Snow Patrol
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Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Northern Ireland and Scotland. The band was formed in Scotland by vocalist/guitarist Gary Lightbody and bassist/keyboardist Mark McClelland. Other members include Paul Wilson on bass guitar, Jonny Quinn on drums/percussion, Nathan Connolly on guitar, and Tom Simpson on keyboards.
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About
The band started performing in gigs at Dundee University and other local pubs as Shrug in 1994. But then changed their name to Polar Bear in late 1995. Their music back then was heavily influenced by bands like Pearl Jam before they experimented with other groups like Sebadoh. By mid 1997, they released their first EP called Starfighter Pilot under Electric Honey Label. But after legal threats from an American Band of the same name (led by Eric Avery, former bassist for Jane's Addiction), they changed their name once again, now into Snow Patrol.
They then released another EP called Little Hide. The first single, One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed was a minor independent chart hit. They had their first TV appearances then finally landing a spot in their first MTV interview in 1998, and briefly appeared in a documentary for Jeepster Records, who heavily promoted their first two EP's and gave them their first taste of fame. Two more albums were released still under Jeepster: Songs For Polarbears in 1998 (including a slightly remixed version of their debut single Starfighter Pilot) and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up in 2001 (both recorded while the band lived in Glasgow).
After two albums for Jeepster, the band was dropped from the label and signed on with a more mainstream label Polydor. Their first released single under their new record label was Run, which gained them instant mainstream success, debuting in the UK Singles Chart at #5. By 2003, they released Final Straw. The record peaked at #3 in the UK albums chart. They followed the success of Run up with three more singles from the album, Chocolate, and a re-release of Spitting Games, both reaching the Top 30, and How to Be Dead reaching #39.
When Final Straw was released in the US in 2004, the band found themselves selling an excess of a quarter of a million sales and becoming the 26th most popular British album of that year, beating releases such as Muse's Absolution, David Bowie's Best of Bowie, Coldplay's Parachutes and The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Their single Run was the 22nd most played British song on American airwaves, having been played just under 28,000 times on US radio stations in that same year.
Snow Patrol toured as an opening act for U2's Vertigo Tour in 2005 and playing in London for Live 8. After the two-year tour of Final Straw in July, the banc took hiatus to write and record songs for their next album. They finally released 'Eyes Open' in December 2005 and in the UK in May 1, 2006. Their first single off the album, You're All I Have was a hit, so as their next song Chasing Cars, which was on the download and pop charts after it was heard on the finale of the the second season of Grey's Anatomy. Another song made it to another hit TV show, Open Your Eyes was heard on the season finale of ER. Both singles have given the band massive airplay hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Sold out tours of the UK, Europe and America have all been completed to great acclaim, and Eyes Open is the bands most successful record to date in the UK, America and all around the world.
The band endured a diffucult 2006 recently. They had to postpone a number of their American Eyes Open tour due to the discovery of polyps in Lightbody's vocal chords. Dates were rescheduled for September. Another eerie event was when they were forced to cancel two west coast festival appearances in mid-August due to the threat of terrorist attacks on US-bound flights from the UK. Two members made it to the US but two were stuck in London. Fortunately, they all made it but failed to recover any of their luggage and was forced to shop for clothes in Boston. But their gear arrived finally hours before showtime.
Band Lineup
- Gary Lightbody – lead vocals, guitar
- Nathan Connolly – guitar
- Paul Wilson – bass guitar
- Jonny Quinn – drums, percussion
- Tom Simpson – keyboard
Former Member
- Mark McClelland – bass guitar
Awards & Certifications
Chart Toppers
| Year | Title | UK Singles Chart | US Modern Rock | US Pop 100 | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Spiting Games | 54 | 39 | - | Final Straw |
| 2004 | Run | 5 | 15 | - | Final Straw |
| Spiting Games (Re-Issue) | 23 | - | - | Final Straw | |
| How To Be Dead | 39 | - | - | Final Straw | |
| 2006 | You're All I Have | 7 | - | - | Eyes Open |
| Hands Open | - | 21 | - | Eyes Open | |
| Chasing Cars | 6 | 29 | 6 | Eyes Open |
News
Tours & Concerts
Oct 8 2006 Rockefeller Music Hall Torggata
Oct 9 2006 Vega House Of Music Copenhagen
Oct 10 2006 Ewerk Koln
Oct 11 2006 Muziekcentrum Vredenburg Utrecht
Oct 13 2006 Markthalle Hamburg
Oct 14 2006 Huxley's Berlin
Oct 15 2006 Arena Vienna
Oct 16 2006 Elserhalle Munich
Oct 18 2006 Rohstofflager Zurich
Oct 19 2006 Esapce Culturel Seichamps
Oct 20 2006 Transbordeur Lyon
Oct 22 2006 Le Moulin Marseille
Oct 23 2006 Salle Des Fetes Ramonville
Oct 25 2006 Big Band Cafe Herouville St-Claire
Oct 26 2006 Elysee Montmarte Paris
Oct 27 2006 Olympic Nantes
Oct 29 2006 Le Grand Mix Tourcoing Cedex
Nov 26 2006 Bournemouth International Centre Bournemouth
Nov 28 2006 NIA Birmingham
Nov 29 2006 Manchester Evening News Arena Manchester
Nov 30 2006 Metro Radio Arena Newcastle upon Tyne
Dec 16 2006 SECC Glasgow
Dec 18 2006 Wembley Arena London
Dec 19 2006 Wembley Arena London
Dec 21 2006 Odyssey Arena Belfast
Dec 22 2006 The Point Dublin
Dec 23 2006 The Point Dublin
Feb 1 2007 Liquid Room Tokyo
Feb 2 2007 Liquid Room Tokyo
Feb 4 2007 Club Quattro Nagoya Nagoya
Feb 5 2007 Club Quattro Chuo-Ku Osaka-shi
Announcements
Discography
Albums
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Singles
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Live Release
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Other artists
Similar artists
Influences
Contemporaries
Trivia
- Gary Lightbody has a side project called The Reindeer Section, a supergroup comprising members of famous Scottish bands including Astrid, Belle & Sebastian, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub and Mogwai. They have released two albums to date on the Belfast label Bright Star.
- The band considers U2 to be one of its biggest influences.
- The band were the final ever act to perform on long running BBC music show Top of the Pops with Chasing Cars on the show's penultimate edition.
Reviews
Snow Patrol has been around and has developed brilliant music along the way. Their amazing blend of many influences helped them in creating melodic tunes and their lyrical aptitude is nontheless astonishing. I've really enjoyed their album Final Straw. I didn't know them back then, but when I got the album I was deeply inundated in the music. Their careful tunes has given them the distinct sound that only Snow Patrol can do. The single Run was definitely a very good track. As well as other tracks like Chocolate and Spitting Games.
I definitely love their fourth studio album Eyes Open. This for me is their best work yet. You're All I Have made me sing to their tune all day, Chasing Cars made me weep in glorious excitement. The lyrics just hit me hard. I could listen to this CD all day long and never get bored.
A great achievement for a band that struggled to gain fame and acclaim over the years. I highly recommend this record to be part of your CD collection. --Angelic biatch 09:50, 16 September 2006 (PDT)
