Snow Patrol
Encyclopedia
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock
band from Bangor
, County Down
, Northern Ireland
. Formed at the University of Dundee
in 1994 as an indie rock
band, the band is now based in Glasgow
. The band's first three records, the EP
Starfighter Pilot
(1997), and the studio albums Songs for Polarbears
(1998) and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
(2001), were commercially unsuccessful and were released by the independent labels Electric Honey
and Jeepster
respectively. The band then signed on to the major record label Polydor Records
in 2002.
Snow Patrol rose to national fame with their major label debut, Final Straw
, in 2003. The album was certified 5× platinum
in the UK and eventually sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Their next studio album, Eyes Open
, (2006) and its hit single "Chasing Cars
", propelled the band to greater international fame. The album topped the UK Album Charts and was the best-selling British album of the year, selling over 6 million copies worldwide. In 2008, the band released their fifth studio album A Hundred Million Suns
and in 2009 their first compilation album, Up to Now
.
During the course of their career, Snow Patrol have won five Meteor Ireland Music Awards and have been nominated for three BRIT Awards. Since the release of Final Straw, the band have sold over ten million albums worldwide.
The group have recently released their sixth studio recording, entitled Fallen Empires
, and are preparing for a tour of the UK and Ireland in early 2012.
students Gary Lightbody
, Michael Morrison and Mark McClelland
as the Shrug
, the band started by performing gigs at the university and surrounding pubs such as Lucifer's Mill. Their first EP, called the "Yoghurt vs Yoghurt debate", was a rousing success. In 1995, they changed their name to Polar Bear (or Polarbear) to avoid issues with any American bands that were also named Shrug. Shortly afterwards, drummer Mike Morrison left the band after suffering a breakdown and returned to Northern Ireland. In mid 1997, Polar Bear released a three-track EP
, Starfighter Pilot
, on the Electric Honey
label. The band again renamed, this time to Snow Patrol, because of a naming conflict with another band of the same name fronted by Jane's Addiction
's ex-bassist
Eric Avery
. At this point, Jonny Quinn
, from Northern Ireland
, joined as permanent drummer.
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Snow Patrol joined Scottish independent label Jeepster
in 1997, home of Belle & Sebastian
. Jeepster had the same idea for Snow Patrol as the approach they had with Belle & Sebastian, who had become popular by word-of-mouth, and not heavy promotion. The band were happy to be associated with an indie label, because it provided them the independence. At that time, they felt all Jeepster records would work like that, and did not deem it necessary to have a work ethic or promotion behind them.
Snow Patrol debut album was Songs for Polarbears
, released in 1998 after the band had started living in Glasgow. Lightbody used to hold a job at the Nice n Sleazy's Bar in Sauchiehall Street
. The album was a critical success, but did not make any impact commercially. The same year, the band came close to get featured in a worldwide advertisement for Philips
. Gomez
was ultimately signed. In 1999, the band won the "Phil Lynott Award for Best New Band" by Irish music magazine Hot Press
. In 2001, still living in Glasgow, the band followed up with When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
. Like its predecessor, the album was praised by critics, but did not sell.
Despite the record deal, the band was doing fantastically. They had started to work harder by touring more, but continued to be in control. They slept on fans' floors after concerts and pretended to be members of Belle & Sebastian
to get into nightclubs. They owed rent to their landlords and used to receive regular visits and letters from them when on tour. After the failure of the second album, the band began to think what was going wrong. They realized that the label's lax attitude towards management and record promotion was harming their career, even though these were the qualities they had liked before. They realized that a lot of help was needed to succeed. The band's manager at the time was Danny McIntosh. Lightbody has described him as "the angriest man in pop: great, great man". He has said that he loved the band "with every atom in his body", and was never angry towards them. He has credited him with keeping the band together in those years. McIntosh had a gold colored splitter bus in which the band used to travel to play concerts.
magazine as brainless. Then band manager Danny McIntosh compared the band's relation with the label to a marriage gone sour: "they
gave us our big break, so we fell madly in love with them. Then the fighting and the arguing started and, well, let’s just say that both sides filed for divorce". By July 2001, many major labels had started showing interest in Snow Patrol, but the band were cash-strapped and had no record deal. Lightbody sold a major part of his record collection to raise money to keep the band going. Lightbody calls the time "miserable", but was confident of getting signed to another label quickly. However, the music scene in the United Kingdom had turned its attention to American bands and British bands were not getting signed. The band spent this time constantly writing songs. Lightbody, bored at this point, assembled The Reindeer Section
, a Scottish supergroup
, and found a record label to release the group's recordings. Quinn said that though the time was hard for everyone involved except for Nathan, the question of splitting up never arose. It was during this time the band wrote "Run
" (which had been around since 2000) in a room on an acoustic guitar, which later became the band's breakthrough single. The band's "low point" came when they played a concert to 18 people at a popular strip club in High Wycombe
. The show took place in a shoddy VIP area, and the management had to unscrew poles used by pole dancers in order to make space for the band to play. Quinn calls the show "horrendous". Desperate for attention, the band raised £200 to nominate themselves for a Mercury Prize, but failed to get shortlisted.
In 2002, the band started to be managed and published by Jazz Summers of Big Life
. Guitarist Nathan Connolly
, previously of F.U.E.L.
had been working in an HMV
store room in Belfast at the time. Connolly and the band had a mutual friend, who introduced them to him. Connolly moved to Glasgow to join the band in the spring of 2002. His mother commented that he had been "kidnapped by rock stars". By 2002–2003, the band had started to lose faith of getting signed, and was considering getting jobs to raise money to finance the album themselves. During Lightbody and McClelland's years at the University of Dundee, they had been noticed by Richard Smernicki, a senior student. Through Richard, brother Paul
too had come to know the band. Richard graduated in 1996, two years before Lightbody and McClelland, to become Polydor's
Scottish A&R representative. Paul became Polydor's Press and Artist Development Manager and Fiction's
label manager. Later, Jim Chancellor, an A&R executive for Fiction, and fellow talent scout Alex Close approached the band in Glasgow to listen to their demos, and judged them on "the quality of the songs", according to Lightbody. However, Lightbody later contradicted himself, saying, at the time, he exasperatedly questioned Chancellor whether he will sign them. And he replied: "Yeah, I only came here to make sure you weren't dicks." The band then contemplated their future for a few months before eventually signing. Manager Summers too had a major part in getting the band signed.
Initially the band were nervous about label's influence, worried they might push them around and make them do things they did not want to make money. Alarm bells sounded when Chancellor introduced them to producer Jacknife Lee
, who despite having been a guitarist in 90s punk rock band Compulsion
had no rock production experience at that point, being known at the time for his work with Basement Jaxx
and Eminem
. Lee was chosen because Chancellor believed he would facilitate a move out of indie and into a more mainstream pop-rock sound. Although, during the first couple of weeks recording their third studio album the band struggled to adapt to a new direction, the collaboration ultimately proved a very successful one. Lee offered advice on how to both simplify their songs and augment them with other sounds such as strings, and Snow Patrol proved very receptive and credited producer Lee for truly helping the band and doing "an amazing job". According to Chancellor in an interview with HitQuarters
, "Some bands tend to be more defensive about what goes on in the studio. Snow Patrol weren’t. They were very much like, "Yeah, we really want to be successful this time."
Final Straw
was released on 4 August 2003, under Black Lion, a subsidiary of Polydor Records. Its music was along the same lines as the band's first two albums, and no attempt was made to change the sound to something more radio-friendly. The album, along with "Run" (which debuted at #5 in the UK Singles Chart
), gave the band their first taste of mainstream success. The record peaked at #3 in the UK Albums Chart
. Archer's final date with the band was 27 September 2003 in the St Andrews Students' Association. They followed the success of "Run" up with three more singles from the album: "Chocolate
", as well as a re-release of "Spitting Games
", both reaching the top 30, and "How to Be Dead
" reaching number 39.
The release of Final Straw in the United States in 2004 saw the album sell more than 250,000 copies and become the 26th most popular album in the UK of that year. In mid-2005, during their tour to support Final Straw, the band toured with U2
as an opening act on U2's Vertigo Tour
in Europe. The band then returned to the United States to continue touring in support of Final Straw. That summer also saw Snow Patrol playing a short set in London at the worldwide benefit concert Live 8
. After finishing their opening act duties and extensive 2-year tour of Final Straw in late July, the band took a few weeks off and began writing and recording songs for a new album. Snow Patrol's new version of John Lennon
's "Isolation
" was released on 10 December 2005 as part of the Amnesty International campaign, Make Some Noise. The song was later issued on the 2007 John Lennon tribute album, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
.
On 16 March 2005, McClelland left the band, with Lightbody stating 'a whole new set of new and unexpected pressures... have unfortunately taken their toll on working relationships within the band, and it was felt the band could not move forward with Mark as a member.' At the end of March 2005, former Terra Diablo
member Paul Wilson
was announced as the official replacement for McClelland and Snow Patrol also declared longtime touring keyboardist Tom Simpson
an official member of the band.
