow up on their own terms. Now in their 30s and each with family commitments, it was perhaps inevitable that the approach this time around would be different to the previous intensity.

"It’s been a long drawn out process but one we’ve enjoyed," added Dougie. "It began in November 2004 with some sessions with Brian Eno.

"With him we were doing all these experimental jams. I am a massive Bowie fan so I was living out an Eno fantasy with it all.

"We didn’t come out with any songs but it made us feel excited about playing again and realise our strengths - we are a band that needs a strong song- we are not a jamming band.

"That put a lot of pressure on us with the writing as we had to make sure the songs were great, but as the pressure grew we found our songs just got better and better. We recorded sporadically and ended up with 30 or 40 tracks, which is a position we’ve never been in before."

The strength of the songs is plain to see, ably typified by the soon to be released opening single Closer. Its strong melodic refrains are easily the equal of earlier offerings and demonstrated a new found maturity.

There’s more than a hint of melancholy too with Three Times and Outk, but this is tempered by the playfulness found on Selfish Jean’s swaggering pop sensibilities.

As with any top rock outfit, there’s a little room for some indulgence here and there which came in the form of Hollywood Star Ben Stiller. As a fan of the group, he was not going to miss out on the chance of being on the record.

"He’s a really good guy and had been to see us at some of our shows in New York. Ben laid down some wicked cowbells for us in a tribute to a Saturday Night Live sketch and managed to get him in the video for the next single."

Well used to mixing it in celebrity circles, Dougie’s not one to get especially star struck by other TV or movie personalities, especially as he’s married to Scots actress Kelly MacDonald, most famous as Dianne in Trainspotting. It seem she is a real fan of the band and has caught a number of their gigs.

"Kelly is just the best person in the world. She has been listening to the album over in America and is out in New Mexico at the moment filming with the Cohen Brothers. We are in training for being apart when I am on tour in the summer!"

To his credit, Dougie gives the strong impression of having retained his enthusiasm for music despite having experienced the more ditasteful side of being involved in the indutstry. It’s all he ever wanted to do and can’t see himself taking on anything else.

While growing up in Suburban Glasgow, his first taste of rock and roll was provided by his older sister who he credits with having a fantastic record colletion which started his obsession.

In his teens he gained entry to the city’s School of Art which he admits was just an excuse to meet likeminded people. One of those souls just happened to be one Francis Healey.

"I first met Fran when I was 16 or 17 in a life drawing class together We were trying to make each other laugh, and did.

"We ended up chatting and went back to my place and for some reason we had a guitar with us and ended up singing songs on the train, which must have annoyed all the other passengers.

"Fran has always been a bit of a character, he’s quite funny and gentle, which is quite a powerful combination," he recalled of their meeting that set the wheels in motion for his joining the band that would eventually become Travis.

Dougie was in fact the final member to complete the line-up of the group, which had formerly been called Glass Onion, after the Beatles track. Their new moniker came from a character in the movie Paris Texas.

"I joined the band in April 96 and by June we had moved to London and by December we were recording our first album in New York. I was thinking how the hell has this is happening, it was great a very exciting time."

Said record, Good Feeling unleashed some spirited singles including Good Feeling, U16 Girls and Tied to the 90s which dented the top 40 charts. They sensed greater things were to come, and would need to if they were to satisfy the demands of their label.

When they teamed up with legendary producer Nigel Godrich, the startling results were more than they could possibly have hoped for. It was to be the biggest album of the year.

"We knew it was good but could not have predicted the reaction to it. I remember being round at Fran’s house reading all the paper’s reviews of it and without exception they all slagged it off. It was unbelievable, that was the most depressing afteroon ever!

"We thought everyone hates our record, we’re messed up now. But then people had a chance to hear it as it started getting some radio play and went to number 1!"

Switfly on its heels their third album The Invisible Band was also given a lukewarm reception yet greeted warmly by their fans. Though the band concede it may not have been their finest work, they were undoubtedly some gems on it including their highest charting single to date, Sing.

But its unbridalled optimism gave way to the far darker pastures of 12 memories in which they took a major gamble in producing anti-war single The Beautiful Occuptation in protest at the Iraq conflict.

"We didn’t see it as a risk realising that, we just though it was a really good song. People were saying to us that it’s a political record and that we weren’t a political band. But if you are from Scotland you have a strong sense of fairness and we felt the war was the wrong thing and wanted to express that."

As with their previous work, there were plenty who doubted that Travis would last much beyond this. There were many willing to bet that Neil’s swimming pool incident in which he fractured his neck would place the final nail in the coffin for the under-pressure Scots outfit.

"I think there had been various points were we had all thought, would life be better if we were not in the band. But when Neil was injured we sat down and thought about whether we could continue - there’s a difference between giving something away and it being taken from you. It made us realise that we did all want it."

And after hearing their life-affiriming new album, only the harshest critics would suggest that’s anything other than the case. There’s always time for life beyond the music though and when not in the office, Dougie still has a passion for art and film.

But there’s rarely a moment when he’s not thinking about picking up a guitar or bass and seems to be embracing the prospect of the summer forest tour which sees them make their Kent debut at Bedgbury Pinetum.

"It should be really good coming down to Kent. I’ve been there before but have no real connections there - so I’ll have to make some."

There will certainly be no shortage of fans in the county who would gladly count Scotland’s finest rock export among their friends. On the strength of their latest material the signs look extremely good and their belated first visit will likely be far from the group’s last.

Travis will be hoping for good weather when they play Bedgebury Pinetum, near Goudhurst, on Sunday, June 10. Tickets £24.50. Support comes from The Hours. Box office 01842 814612 or see www.gigsandtours.com