Saving lives for 20 years: The Fray return to Australia
Jeff Jenkins
STACK Writer
To mark the 20th anniversary of their chart-topping debut album, American band The Fray is returning to Australia. How to Save a Life, The 20th Anniversary Tour will kick off in Perth on December 3.
“We wrote songs in our parents’ basements and our grandpa’s barn, dreaming of playing our music with the world one day,” singer Joe King says. “We never imagined that the songs from How to Save a Life would still hold new meaning 20 years later.”
The Fray formed in Denver, Colorado in 2002, pulling the name out of a suggestion box at their first gig.
The Fray’s debut album, How to Save a Life, was released in September 2005. It eventually rose to number one on the Australian charts in March 2007, spending two weeks on top.
Most people thought The Fray’s breakthrough hit, Over My Head (Cable Car), was about a girl. But it was actually inspired by a fight that singer Isaac Slade had with his brother Caleb, whose nickname is “Cable Car”.
Caleb was The Fray’s original bass player, but Isaac sacked him in 2002.
Over My Head (Cable Car) was very much a family affair – Isaac’s little brother Micah starred in the video.
Fun fact: Isaac Slade and Joe King were later credited as co-writers of The Chainsmokers’ 2016 chart-topper Closer when people noticed it sounded like Over My Head (Cable Car).
The Fray’s biggest Australian hit was on their self-titled second album. You Found Me spent four weeks at number one at the start of 2009.
Isaac Slade wrote the title track of How to Save a Life after he helped a crack-addicted teenager at a summer camp in America. The song was a big hit on medical shows, including Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs.
With the success of their debut album, The Fray were often compared to Coldplay, with some critics calling them “Cold Fray”. But they didn’t seem to mind. “That’s a great comparison,” Isaac said. “We’ll take that any day.”
There was even an Aussie connection to the album – Isaac wrote the third single, Look After You, when his girlfriend Anne was living in Australia.
There was a happy ending to the story – Isaac and Anne were married in April 2006.
But Isaac left The Fray in 2022 after a series of onstage panic attacks. He now runs a record store, Side Stack Records, on Vashon Island, Washington.
Guitarist Joe King became the band’s new lead singer. Last year, they released a new EP, The Fray Is Back.
How to Save a Life, The 20th Anniversary Tour dates:
December 3 – Metro City, Perth
December 5 – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane
December 6 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
December 7 – The Forum, Melbourne
Enter the Fray...
^Discounts apply to previous ticketed/advertised price prior to the discount offer. As we negotiate, products will likely have been sold below ticketed/advertised price prior to the discount offer. Prices may differ at airport stores.