The band completed recording Eyes Open
in December 2005, with Jacknife Lee
returning for production, and this album was released on 28 April 2006 in Ireland, and the UK on 1 May 2006, with the first UK single "You're All I Have
" having been released on 24 April 2006. The album was released in North America on 9 May. While "Hands Open" was the first American single, "Chasing Cars
" pushed its way onto the download and pop charts after it was heard during an emotional scene of the second season finale of the television show Grey's Anatomy
on 15 May 2006. Due to the song's surprise popularity, it was released as an overlapping single in early June and the video was re-recorded to include clips from the show. "Chasing Cars" was also nominated for 'Best Single' in the 2006 Grammys.
On 30 July 2006, Snow Patrol appeared on the finale of the long-running BBC music show Top of the Pops
, performing "Chasing Cars". The band was the last act to ever appear on the show.
Snow Patrol's "Open Your Eyes" appeared on the season 12 finale of ER
As well as the pilot episode of The Black Donnellys
.
Snow Patrol recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios
for Live from Abbey Road
on 4 October 2006. The performance was included on an episode shared with Madeleine Peyroux
and the Red Hot Chili Peppers
and shown in the UK on Channel 4
and the US on the Sundance Channel.
The band was forced to postpone a majority of the American Eyes Open tour after polyps
were discovered on Lightbody's vocal cords, and failed to heal after initial postponement of three dates on the tour. Dates were rescheduled for August and September. The year would continue to be difficult on the band for the U.S. legs of their tours, as they were also forced to cancel two west coast festival appearances in mid-August due to the threat of terrorist attacks on U.S.-bound flights from the UK
. Two band members made it to the U.S. while two were stuck in London. Subsequently, they all made it to the lone U.S. tour stop in Boston
days later but failed to recover any of their luggage, forcing them to shop for clothes on Newbury St.
that afternoon. Their gear arrived hours before show time, just in time for sound check. The band also had to cancel appearances in Germany and France after bassist Paul Wilson injured his left arm and shoulder.
On 26 November 2006, Eyes Open had become the UK's best-selling album of the year, overtaking previous leader Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
by Arctic Monkeys
. Despite very strong sales for Take That
's comeback album Beautiful World, Eyes Open marginally earned the title of the UK's best-selling album of 2006, with 1.6 million in sales. The album reached platinum certification in the US as well, selling over 1,000,000 copies, and it maintained a spot in the upper quarter of the Billboard 200
list for over fifteen weeks, on the heels of the popularity of "Chasing Cars". The band also holds the distinction of having one of iTunes' top downloaded albums and songs of 2006. Ahead of the band's February tour, Eyes Open topped the Australian charts some eight months after its release on 22 January 2006. Back home in Ireland, Eyes Open became one of the best selling albums of all time, staying at the top of the charts from the end of 2006 to early–mid 2007, and remaining in the charts to the present.
Snow Patrol appeared as the musical guest on the 17 March 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live
, hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus
. They performed "You're All I Have" and "Chasing Cars". The band toured Japan in April, followed by European festival dates, Mexico, and the US in the summer. They ended their tour in Australia in September 2007.
The band contributed the song "Signal Fire
" to the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack, as well as the film
. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack and was featured in the credits to the film.
On 7 July 2007, the band performed at the UK leg
of Live Earth
at Wembley Stadium
, London. Shortly after the band's performance, Simpson was arrested at RAF Northolt
for missing a court date in Glasgow
, having been charged with possession for cocaine.
1 September 2007 saw Snow Patrol headlining a "home coming" mini-festival in Lightbody and Jonny Quinn
's home town of Bangor
, County Down
. Around 30,000 people came to see the band.
On 25 November 2007, Snow Patrol performed an acoustic session for the charity Mencap, in a small chapel in Islington. They were one of the main bands to take part in the project, called "Little Noise Sessions" which was curated by Jo Whiley.
Chasing Cars was voted the song of the decade on Channel 4's programme 'The Song Of The Decade' which was broadcast on 28 December 2009.
returning a third time for production. Since then the band stated that they wished to take a year off after the back-to-back tours of Final Straw and Eyes Open and intended to emerge at the end of 2008 with their next album. Lightbody is also set to release an album as part of a solo project called "Listen... Tanks!" but a date for this has not yet been publicly announced.
A post, dated 23 May 2008 on the band's official website stated that recording for the next album had been under way for a week; they began on 19 May 2008. The new album, entitled A Hundred Million Suns
, was released on 24 October 2008 in Ireland and 27 October in the UK and US. The first single entitled "Take Back the City
" was released in Ireland on 10 October 2008. Filming for the music video to "Take Back the City" took place on 11 August 2008 in Central London. The music video was directed by Alex Courtes
.
The band kicked off their Taking Back the Cities Tour
on 26 October 2008. Singer Miriam Kaufmann tours with the band and sings backing vocals, most notably on "Set the Fire to the Third Bar
", which originally featured Martha Wainwright
. The 'UK & Ireland Arena tour' ended on 23 March. The final show was played at the Odyssey
in Belfast to a 9,000 strong crowd including family and friends of the band, and the Northern Irish football squad. It also reported that the band played to an estimated 200,000 fans during the tour.
The band next visited South Africa to play a couple of dates at the Coca-Cola Zero Festival, supporting Oasis before beginning a European leg of the tour. In June they supported Coldplay
for a month on the Viva la Vida Tour
, and joined the U2 360° Tour
in July/August.
In April 2009, following the conviction
of the founders of Swedish file sharing
website The Pirate Bay
, Lightbody commented in interview that "They shouldn't have been jailed... the punishment doesn't fit the crime." In an interview to Xfm
, Lightbody revealed that the band is recording some new songs that are set to release later in 2009. He commented that the band felt the songs act as a "bridge" between A Hundred Million Suns and the next album.
Snow Patrol are set to release the 22nd album in the Late Night Tales
series of mix albums by artists, which has been curated by Lightbody and Simpson. The band covered INXS
's song, "New Sensation
" for the occasion. Lightbody has also spoken of plans to release songs from the Listen... Tanks! project (with Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee
) and Tired Pony
, a country group.
The band also released a compilation album featuring tracks from the band's 15 year history, Up to Now
, on 9 November 2009. It includes thirty tracks spanning two CDs, of which three are original new songs. "Just Say Yes", a song written by Lightbody and earlier recorded by Pussycat Doll
Nicole Scherzinger
and X Factor
star Diana Vickers
, was released as the lead single on 2 November. The album additionally contains past singles, covers and rarities, including songs from the band's side-project The Reindeer Section
. A limited edition coffee-table book is also in the works. The band also wishes to make a tour documentary in the future, on the lines of U2's Rattle and Hum
.
In January 2010, the band was nominated in three categories in the annual Meteor Awards
. The band will also play at the event, scheduled on 19 February 2010 at The RDS
.
music and will be released in late 2011. However, Connolly has stated that "Just Say Yes" "isn’t necessarily a hint of where we’re going".
On 12 January 2011, Lightbody launched a blog to give details about the progress of the next release from the band. Initially, the posts included photos and stories from the 2010 tour but in February the first details about new material started to emerge. "We’ve ten songs in progress, some missing choruses or missing verses or missing something as yet undefined. Our goal is twenty songs." Lightbody said on a post dated 4 February.
The first song title to be announced was "Lifning", although the singer admits he is uncertain of the proper spelling since it is an imaginary word that he made up. Other ways of spelling it, according to Lightbody, are "Lifening" and "Life-ning", respectively. The meaning of the word is "to have lightning and light thrust into your life or to simply let them into your life" says Lightbody. The song features the dulcitone
played by producer Jacknife Lee
and the lead singer himself is seen playing a shruti box on the track. Later in the day of 7 February, the first guest appearance was hinted at. In the post, Lightbody says that a Ladybug visited the studio for a few vocal takes, complimenting him on his Stevie Nicks
-like vocal contribution. Exactly who this person is remains unclear as there are several people in the music industry with that moniker. In addition, Lightbody did not state what track the guest vocal was recorded for.
On 2 March, Lightbody revealed the working title of yet another one of the new songs that the band had been working on. At the time, the track was entitled "Unspeakable Things" after being called "Overload" just a couple of days earlier on. This caused the singer to point out that track titles changes as the songs take shape over time. The following week, Lightbody announced that he had finished writing another new song, "The Garden Rules". The attached photograph hints of instruments such as the melodica
, celesta
and mellotron
flute being featured on the track. In addition, he says that the number of vocal takes are kept to a minimum similar to how he recorded the album with his side-project Tired Pony
in contrast to previous recording sessions with Snow Patrol.
