Then the band disappeared and nearly disappeared forever. During a tour of Europe, drummer Neil Primrose sustained a back injury while in a swimming pool--an accident made more ironic when one considers that Primrose was a swimming champion as a teenager in Scotland.  Medical experts told Primrose that he was unlikely to ever walk again. And the rest of the band realized that without Primrose, the band would cease to exist.

"We hadn't anticipated the success of The Man Who and by the time of The Invisible Band little cracks were beginning to appear," explains lead singer Healy. "Suddenly we weren't this little band in Glasgow any more. We desperately needed to take a step back and re-evaluate. Neil's accident was devastating and almost the end of Travis. This band would not exist without one of the four members. Neil's recovery was amazing, we were all given another chance."

The band took advantage of that chance when they regrouped late in 2002 in Crear, West Scotland. Over the course of two weeks, they wrote and recorded nine new songs. "It was like falling in love again," Payne said. "Crear seemed like a healing place." The band returned to the studio at the beginning of this year and completed the album that would become 12 Memories.