Travis Enlists Coldplay's Chris Martin and the Killers' Brandon Flowers on 'Raze the Bar'

Veteran Scottish band Travis has enlisted Coldplay's Chris Martin and the Killers' Brandon Flowers to provide additional vocals on their new single "Raze the Bar."

The song is the second track released from their new album, L.A. Times, set for release on July 12. "Raze the Bar" chronicles the closing of the famed New York watering hole known as the "Black & White Bar." The bar's staff and owners Johnny T. and Chris Yerington are featured on the artwork for the single.

"There was a great bar in New York City. It didn't have a name but everyone called it Black and White on account of the black and white striped awning that hung over the entrance," Travis singer Fran Healy explained in a statement. "They had poetry nights, great DJs, open mic nights. If you played a show at Irving Plaza or Webster Hall, chances are you ended up at Black and White till the wee small hours. One of the owners, Johnny T, looked after so many artists and bands over the years. If that bar could talk, what a story it would tell."

"During the pandemic, their landlord refused to negotiate a reduced rent and they had to close. So, in the middle of the night, they turned up with a truck and removed every single trace and fixture of the bar. Then they white washed the whole space so it could never be repeated," he added. "'Raze the Bar' is a song about a fictional last night in the bar. Johnny is in there, Jack, Richard and Johnny's brother and bar co-owner Chris. The cameos were almost an afterthought! I just called Chris Martin in a bit of a panic because I couldn't figure out what the track sequence should be. When Chris heard it, he was like, 'That song is the best thing you've ever written!' And because he and Brandon Flowers both live quite near..."

L.A. Times is produced by Tony Hoffer, known for his work with Air, Beck, Phoenix and others. It comes 25 years after the band's breakthrough album The Man Who, which has gone nine-times platinum in the U.K.

Travis is set to tour the U.K. with the Killers in June and July.

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Chris Martin, Brandon Flowers