During the first week of April, Lightbody wrote about a collaboration for the new record together with The L.A. Inner City Mass Choir. The group was discovered by Jacknife Lee
after browsing YouTube
a couple of weeks prior to the post by Lightbody. A few days later, the singer stated that Jacknife Lee
was once again playing the dulcitone
, on a track that would remain nameless for the time being. However, later he claims it does in fact have a name but says: "I know it will change because I hate its name. Playing into the night". Whether or not "Playing Into the Night" is the working title or not remains uncertain, though.
A third collaboration would be announced on 12 April when Lightbody said that the band had invited American folk rock
artist Lissie
to the recording sessions. Reportedly, she provided vocals to the previously mentioned "The Garden Rules" along with songs called "I'll Never Let Go", "Those Distant Bells" "West of Here" and "Fallen Empires". Lightbody particularly praised her for the vocals recorded for "I'll Never Let Go" and described them as similar in style to those of soul
and gospel
singer Merry Clayton
on the track "Gimme Shelter
" written by the English rock group The Rolling Stones
. Shortly afterwards, the band was said to have left the studio, The Eagle's Watch, in Malibu, California as declared by Lightbody on 17 April 2011. Moreover, he mentioned that the forthcoming album will probably have a Deluxe Edition which will feature a movie shot during the group's stay at the studio among other things.
In May, Lightbody and Connolly were summoned to the studio of Jacknife Lee
to supposedly record additional vocals. In late May, Lightbody said of the progress that the album was to be finished "and therefore very likely" to see a release later in the year. He also expressed his content with the result saying "It's different but it's great."
Lightbody mentions in a blog post in late June how Canadian musician Owen Pallett
was called in to write string and brass arrangements for approximately 7–8 songs off the new record along with fellow composer Nico Muhly
. According to the information given by Lightbody, the two were working with the band at Ocean Way Studios in the Los Angeles area at the beginning of the month.
Snow Patrol released a new single for radio airplay, "Called Out in the Dark
" on Thursday 21 July on BBC Radio 1 on Zane Lowe
's radio show. According to official sources, the single itself will be released independently and as part of an EP later on and the UK release date is said to be 4 September. More details on the EP were announced on 3 August, when the group's website revealed the artwork and tracklist contents. Along with the new single, the release will also contain three new tracks called "My Brothers", "I'm Ready" and "Fallen Empires", respectively. In addition, it was revealed that the EP is intended to be a digital release limited to the UK and Ireland.
Shortly after the premiere of the new lead single, the quintet's official website confirmed the news that the name of the new album will be Fallen Empires. Lightbody also confirmed in a Dutch radio interview that the album is due in the first weeks of November preceeded by another single before that. He revealed that the band intend to tour the UK and Ireland in January and February 2012 with details on the rest of the European tour to be announced at a later stage.
A video for "Called Out in the Dark" was recorded in the Los Angeles area on 30 July and is based around an idea from Gary Lightbody. He stated in a Tumblr post that Brett Simon
is the director of the video and that Noemie Lafrance
is in charge of the choreography for it, previously known for her work with singer-songwriter Leslie Feist
. Lightbody expresses some anxiety about the fact that he's part of the choreography but admits that "part of the idea is that I’m not supposed to be good at it" and concludes: "If you don’t try new things you fade away and die".
"Fallen Empires" will be released 14 November 2011 in the UK.
On 5 September 2011 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, Lightbody announced that Johnny McDaid had recently joined the band.
The second single to be taken from the album "Fallen Empires", to be released on 13 November 2011, according to the band's website is "This Isn't Everything You Are".
(of U2
), Michael Stipe
(of R.E.M.
), Nikki Sixx
(of Mötley Crüe
) have also expressed their admiration for Snow Patrol. Terri Hooley
, founder of the Good Vibrations
label and a lifelong supporter of local Northern Irish music has expressed pride in bands like Snow Patrol.
Gary Lightbody and Tom Simpson are both fans of the football club Dundee F.C.
. In 2008, they met the club's board of directors to find ways to financially help the short-of-cash club. The band also owns a stake in the Houndstooth Pub in New York City.
Snow Patrol have founded Polar Music, a publishing company run through Kobalt Music. The venture is independent from the band's publishing deal with Universal Music
. Polar Music will sign artists regardless of their genre, as drummer Jonny Quinn explained: "there is no agenda—if it's good enough and we believe in it 110%, we will sign it." Quinn, and his fellow band members Connolly and Lightbody are acting as A&R. The company's first signing is singer-songwriter Johnny McDaid
, previously of the Northern Irish band Vega4. Quinn has said that they wish to sign artists to a one-album deal, and do not want to put undue pressure on the artists with a bigger, multi-year deal. Polar Music had its first chart hit in the first week of October 2009.
In June 2010, the band were commemorated with a Heritage Award
by PRS for Music. A plaque was erected on the Duke of York pub in Belfast
where the band performed their first gig. The band was the sixth to receive the award, with all the members turning out. They later performed a live set to a small crowd of around 30 people.
.
Former members
Touring members
Line-ups
Timeline
Other recognitions
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Bangor
Bangor, County Down
Bangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Formed at the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
in 1994 as an indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band, the band is now based in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The band's first three records, the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Starfighter Pilot
Starfighter Pilot
Starfighter Pilot is the debut EP from Snow Patrol, on the Electric Honey label, released on 15 June 1997. The EP was released under the name Polarbear, the band's second name after Shrug...
(1997), and the studio albums Songs for Polarbears
Songs for Polarbears
*"Marketplace" is included as a hidden track after "One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed" on both versions.*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "Songs for Polarbears".-Personnel:Snow Patrol...
(1998) and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
-Bonus tracks on 2006 re-release:*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up".-Reception:...
(2001), were commercially unsuccessful and were released by the independent labels Electric Honey
Electric Honey (label)
Electric Honey is a record label run by students studying the HNC and HND in Music Business course, as well as students studying the Advanced Diploma in Music Industry Management & Marketing course at Stow College in Glasgow, Scotland...
and Jeepster
Jeepster Records
Jeepster Records is a London, England-based independent record label which is currently the home of bands Parka and SixNationState. The label is noted for having been the home of critically acclaimed artists Belle and Sebastian and Snow Patrol....
respectively. The band then signed on to the major record label Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
in 2002.
Snow Patrol rose to national fame with their major label debut, Final Straw
Final Straw
UK re-release bonus tracks*The AOL sessions feature frontman Gary Lightbody & lead guitarist Nathan Connolly being interviewed, and performing an acoustic rendition of "Run".*The dualdisc version does not include the UK bonus tracks....
, in 2003. The album was certified 5× platinum
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
in the UK and eventually sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Their next studio album, Eyes Open
Eyes Open
Eyes Open is the fourth album by Northern Irish/Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. The first European single, "You're All I Have", was released on 24 April 2006; the first U.S. single was "Hands Open" and the first...
, (2006) and its hit single "Chasing Cars
Chasing Cars
"Chasing Cars" is the second single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the US and 24 July 2006 in the UK as the album's second single....
", propelled the band to greater international fame. The album topped the UK Album Charts and was the best-selling British album of the year, selling over 6 million copies worldwide. In 2008, the band released their fifth studio album A Hundred Million Suns
A Hundred Million Suns
A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by long time producer Jacknife Lee who has previously produced albums for Bloc Party, R.E.M., and U2. The songs were recorded through the summer of 2008 in Hansa...
and in 2009 their first compilation album, Up to Now
Up to Now
Up to Now is the first compilation album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen year music career, including tracks from The Reindeer Section, a side-project/supergroup involving musicians from all over Scotland...
.
During the course of their career, Snow Patrol have won five Meteor Ireland Music Awards and have been nominated for three BRIT Awards. Since the release of Final Straw, the band have sold over ten million albums worldwide.
The group have recently released their sixth studio recording, entitled Fallen Empires
Fallen Empires (album)
-Track listing:The track list for Fallen Empires is as follows.-Charts:...
, and are preparing for a tour of the UK and Ireland in early 2012.
Early years (1994–2001)
Originally formed in late 1994 by University of DundeeUniversity of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
students Gary Lightbody
Gary Lightbody
Gary Lightbody is an Northern Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.- Early life :...
, Michael Morrison and Mark McClelland
Mark McClelland
Mark Peter McClelland is a musician from Northern Ireland, known best as the former bass guitarist with the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album, Final Straw...
as the Shrug
Shrug (band)
Untitled demo 1 Untitled demo 2 -Band members:* Gary Lightbody - lead vocals, guitar* Michael Morrison - drums* Mark McClelland - bass guitar...
, the band started by performing gigs at the university and surrounding pubs such as Lucifer's Mill. Their first EP, called the "Yoghurt vs Yoghurt debate", was a rousing success. In 1995, they changed their name to Polar Bear (or Polarbear) to avoid issues with any American bands that were also named Shrug. Shortly afterwards, drummer Mike Morrison left the band after suffering a breakdown and returned to Northern Ireland. In mid 1997, Polar Bear released a three-track EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Starfighter Pilot
Starfighter Pilot
Starfighter Pilot is the debut EP from Snow Patrol, on the Electric Honey label, released on 15 June 1997. The EP was released under the name Polarbear, the band's second name after Shrug...
