Snow Patrol consists of lead singer and guitarist Gary Lightbody, bassist Paul Wilson, drummer Jonny Quinn, guitarist Nathan Connolly and keyboardist Tom Simpson. Co-founder Mark McClelland left the band in 2005.
Gary Lightbody and Mark McClelland were both at Dundee University in Scotland in 1994. Musically, they immediately clicked and shared a love for the same bands. The idea to form their own band soon took shape.
Polar Bear
Initially, they called themselves Polar Bear. However, this name was also used by the former bassist of Jane's Addiction. When a lawsuit threatened, McClelland and Lightbody decided to choose another wintry name: Snow Patrol.
(The) Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol was signed by the Scottish label Jeepster Records. Under this label, their debut album Songs For Polar Bears was released in 1998. Three years later, the album When It’s All Over We Still Have To Clear Up was also released by Jeepster Records. By then, the relationship between the band and the label was already strained. Jeepster wanted Snow Patrol to change their name to something with The, inspired by the success of bands like The White Stripes and The Strokes. The band decided to keep their trusted old name and leave the label.
Final Straw
Their confidence was soon rewarded. A demo of the album Final Straw was picked up by Polydor UK. Snow Patrol then went into the studio and recorded the album. Final Straw was released in 2004 and the first single from the album, 'Run', became a big hit. In the United States, 250,000 copies of the album were sold.
New line-up
Bassist Mark McClelland left the band in early 2005. He was replaced by Paul Wilson. Additionally, keyboardist Tom Simpson became a permanent member of the band.
Live8
Snow Patrol performed on the Live 8 stage in Hyde Park, London in the summer of 2005. The band was also one of the support acts during the U2 Vertigo Tour. After these performances and their own Final Straw tour, the band took a few weeks off. Afterwards, they began recording a new album.
Pinkpop 2007
After a sold-out show at Utrecht's Vredenburg in October 2006, Snow Patrol performed at the Heineken Music Hall in February 2007. During the Pentecost weekend, the Scots played at Pinkpop.
Up To Now
The men of Snow Patrol had built up quite a portfolio and in 2009 felt it was time for a compilation album. This collection, Up To Now, was filled with old material and B-sides, but the band also enriched the record with some new material. 'Just Say Yes' was the first single from this album and quickly reached number one in the Dutch charts.
Soundtrack for Divergent
Snow Patrol recorded the song 'I Won't Let You Go' for the soundtrack of the American film Divergent. Divergent is an adaptation of the popular young adult novel of the same name, written by Veronica Roth. The thriller stars big names such as Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Kate Winslet. The film has been showing in Dutch cinemas since early April 2014. The song was released in February 2014. The full soundtrack of the film was released on 11 March 2014.
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, Snow Patrol features with the following entries:
Sunday Morning Classic
Oh, that was a tough choice... In the end, on 6 August 2023, we chose as Sunday Morning Classic the 4th studio album from 2006: Eyes Open.
Although 'Hands Open' was the first single in the United States, 'Chasing Cars' was simultaneously storming the American download and hit charts. This happened after the song was featured in an episode of the popular series Grey's Anatomy. 'Chasing Cars' also became a big hit in the Netherlands. In February 2007, the song spent exactly six months in the Mega Top 50. In the same month, the new single 'Shut Your Eyes' was released in the Netherlands.
After extensive touring to promote the third studio album Final Straw, the band decided after a six-week break to start work on the fourth album. During their US tours, they spent time in studios and debuted Chasing Cars, It's Beginning to Get to Me and Your Halo at some shows. For the recording, the band had more space and money available to do it properly. This was in contrast to Final Straw, where due to lack of time and funds this was hardly possible. Most of the album was recorded at Parkgate Studios in the United Kingdom and the album was completed at Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland. Before recording, the band secluded themselves in The Roundhouse, a house built on a hill in Dingle, Ireland, away from the outside world. They did this following Kate Bush, after hearing that her album was also recorded at this location. The band described the place as melancholic and dramatic, with views over the Atlantic Ocean. During this phase, the band had the chance to bond with Paul Wilson, the new bassist after Mark McClelland's departure. According to guitarist Nathan Connolly, it was good for the band to isolate themselves in order to get to know each other again after the long and exhausting touring schedules. After the sessions in Ireland, the band returned to Glasgow, Scotland to continue writing and recording. In a session at a local recording studio, over thirty songs were created by Connolly, Wilson and singer-songwriter Gary Lightbody, working with producer Garrett "Jacknife" Lee. Lee also helped the band with the predecessor Final Straw from 2003 and the later A Hundred Million Suns from 2009. The band also recorded some songs at The Garden in London.
Among the early completed songs was Chasing Cars, which Lightbody says is the purest love song he has ever written. Whereas most songs with love as a theme have a dark edge, this is absent in the song. The singer described the studio version as "grand". The song Make this Go on Forever was one of the last written songs and It's Beginning to Get to Me was worked on for a while. Lightbody admitted that the band had not thought about the song for some time and later returned to it, making it stronger and sounding like a "real monster". Other songs that were finished early included You're All I Have, Open Your Eyes, The Only Noise and You Could Be Happy. Folk singer Martha Wainwright was invited for a collaboration. One of the albums the band members often listened to was the EP Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole by folk singer Martha Wainwright. Lee got the idea that Wainwright's and Lightbody's voices would work well together. From the Scottish side, the singer was asked if she was interested in a possible collaboration and Wainwright then asked the band for the song. However, the band had no potential song ready and began working on a song that was eventually released as the single Set the Fire to the Third Bar. Lightbody wrote lyrics for songs on the album for three months and found some of them quite dark. With the collaboration in mind, Lightbody wrote the song in twenty minutes and called it a relief due to the change in theme. He described the song as a love serenade to Wainwright's voice. "The Third Bar" refers to Lightbody's childhood, when the heating had to be turned up a few clicks (bars) to give off more warmth. This reference came to the writer while he was writing in a cold room in the winter of 2005. Additionally, it represents the beacon of warmth of a song over distance and the attempt to reach someone.
Source: NPO and Wikipedia Photo: Tammy Lo and Sam Durrant
