No Rock And Roll Fun

PRESUMABLY YOU WERE ALSO SICK AS A PARROT?: You'd imagine the one positive thing that could come out of sending a songwriter to Sudan, to see the horrors unfolding, is that on his return, as someone whose business is the marshalling of language, he would be able to offer powerful testament to what he'd seen.

Instead, Fran Healy returns from Sudan and how does he describe what he's seen?

"I'm gobsmacked at what I saw in Sudan."

What makes this flat reaction even more disappointing is that Healy thinks it's more than enough:

"As a famous person the thing you can do is go to a place and report on it. A singer like myself is able to talk freely and express an opinion."

We don't know if we're more crushed by the words "as a famous person", or by Healy's belief that "it's gobsmacking" is a worthwhile use of the platform and profile. And you can only picture Africa, as a continent, being delighted with this sort of attitude:

"I was naive before I went - thought Africans were needy and desperate. But they're the strongest people I've ever met who are surviving against all the odds - I don't know how they do it."

Cliche and the replacing of one stereotype with another, eh, Fran? I never thought I'd say this but: you really should get back in the studio and start making some new Travis album.