, on the Electric Honey
Electric Honey (label)
Electric Honey is a record label run by students studying the HNC and HND in Music Business course, as well as students studying the Advanced Diploma in Music Industry Management & Marketing course at Stow College in Glasgow, Scotland...
label. The band again renamed, this time to Snow Patrol, because of a naming conflict with another band of the same name fronted by Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
's ex-bassist
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Eric Avery
Eric Avery
Eric Adam Avery is an American musician and is the former bass player for the rock band Jane's Addiction. Avery played in Jane's Addiction initially from 1985 to 1991, and rejoined the band in 2008 before departing again in 2010....
. At this point, Jonny Quinn
Jonny Quinn
Jonathan Graham "Jonny" Quinn is a Northern Irish drummer, born in Bangor. He is best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drummer for Snow Patrol, he has played on all releases...
, from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, joined as permanent drummer.
Jeepster Records
Jeepster Records is a London, England-based independent record label which is currently the home of bands Parka and SixNationState. The label is noted for having been the home of critically acclaimed artists Belle and Sebastian and Snow Patrol....
in 1997, home of Belle & Sebastian
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
. Jeepster had the same idea for Snow Patrol as the approach they had with Belle & Sebastian, who had become popular by word-of-mouth, and not heavy promotion. The band were happy to be associated with an indie label, because it provided them the independence. At that time, they felt all Jeepster records would work like that, and did not deem it necessary to have a work ethic or promotion behind them.
Snow Patrol debut album was Songs for Polarbears
Songs for Polarbears
*"Marketplace" is included as a hidden track after "One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed" on both versions.*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "Songs for Polarbears".-Personnel:Snow Patrol...
, released in 1998 after the band had started living in Glasgow. Lightbody used to hold a job at the Nice n Sleazy's Bar in Sauchiehall Street
Sauchiehall Street
Sauchiehall Street is one of the main shopping/business streets in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, it forms the main shopping area of Glasgow, containing the majority of Glasgow's high street and chain stores.Although commonly associated with the...
. The album was a critical success, but did not make any impact commercially. The same year, the band came close to get featured in a worldwide advertisement for Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
. Gomez
Gomez (band)
Gomez are an English indie rock band from Southport, comprising Ian Ball , Paul "Blackie" Blackburn , Tom Gray , Ben Ottewell and Olly Peacock . The band is distinguished for having three singers and four songwriters, employing traditional and electronic instruments...
was ultimately signed. In 1999, the band won the "Phil Lynott Award for Best New Band" by Irish music magazine Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
. In 2001, still living in Glasgow, the band followed up with When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
-Bonus tracks on 2006 re-release:*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up".-Reception:...
. Like its predecessor, the album was praised by critics, but did not sell.
Despite the record deal, the band was doing fantastically. They had started to work harder by touring more, but continued to be in control. They slept on fans' floors after concerts and pretended to be members of Belle & Sebastian
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
to get into nightclubs. They owed rent to their landlords and used to receive regular visits and letters from them when on tour. After the failure of the second album, the band began to think what was going wrong. They realized that the label's lax attitude towards management and record promotion was harming their career, even though these were the qualities they had liked before. They realized that a lot of help was needed to succeed. The band's manager at the time was Danny McIntosh. Lightbody has described him as "the angriest man in pop: great, great man". He has said that he loved the band "with every atom in his body", and was never angry towards them. He has credited him with keeping the band together in those years. McIntosh had a gold colored splitter bus in which the band used to travel to play concerts.
Final Straw (2001–2005)
Jeepster dropped Snow Patrol in 2001, a decision that was criticized by Hot PressHot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
magazine as brainless. Then band manager Danny McIntosh compared the band's relation with the label to a marriage gone sour: "they
They
They is thethird-person pluralpersonal pronoun in Modern English.-Usage:The "singular" they is the use of this pronoun as a gender-neutral singular rather than as a plural pronoun. The correctness of this usage is disputed....
gave us our big break, so we fell madly in love with them. Then the fighting and the arguing started and, well, let’s just say that both sides filed for divorce". By July 2001, many major labels had started showing interest in Snow Patrol, but the band were cash-strapped and had no record deal. Lightbody sold a major part of his record collection to raise money to keep the band going. Lightbody calls the time "miserable", but was confident of getting signed to another label quickly. However, the music scene in the United Kingdom had turned its attention to American bands and British bands were not getting signed. The band spent this time constantly writing songs. Lightbody, bored at this point, assembled The Reindeer Section
The Reindeer Section
The Reindeer Section are a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002. The Reindeer Section grouping was somewhat ad hoc, and so it is uncertain if more will be heard from them...
, a Scottish supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
, and found a record label to release the group's recordings. Quinn said that though the time was hard for everyone involved except for Nathan, the question of splitting up never arose. It was during this time the band wrote "Run
Run (Snow Patrol song)
"Run" is a cover of the Snow Patrol song by Leona Lewis on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 31 October 2007. She later released the song as a single from Spirit: The Deluxe Edition in November 2008. At the time, "Run" was the UK's fastest-selling digital only release ever, selling 69,244 copies in just...
" (which had been around since 2000) in a room on an acoustic guitar, which later became the band's breakthrough single. The band's "low point" came when they played a concert to 18 people at a popular strip club in High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
. The show took place in a shoddy VIP area, and the management had to unscrew poles used by pole dancers in order to make space for the band to play. Quinn calls the show "horrendous". Desperate for attention, the band raised £200 to nominate themselves for a Mercury Prize, but failed to get shortlisted.
In 2002, the band started to be managed and published by Jazz Summers of Big Life
Big Life
Big Life was a record label established in 1987 by Jazz Summers and Tim Parry. It featured hundreds of releases from artists such as The Orb, Stare, Yazz, Junior Reid, Coldcut, and De La Soul....
. Guitarist Nathan Connolly
Nathan Connolly
Nathan Connolly is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol.-Early life:...
, previously of F.U.E.L.
File Under Easy Listening
File Under Easy Listening was a short-lived Alternative rock band formed in Belfast in 1998 and were named after the 1994 album by Sugar.The band consisted of Nathan Connolly, Aaron Ditty, Dave Magee and Peter Comfort...
had been working in an HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
store room in Belfast at the time. Connolly and the band had a mutual friend, who introduced them to him. Connolly moved to Glasgow to join the band in the spring of 2002. His mother commented that he had been "kidnapped by rock stars". By 2002–2003, the band had started to lose faith of getting signed, and was considering getting jobs to raise money to finance the album themselves. During Lightbody and McClelland's years at the University of Dundee, they had been noticed by Richard Smernicki, a senior student. Through Richard, brother Paul
Paul Smernicki
Paul Smernicki is of the founders of the relaunched Fiction Records, along with Joe Munns and Jim Chancellor. Smernicki is now Head of Digital for Polydor Records, and also a member of the band South Playground with Glasgow Rangers and Scotland football player Christian Dailly.-References:...
too had come to know the band. Richard graduated in 1996, two years before Lightbody and McClelland, to become Polydor's
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
Scottish A&R representative. Paul became Polydor's Press and Artist Development Manager and Fiction's
Fiction Records
Fiction Records is a UK label founded by Chris Parry in 1978 that is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. Formerly independent, the label is now owned by Polydor, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.-History:...
label manager. Later, Jim Chancellor, an A&R executive for Fiction, and fellow talent scout Alex Close approached the band in Glasgow to listen to their demos, and judged them on "the quality of the songs", according to Lightbody. However, Lightbody later contradicted himself, saying, at the time, he exasperatedly questioned Chancellor whether he will sign them. And he replied: "Yeah, I only came here to make sure you weren't dicks." The band then contemplated their future for a few months before eventually signing. Manager Summers too had a major part in getting the band signed.
Initially the band were nervous about label's influence, worried they might push them around and make them do things they did not want to make money. Alarm bells sounded when Chancellor introduced them to producer Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
, who despite having been a guitarist in 90s punk rock band Compulsion
Compulsion (band)
Compulsion was an Irish punk band. They formed in the 1990 by Josephmary and Sid Rainey as Thee Amazing Colossal Men. They signed a recording contract with Virgin Records, but after winning a lawsuit against their record label, they became 'Compulsion' in 1992...
had no rock production experience at that point, being known at the time for his work with Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...
and Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
. Lee was chosen because Chancellor believed he would facilitate a move out of indie and into a more mainstream pop-rock sound. Although, during the first couple of weeks recording their third studio album the band struggled to adapt to a new direction, the collaboration ultimately proved a very successful one. Lee offered advice on how to both simplify their songs and augment them with other sounds such as strings, and Snow Patrol proved very receptive and credited producer Lee for truly helping the band and doing "an amazing job". According to Chancellor in an interview with HitQuarters
HitQuarters
HitQuarters is an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It is noted for in-depth interviews with industry figures, with past subjects including Simon Cowell, Martin Kierszenbaum, Jason Flom, Diane Warren, Peter Edge, Ron Fair and RedOne, as well as its A&R...
