Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me？

What this video is

Released 2 August 1999, 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' was Travis's third single from their second album The Man Who (Independiente). It became the band's international breakthrough, peaking at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart. Its cultural moment was crystallised by a legendary performance at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, where rain began to fall precisely as the first line was sung — a coincidence that generated…

Why it matters

A defining text of Post-Britpop, the track and its video exemplify the late-1990s British indie pivot from Lad-culture bravado toward introspective, melodically direct songwriting. The video's surrealist-whimsical visual language — absurdist narrative combined with naturalistic location shooting —…

The director

John Hardwick (born 1965) is a British film and television director who grew up on Merseyside and studied at Swansea University and Louisiana State University. He entered visual media through music video directing in the late 1990s, working with acts…