Songfacts®:

• In the grand tradition of watering holes becoming cultural footnotes, "Raze The Bar" throws back a teary shot in memory of The Black & White Bar, a beloved New York City haunt. Nestled in Greenwich Village, Black and White (so named for its awning) was a haven for performers and dreamers, including Travis. Alas, the pandemic, that great reaper of dreams and dive bars alike, claimed Black and White thanks to a rent dispute with the landlord.
• "Raze The Bar" details the last night at The Black & White Bar. "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," frontman Fran Healy reminisced, his voice thick with the kind of sentiment that only a good bar stool and a few dozen beers can cultivate. "'Raze the Bar' is a song about a fictional last night in the bar. [Co-owner] Johnny is in there, Jack, Richard and Johnny's brother and bar co-owner Chris."
• The song appears on Travis' 10th album, L.A. Times, produced by Tony Hoffer, whose resumé boasts the likes of Beck, The Fratellis and Air. Fran Healy wrote the LP in his studio on the edge of Skid Row, Los Angeles, hence the album title.
• Healy enlisted Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and The Killers' Brandon Flowers to sing background vocals.
  
  "I called up Chris, I was having a moment of 'I ... don't know how to order the record," Healy confessed to NME. "I'd listened to it too much. I had a running order, but I needed some fresh ears, so I called Chris and we drove up the Pacific Coast highway and listened to it.
  
  He had lots and lots of comments to make and he picked out that particular song 'Raze The Bar.' He was like 'Oh My God it's ... amazing.' So we go back to the house and he goes to the piano and he starts playing it. I was like: 'You should sing on it.'"
  
  Martin readily agreed, but with a caveat. "Yeah, I'll sing but you should get more people to sing on it as well."
  
  Brandon Flowers lives nearby, so Healy called The Killers frontman, and he agreed to come on board as well. Travis bassist Dougie Payne rounds out the backing vocal roster.