, "Some bands tend to be more defensive about what goes on in the studio. Snow Patrol weren’t. They were very much like, "Yeah, we really want to be successful this time."
Final Straw
Final Straw
UK re-release bonus tracks*The AOL sessions feature frontman Gary Lightbody & lead guitarist Nathan Connolly being interviewed, and performing an acoustic rendition of "Run".*The dualdisc version does not include the UK bonus tracks....
was released on 4 August 2003, under Black Lion, a subsidiary of Polydor Records. Its music was along the same lines as the band's first two albums, and no attempt was made to change the sound to something more radio-friendly. The album, along with "Run" (which debuted at #5 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
), gave the band their first taste of mainstream success. The record peaked at #3 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. Archer's final date with the band was 27 September 2003 in the St Andrews Students' Association. They followed the success of "Run" up with three more singles from the album: "Chocolate
Chocolate (Snow Patrol song)
"Chocolate" is a song by UK alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Final Straw. The music for the track was written by all four members of the band, while the lyrics are by lead vocalist Gary Lightbody.The single version is slightly...
", as well as a re-release of "Spitting Games
Spitting Games
"Spitting Games" is the lead single from Snow Patrol's third album, Final Straw, released on 15 September 2003.It was featured on the video game MVP Baseball 2004 and numerous Club Football 2005 titles. The track was also featured in "Everything Changes", the first episode of the Doctor Who...
", both reaching the top 30, and "How to Be Dead
How to Be Dead
"How to Be Dead" is a single by Snow Patrol from their album Final Straw. It was released in 2004, slightly remixed by Chris Lord-Alge from the album version.The song is slow-tempo, with lyrics detailing a conversation between a couple.-Track listings:...
" reaching number 39.
The release of Final Straw in the United States in 2004 saw the album sell more than 250,000 copies and become the 26th most popular album in the UK of that year. In mid-2005, during their tour to support Final Straw, the band toured with U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
as an opening act on U2's Vertigo Tour
Vertigo Tour
The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the band visited arenas and stadiums from 2005 through 2006. The Vertigo Tour consisted of five legs that alternated between indoor arena shows in...
in Europe. The band then returned to the United States to continue touring in support of Final Straw. That summer also saw Snow Patrol playing a short set in London at the worldwide benefit concert Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
. After finishing their opening act duties and extensive 2-year tour of Final Straw in late July, the band took a few weeks off and began writing and recording songs for a new album. Snow Patrol's new version of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Isolation
Isolation (John Lennon song)
"Isolation" is a 1970 song appearing on John Lennon's first official solo album release, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.-Personnel:The musicians who performed on the original recording were as follows:*John Lennon – vocals, piano, organ...
" was released on 10 December 2005 as part of the Amnesty International campaign, Make Some Noise. The song was later issued on the 2007 John Lennon tribute album, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a compilation album of various artists covering songs of John Lennon to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur...
.
On 16 March 2005, McClelland left the band, with Lightbody stating 'a whole new set of new and unexpected pressures... have unfortunately taken their toll on working relationships within the band, and it was felt the band could not move forward with Mark as a member.' At the end of March 2005, former Terra Diablo
Terra Diablo
Terra Diablo is a Scottish rock band currently signed to Nocturnal Records.They have been managed by Jez from Swervedriver since early 2006.Supported the likes of Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol, Hundred Reasons, Six by Seven, Idlewild and played at Reading and Leeds Festivals and T in the Park.As of...
member Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson (musician)
Paul "Pablo" Wilson is a Scottish musician, who is best known as the bass guitarist for Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He previously played guitar in Glasgow band Terra Diablo from 2000–2005. In March 2005, he replaced bassist Mark McClelland in Snow Patrol and switched...
was announced as the official replacement for McClelland and Snow Patrol also declared longtime touring keyboardist Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson (musician)
Tom Simpson is a Scottish DJ and musician, best known as the keyboardist of the Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has been with Snow Patrol as a touring member since 1997 and became a permanent one in 2005. In 2007, he was arrested on drug charges, but was later...
an official member of the band.
Eyes Open (2006–2007)
Eyes Open
Eyes Open is the fourth album by Northern Irish/Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. The first European single, "You're All I Have", was released on 24 April 2006; the first U.S. single was "Hands Open" and the first...
in December 2005, with Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
returning for production, and this album was released on 28 April 2006 in Ireland, and the UK on 1 May 2006, with the first UK single "You're All I Have
You're All I Have
"You're All I Have" is the first single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was released 24 April 2006. It was used by RTÉ sport to promote the return of The Sunday Game for the 2006 GAA championships...
" having been released on 24 April 2006. The album was released in North America on 9 May. While "Hands Open" was the first American single, "Chasing Cars
Chasing Cars
"Chasing Cars" is the second single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the US and 24 July 2006 in the UK as the album's second single....
" pushed its way onto the download and pop charts after it was heard during an emotional scene of the second season finale of the television show Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
on 15 May 2006. Due to the song's surprise popularity, it was released as an overlapping single in early June and the video was re-recorded to include clips from the show. "Chasing Cars" was also nominated for 'Best Single' in the 2006 Grammys.
On 30 July 2006, Snow Patrol appeared on the finale of the long-running BBC music show Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, performing "Chasing Cars". The band was the last act to ever appear on the show.
Snow Patrol's "Open Your Eyes" appeared on the season 12 finale of ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
As well as the pilot episode of The Black Donnellys
The Black Donnellys
The Black Donnellys is an American television drama that debuted on NBC on February 26, 2007 and last aired on April 2, 2007. Thereafter, NBC began releasing new episodes weekly on until the series was officially canceled. The Black Donnellys was created by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco...
.
Snow Patrol recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
for Live from Abbey Road
Live from Abbey Road
Live from Abbey Road is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season 4 was filmed in 2011...
on 4 October 2006. The performance was included on an episode shared with Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyroux is noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday....
and the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and shown in the UK on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and the US on the Sundance Channel.
The band was forced to postpone a majority of the American Eyes Open tour after polyps
Polyp (medicine)
A polyp is an abnormal growth of tissue projecting from a mucous membrane. If it is attached to the surface by a narrow elongated stalk, it is said to be pedunculated. If no stalk is present, it is said to be sessile. Polyps are commonly found in the colon, stomach, nose, sinus, urinary bladder...
were discovered on Lightbody's vocal cords, and failed to heal after initial postponement of three dates on the tour. Dates were rescheduled for August and September. The year would continue to be difficult on the band for the U.S. legs of their tours, as they were also forced to cancel two west coast festival appearances in mid-August due to the threat of terrorist attacks on U.S.-bound flights from the UK
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
The 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada...
. Two band members made it to the U.S. while two were stuck in London. Subsequently, they all made it to the lone U.S. tour stop in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
days later but failed to recover any of their luggage, forcing them to shop for clothes on Newbury St.
Newbury Street (Boston)
Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east-to-west, from the Boston Public Garden to Massachusetts Ave. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entrance to the Mass Pike westbound at Mass Ave...
that afternoon. Their gear arrived hours before show time, just in time for sound check. The band also had to cancel appearances in Germany and France after bassist Paul Wilson injured his left arm and shoulder.
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is the debut album by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006. The album became the UK's fastest selling debut album, shifting over 360,000 copies in its first week, and remains the fastest selling debut album by a band. It...
by Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
. Despite very strong sales for Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
's comeback album Beautiful World, Eyes Open marginally earned the title of the UK's best-selling album of 2006, with 1.6 million in sales. The album reached platinum certification in the US as well, selling over 1,000,000 copies, and it maintained a spot in the upper quarter of the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
list for over fifteen weeks, on the heels of the popularity of "Chasing Cars". The band also holds the distinction of having one of iTunes' top downloaded albums and songs of 2006. Ahead of the band's February tour, Eyes Open topped the Australian charts some eight months after its release on 22 January 2006. Back home in Ireland, Eyes Open became one of the best selling albums of all time, staying at the top of the charts from the end of 2006 to early–mid 2007, and remaining in the charts to the present.
Snow Patrol appeared as the musical guest on the 17 March 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
. They performed "You're All I Have" and "Chasing Cars". The band toured Japan in April, followed by European festival dates, Mexico, and the US in the summer. They ended their tour in Australia in September 2007.
The band contributed the song "Signal Fire
Signal Fire (song)
"Signal Fire" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol, appearing on the soundtrack of the film Spider-Man 3, released on 24 April, 30 April, 2 May and 14 May 2007, depending on the region. It was the only single released from the soundtrack. The song was initially offered to Shrek...
" to the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack, as well as the film
Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack and was featured in the credits to the film.
On 7 July 2007, the band performed at the UK leg
Live Earth concert, London
The Live Earth concert in the United Kingdom was held at Wembley Stadium, London, England on 7 July 2007.-Running order:In order of appearance :...
of Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
, London. Shortly after the band's performance, Simpson was arrested at RAF Northolt
RAF Northolt
RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...
for missing a court date in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, having been charged with possession for cocaine.
1 September 2007 saw Snow Patrol headlining a "home coming" mini-festival in Lightbody and Jonny Quinn
Jonny Quinn
Jonathan Graham "Jonny" Quinn is a Northern Irish drummer, born in Bangor. He is best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drummer for Snow Patrol, he has played on all releases...
's home town of Bangor
Bangor, County Down
Bangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
. Around 30,000 people came to see the band.
On 25 November 2007, Snow Patrol performed an acoustic session for the charity Mencap, in a small chapel in Islington. They were one of the main bands to take part in the project, called "Little Noise Sessions" which was curated by Jo Whiley.
Chasing Cars was voted the song of the decade on Channel 4's programme 'The Song Of The Decade' which was broadcast on 28 December 2009.
A Hundred Million Suns and Up to Now (2008–2009)
Gary Lightbody stated that recording for the follow-up to Eyes Open was to begin in Autumn 2006, with Jacknife LeeJacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
returning a third time for production. Since then the band stated that they wished to take a year off after the back-to-back tours of Final Straw and Eyes Open and intended to emerge at the end of 2008 with their next album. Lightbody is also set to release an album as part of a solo project called "Listen... Tanks!" but a date for this has not yet been publicly announced.
A Hundred Million Suns
A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by long time producer Jacknife Lee who has previously produced albums for Bloc Party, R.E.M., and U2. The songs were recorded through the summer of 2008 in Hansa...
, was released on 24 October 2008 in Ireland and 27 October in the UK and US. The first single entitled "Take Back the City
Take Back the City
"Take Back the City" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the lead single from the album on different dates in October 2008, depending on the region. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow...
" was released in Ireland on 10 October 2008. Filming for the music video to "Take Back the City" took place on 11 August 2008 in Central London. The music video was directed by Alex Courtes
Alex and Martin
Alex and Martin were a music video directing duo consisting of Alex Courtes and Martin Fougerol. They directed several music videos with artists such as The White Stripes and U2....
.
The band kicked off their Taking Back the Cities Tour
Taking Back the Cities Tour
The Taking Back the Cities Tour was a concert tour by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was launched in support of the group's 2008 album A Hundred Million Suns. The band visited numerous arenas internationally from 2008 throughout 2009. The tour was the collective name of many...
on 26 October 2008. Singer Miriam Kaufmann tours with the band and sings backing vocals, most notably on "Set the Fire to the Third Bar
Set the Fire to the Third Bar
"Set the Fire to the Third Bar" is a song from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open, featuring Martha Wainwright on vocals. The song was released as a single on the 13 November 2006.- Background :...
", which originally featured Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
. The 'UK & Ireland Arena tour' ended on 23 March. The final show was played at the Odyssey
Odyssey (Belfast)
The Odyssey Arena is a large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was jointly funded by the Millennium Commission, the Laganside Corporation, the DCAL, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The Arena opened in 2000 with...
in Belfast to a 9,000 strong crowd including family and friends of the band, and the Northern Irish football squad. It also reported that the band played to an estimated 200,000 fans during the tour.
The band next visited South Africa to play a couple of dates at the Coca-Cola Zero Festival, supporting Oasis before beginning a European leg of the tour. In June they supported Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
for a month on the Viva la Vida Tour
Viva la Vida Tour
Viva la Vida Tour was the fourth concert tour by English band Coldplay. The tour was in support their fourth studio album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The tour was a massive commercial and critical success visiting Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia...
, and joined the U2 360° Tour
U2 360° Tour
The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It was named for a stage configuration that allowed the audience to almost completely surround the stage...
in July/August.
In April 2009, following the conviction
The Pirate Bay trial
The Pirate Bay trial is a joint criminal and civil prosecution in Sweden of four individuals charged for promoting the copyright infringement of others with the torrent tracking website The Pirate Bay...
of the founders of Swedish file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
website The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
, Lightbody commented in interview that "They shouldn't have been jailed... the punishment doesn't fit the crime." In an interview to Xfm
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, Lightbody revealed that the band is recording some new songs that are set to release later in 2009. He commented that the band felt the songs act as a "bridge" between A Hundred Million Suns and the next album.
Snow Patrol are set to release the 22nd album in the Late Night Tales
Late Night Tales
Late Night Tales and its predecessor Another Late Night are the names of two related series of artist curated compilation albums released on Late Night Tales independent record label...
series of mix albums by artists, which has been curated by Lightbody and Simpson. The band covered INXS
INXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
's song, "New Sensation
New Sensation
"New Sensation" is a song by the Australian rock group INXS. It was the third single from their 1987 album Kick. The music was written by Andrew Farriss and the lyrics by Michael Hutchence...
" for the occasion. Lightbody has also spoken of plans to release songs from the Listen... Tanks! project (with Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
) and Tired Pony
Tired Pony
Tired Pony is a music supergroup consisting of Gary Lightbody, Richard Colburn, Iain Archer, Jacknife Lee, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Troy Stewart...
, a country group.
The band also released a compilation album featuring tracks from the band's 15 year history, Up to Now
Up to Now
Up to Now is the first compilation album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen year music career, including tracks from The Reindeer Section, a side-project/supergroup involving musicians from all over Scotland...
, on 9 November 2009. It includes thirty tracks spanning two CDs, of which three are original new songs. "Just Say Yes", a song written by Lightbody and earlier recorded by Pussycat Doll
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....
and X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
star Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers is an English singer-songwriter, stage actress and fashion designer who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on the fifth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2008...
, was released as the lead single on 2 November. The album additionally contains past singles, covers and rarities, including songs from the band's side-project The Reindeer Section
The Reindeer Section
The Reindeer Section are a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002. The Reindeer Section grouping was somewhat ad hoc, and so it is uncertain if more will be heard from them...
. A limited edition coffee-table book is also in the works. The band also wishes to make a tour documentary in the future, on the lines of U2's Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum is the sixth studio album by rock band U2 and companion rockumentary directed by Phil Joanou, both released in 1988. The film and the album feature live recordings, covers, and new songs...
.
In January 2010, the band was nominated in three categories in the annual Meteor Awards
2010 Meteor Awards
The 2010 Meteor Music Awards ceremony took place on Friday February 19, 2010 in Dublin. They were presented by Amanda Byram. The launch took place in La Stampa on January 7, 2010 and was attended by The Coronas and Danny O'Donoghue from The Script....
. The band will also play at the event, scheduled on 19 February 2010 at The RDS
RDS Arena
RDS Arena is a multi-purpose sports stadium, owned by the Royal Dublin Society and located in the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge, Ireland.The arena was originally developed to host equestrian events, including the annual Dublin Horse Show, which was first held there in 1868. The site was acquired in...
.
Fallen Empires (2009–present)
Snow Patrol will enter its "next phase" with their sixth album. The band has taken a new musical direction, and Connolly has advised fans to keep an open mind. The band currently has some unreleased material, which Connolly has described as "very different from each other", but emphasized that they have the lyrics of Lightbody, and strong melodies. He predicts a mixed reaction out of listeners. The album is said to showcase technoTechno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
music and will be released in late 2011. However, Connolly has stated that "Just Say Yes" "isn’t necessarily a hint of where we’re going".
On 12 January 2011, Lightbody launched a blog to give details about the progress of the next release from the band. Initially, the posts included photos and stories from the 2010 tour but in February the first details about new material started to emerge. "We’ve ten songs in progress, some missing choruses or missing verses or missing something as yet undefined. Our goal is twenty songs." Lightbody said on a post dated 4 February.
The first song title to be announced was "Lifning", although the singer admits he is uncertain of the proper spelling since it is an imaginary word that he made up. Other ways of spelling it, according to Lightbody, are "Lifening" and "Life-ning", respectively. The meaning of the word is "to have lightning and light thrust into your life or to simply let them into your life" says Lightbody. The song features the dulcitone
Dulcitone
A dulcitone is a keyboard instrument in which sound is produced by a range of tuning forks, which vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers activated by the keyboard....
played by producer Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
and the lead singer himself is seen playing a shruti box on the track. Later in the day of 7 February, the first guest appearance was hinted at. In the post, Lightbody says that a Ladybug visited the studio for a few vocal takes, complimenting him on his Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
-like vocal contribution. Exactly who this person is remains unclear as there are several people in the music industry with that moniker. In addition, Lightbody did not state what track the guest vocal was recorded for.
On 2 March, Lightbody revealed the working title of yet another one of the new songs that the band had been working on. At the time, the track was entitled "Unspeakable Things" after being called "Overload" just a couple of days earlier on. This caused the singer to point out that track titles changes as the songs take shape over time. The following week, Lightbody announced that he had finished writing another new song, "The Garden Rules". The attached photograph hints of instruments such as the melodica
Melodica
The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
, celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
and mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
flute being featured on the track. In addition, he says that the number of vocal takes are kept to a minimum similar to how he recorded the album with his side-project Tired Pony
Tired Pony
Tired Pony is a music supergroup consisting of Gary Lightbody, Richard Colburn, Iain Archer, Jacknife Lee, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Troy Stewart...
in contrast to previous recording sessions with Snow Patrol.
During the first week of April, Lightbody wrote about a collaboration for the new record together with The L.A. Inner City Mass Choir. The group was discovered by Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
after browsing YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
a couple of weeks prior to the post by Lightbody. A few days later, the singer stated that Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
was once again playing the dulcitone
Dulcitone
A dulcitone is a keyboard instrument in which sound is produced by a range of tuning forks, which vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers activated by the keyboard....
, on a track that would remain nameless for the time being. However, later he claims it does in fact have a name but says: "I know it will change because I hate its name. Playing into the night". Whether or not "Playing Into the Night" is the working title or not remains uncertain, though.
A third collaboration would be announced on 12 April when Lightbody said that the band had invited American folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
artist Lissie
Lissie
Elisabeth Maurus , known by her stage name Lissie, is an American folk rock artist and Paste Magazine's #1 best new solo artist of 2010. She released her debut EP, "Why You Runnin'", in November 2009. Her debut album, Catching a Tiger, was released in June 2010.-Early life and career:Lissie was...
to the recording sessions. Reportedly, she provided vocals to the previously mentioned "The Garden Rules" along with songs called "I'll Never Let Go", "Those Distant Bells" "West of Here" and "Fallen Empires". Lightbody particularly praised her for the vocals recorded for "I'll Never Let Go" and described them as similar in style to those of soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
and gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
singer Merry Clayton
Merry Clayton
Merry Clayton is an American soul and gospel singer , and an actress...
on the track "Gimme Shelter
Gimme Shelter
"Gimme Shelter" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones. It first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelled "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling...
" written by the English rock group The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. Shortly afterwards, the band was said to have left the studio, The Eagle's Watch, in Malibu, California as declared by Lightbody on 17 April 2011. Moreover, he mentioned that the forthcoming album will probably have a Deluxe Edition which will feature a movie shot during the group's stay at the studio among other things.
In May, Lightbody and Connolly were summoned to the studio of Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
to supposedly record additional vocals. In late May, Lightbody said of the progress that the album was to be finished "and therefore very likely" to see a release later in the year. He also expressed his content with the result saying "It's different but it's great."
Lightbody mentions in a blog post in late June how Canadian musician Owen Pallett
Owen Pallett
Michael James Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto, Ontario. He won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds....
was called in to write string and brass arrangements for approximately 7–8 songs off the new record along with fellow composer Nico Muhly
Nico Muhly
Nico Muhly is a contemporary classical music composer, who has worked and recorded with classical and pop/rock musicians. He currently lives in the Lower East Side section of Manhattan in New York City.-Early years:...
. According to the information given by Lightbody, the two were working with the band at Ocean Way Studios in the Los Angeles area at the beginning of the month.
Snow Patrol released a new single for radio airplay, "Called Out in the Dark
Called Out in the Dark
"Called Out in the Dark" is a song by UK alternative rock group Snow Patrol. The track is the first single from the band's sixth studio album, Fallen Empires, and was released both independently and on an EP which has three other new tracks on, including the title track for their album and two...
" on Thursday 21 July on BBC Radio 1 on Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
's radio show. According to official sources, the single itself will be released independently and as part of an EP later on and the UK release date is said to be 4 September. More details on the EP were announced on 3 August, when the group's website revealed the artwork and tracklist contents. Along with the new single, the release will also contain three new tracks called "My Brothers", "I'm Ready" and "Fallen Empires", respectively. In addition, it was revealed that the EP is intended to be a digital release limited to the UK and Ireland.
Shortly after the premiere of the new lead single, the quintet's official website confirmed the news that the name of the new album will be Fallen Empires. Lightbody also confirmed in a Dutch radio interview that the album is due in the first weeks of November preceeded by another single before that. He revealed that the band intend to tour the UK and Ireland in January and February 2012 with details on the rest of the European tour to be announced at a later stage.
A video for "Called Out in the Dark" was recorded in the Los Angeles area on 30 July and is based around an idea from Gary Lightbody. He stated in a Tumblr post that Brett Simon
Brett Simon
Brett Simon is an American commercial, music video and film director.-Career:Simon graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing, and later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 with...
is the director of the video and that Noemie Lafrance
Noémie Lafrance
Noémie Lafrance is a Canadian-born choreographer living and working in New York since 1994. She is known for making large-scale site-specific dance performances that uses the architecture of the city as settings for her work...
is in charge of the choreography for it, previously known for her work with singer-songwriter Leslie Feist
Leslie Feist
Leslie Feist , known professionally as simply Feist, is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene....
. Lightbody expresses some anxiety about the fact that he's part of the choreography but admits that "part of the idea is that I’m not supposed to be good at it" and concludes: "If you don’t try new things you fade away and die".
"Fallen Empires" will be released 14 November 2011 in the UK.
On 5 September 2011 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, Lightbody announced that Johnny McDaid had recently joined the band.
The second single to be taken from the album "Fallen Empires", to be released on 13 November 2011, according to the band's website is "This Isn't Everything You Are".
Influence and other ventures
The success of Snow Patrol has influenced the thriving Belfast music scene positively. This includes Lightbody, who returned to the city and now lives there. The band's kindness towards local bands, partly by founding Polar Music, and Lightbody being an active part of the Oh Yeah Music Centre has resulted in high optimism in the scene. Musicians like BonoBono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
(of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
), Michael Stipe
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
(of R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
), Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx is an American musician, songwriter, author, fashion designer, radio host, and photographer, best known as the co-founder and bassist of the band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a member of Sister before going on to form London with his Sister band mate Lizzie Grey...
(of Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
) have also expressed their admiration for Snow Patrol. Terri Hooley
Terri Hooley
Terri Hooley, Godfather of the Belfast punk scene and the first person to win the Oh Yeah Legend Award in 2008. Hooley has received many awards throughout the world, his first was The Irish Music Industry Award 1994, Belfast caught up in 2008 when he received several awards in his native city...
, founder of the Good Vibrations
Good Vibrations (record label)
Good Vibrations is a Belfast record label and store. Founded by Terri Hooley in the early 1970’s, Good Vibrations started out in a small derelict building on Great Victoria Street, Belfast...
label and a lifelong supporter of local Northern Irish music has expressed pride in bands like Snow Patrol.
Gary Lightbody and Tom Simpson are both fans of the football club Dundee F.C.
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
. In 2008, they met the club's board of directors to find ways to financially help the short-of-cash club. The band also owns a stake in the Houndstooth Pub in New York City.
Snow Patrol have founded Polar Music, a publishing company run through Kobalt Music. The venture is independent from the band's publishing deal with Universal Music
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
. Polar Music will sign artists regardless of their genre, as drummer Jonny Quinn explained: "there is no agenda—if it's good enough and we believe in it 110%, we will sign it." Quinn, and his fellow band members Connolly and Lightbody are acting as A&R. The company's first signing is singer-songwriter Johnny McDaid
Johnny McDaid
Johnny McDaid, is a writer, musician, producer, engineer and recording artist.McDaid, who comes from Derry, Northern Ireland, was formerly the singer and songwriter of the band Vega4, whose album "You and Others" was produced by Jacknife Lee...
, previously of the Northern Irish band Vega4. Quinn has said that they wish to sign artists to a one-album deal, and do not want to put undue pressure on the artists with a bigger, multi-year deal. Polar Music had its first chart hit in the first week of October 2009.
In June 2010, the band were commemorated with a Heritage Award
Heritage Award
The Heritage Award is a ceremonial plaque installed in a public place to commemorate a link between a famous musician or music band and the location they performed their first live gig...
by PRS for Music. A plaque was erected on the Duke of York pub in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
where the band performed their first gig. The band was the sixth to receive the award, with all the members turning out. They later performed a live set to a small crowd of around 30 people.
Philanthropy
Nathan Connolly and Gary Lightbody in 2009 donated plectrums and certificates to the Music Beats Mines project, that aims to clear unexploded mines/landmines from conflict zones. The items were auctioned on eBayEBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
.
Band members
Current members- Gary LightbodyGary LightbodyGary Lightbody is an Northern Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.- Early life :...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1994-present) - Jonny QuinnJonny QuinnJonathan Graham "Jonny" Quinn is a Northern Irish drummer, born in Bangor. He is best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drummer for Snow Patrol, he has played on all releases...
– drums, percussion (1997-present) - Nathan ConnollyNathan ConnollyNathan Connolly is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol.-Early life:...
– lead guitar, backing vocals (2002-present) - Paul WilsonPaul Wilson (musician)Paul "Pablo" Wilson is a Scottish musician, who is best known as the bass guitarist for Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He previously played guitar in Glasgow band Terra Diablo from 2000–2005. In March 2005, he replaced bassist Mark McClelland in Snow Patrol and switched...
– bass guitar, backing vocals (2005-present) - Tom SimpsonTom Simpson (musician)Tom Simpson is a Scottish DJ and musician, best known as the keyboardist of the Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has been with Snow Patrol as a touring member since 1997 and became a permanent one in 2005. In 2007, he was arrested on drug charges, but was later...
– keyboards, samples (2005-present; touring member: 1997–2005) - Johnny McDaidJohnny McDaidJohnny McDaid, is a writer, musician, producer, engineer and recording artist.McDaid, who comes from Derry, Northern Ireland, was formerly the singer and songwriter of the band Vega4, whose album "You and Others" was produced by Jacknife Lee...
– Piano, rhythm guitar, backing vocals(touring member: 2005-present)
Former members
- Mark McClellandMark McClellandMark Peter McClelland is a musician from Northern Ireland, known best as the former bass guitarist with the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album, Final Straw...
– bass guitar (1994-2005) - Michael Morrison – drums (1994-1996)
Touring members
- Richard ColburnRichard ColburnRichard Colburn is the drummer of the Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian. Before he joined Belle & Sebastian, he used to sell pies on match days outside Celtic Park and study Music Business at Stow College. He was also a semi-professional Snooker player. His nickname is "Rico" and he also...
– keyboards, drums, guitars, percussion (1996–1997, 2008–present) - Iain ArcherIain ArcherIain Denis Archer is a singer–songwriter from Bangor, Northern Ireland, who was once a secondary lyricist for the indie band Snow Patrol. Archer comes from a musical background and released several solo albums in the mid 90s on the small Scottish independent label Sticky Music...
– guitar, backing vocals, songwriting collaborator (2001–2003), guitar, backing vocals (2004–present) - Ben Dumville – trumpet (2001–present)
- Colm MacAthlaoich – trumpet (2001–present)
- Johnny McDaidJohnny McDaidJohnny McDaid, is a writer, musician, producer, engineer and recording artist.McDaid, who comes from Derry, Northern Ireland, was formerly the singer and songwriter of the band Vega4, whose album "You and Others" was produced by Jacknife Lee...
- guitar, piano and backing vocals (2005-present) - Miriam Kaufmann – backing vocals (2006–2007, 2008–present)
- Lisa HanniganLisa HanniganLisa Margaret Hannigan is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. For several years she was a member of Damien Rice's band before beginning her solo career in 2008. She has been the recipient of various award nominations and critical praise both in Ireland and the USA...
– backing vocals (2007) - Graham HopkinsGraham HopkinsGraham Hopkins is an Irish drummer. He is the drummer in The Swell Season, The Frames, and former drummer for the hard rock/punk rock band Therapy?.- Early years :...
– drums, percussion (February 2007) - Troy Stewart – guitar (2008–present)
Line-ups
| September 1994 – December 1996 |
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|---|---|
| December 1996–1997 |
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| 1997–Spring 2002 |
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| Spring 2002 – March 2005 |
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| March 2005–present |
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| September 2011–present |
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Timeline
Discography
- Songs for PolarbearsSongs for Polarbears*"Marketplace" is included as a hidden track after "One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed" on both versions.*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "Songs for Polarbears".-Personnel:Snow Patrol...
(1998) - When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear UpWhen It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up-Bonus tracks on 2006 re-release:*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up".-Reception:...
(2001) - Final StrawFinal StrawUK re-release bonus tracks*The AOL sessions feature frontman Gary Lightbody & lead guitarist Nathan Connolly being interviewed, and performing an acoustic rendition of "Run".*The dualdisc version does not include the UK bonus tracks....
(2003) - Eyes OpenEyes OpenEyes Open is the fourth album by Northern Irish/Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. The first European single, "You're All I Have", was released on 24 April 2006; the first U.S. single was "Hands Open" and the first...
(2006) - A Hundred Million SunsA Hundred Million SunsA Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by long time producer Jacknife Lee who has previously produced albums for Bloc Party, R.E.M., and U2. The songs were recorded through the summer of 2008 in Hansa...
(2008) - Fallen EmpiresFallen Empires (album)-Track listing:The track list for Fallen Empires is as follows.-Charts:...
(2011)
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Mercury Music Prize | Album of the Year (Final Straw) | |
| 2005 2005 BRIT Awards The 2005 BRIT Awards were the 25th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. A Special BRITs 25 Award for the best single from the past 25 years was awarded to Robbie Williams "Angels"... |
BRIT Awards | Best British Group | |
| Best British Rock Act | |||
| Best British Album | |||
| 2007 2007 BRIT Awards The 2007 BRIT Awards was the 27th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 14 February 2007 at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London... |
Best British Group | ||
| Best British Album | |||
| Best British Single | |||
| 1999 | Hot Press Hot Press Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007... Awards |
Phil Lynott Phil Lynott Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.... Award for Best New Band |
|
| 2005 | NME Awards NME Awards The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine.... |
Best British Band | |
| 2005 | Ivor Novello Ivor Novello David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter... |
Best Album (Final Straw) | |
| 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 2007 was the 14th MTV European Music Awards, taking place at the Olympiahalle in Munich with hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg as host. The show attracted 78 million votes, the biggest in MTV Europe Music Awards history.... |
MTV Europe Music Awards MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider... |
Best Rock/Alternative Act | |
| 2007 | Best Headliner | ||
| 2004 | Q Awards Q Awards The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards, helped in no small part by the often boisterous behavior of the celebrities who attend the event... |
Best Newcomers | |
| 2007 | Silver Clef Awards | Best British Group | |
| UK Festival Awards UK Festival Awards The UK Festival Awards are awarded annually, with various categories for all aspects of festivals that have taken place in the UK, and one category for European festivals. The Awards were first established in 2004, and are produced by Virtual Festivals.com. They are voted for by the public via the... |
Most Memorable Moment | ||
| 2009 | Best Headliner – Radio 1's Big Weekend | ||
| Best Headliner – V Festival | |||
| 2004 2004 Meteor Awards The 2004 Meteor Music Awards were held on Monday 1 March 2004, hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain. It was the fourth edition of Ireland's national music awards. At the ceremony Damien Dempsey was presented with two awards, Best Folk/ Traditional Act and Best Irish Country/Roots Artist... |
Meteor Music Awards Meteor Music Awards The Meteor Ireland Music Awards are a group of music awards in Ireland... |
Best Irish Band | |
| 2005 | |||
| 2007 2007 Meteor Awards The 2007 Meteor Music Awards ceremony was held in the Point Theatre, Dublin on Thursday, 1 February 2007. It was the seventh edition of Ireland's national music awards and the last to be held at the Point before it shut for redevelopment... |
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| Best Live Performance | |||
| Best Irish Album (Eyes Open) | |||
| Most Downloaded Irish Song Award | |||
| 2010 | Best Irish Band | ||
| Best Irish Album (Up To Now) | |||
| Best Irish Live Performance | |||
| 2011 | Q Awards Q Awards The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards, helped in no small part by the often boisterous behavior of the celebrities who attend the event... |
Q Classic Song Award (Chasing Cars Chasing Cars "Chasing Cars" is the second single from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open. It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the US and 24 July 2006 in the UK as the album's second single.... ) |
Other recognitions
- 2009 – Snow Patrol ranked #22 in The Irish Times' The Best Irish Acts Right Now.
- 2009 – Snow Patrol ranked #10 in UlsterUlsterUlster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
's Top 10 exports. - 2009 – Snow Patrol ranked #6 in Amazon.co.uk's Best Selling Artists of the Decade.
- 2011 – "RunRun (Snow Patrol song)"Run" is a cover of the Snow Patrol song by Leona Lewis on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on 31 October 2007. She later released the song as a single from Spirit: The Deluxe Edition in November 2008. At the time, "Run" was the UK's fastest-selling digital only release ever, selling 69,244 copies in just...
" won 'Best Track of the Noughties' in STV's Scotland's Greatest Album.
Tours
| Tour | Supporting album(s) | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final Straw Tour Final Straw Tour The Final Straw Tour was a concert tour by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was launched in support of the group's 2003 album Final Straw. The band visited numerous venues internationally from 2003 through 2005. The tour is the collective name of many smaller tours and festivals... |
Final Straw Final Straw UK re-release bonus tracks*The AOL sessions feature frontman Gary Lightbody & lead guitarist Nathan Connolly being interviewed, and performing an acoustic rendition of "Run".*The dualdisc version does not include the UK bonus tracks.... |
10 August 2003 | 23 July 2005 |
| Eyes Open Tour Eyes Open Tour The Eyes Open Tour was a concert tour by the Northern Ireland alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was launched in support of the group's 2006 album Eyes Open. The band visited numerous international venues from 2006 through 2007. The tour is the collective name of many smaller tours and festivals... |
Eyes Open Eyes Open Eyes Open is the fourth album by Northern Irish/Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. The first European single, "You're All I Have", was released on 24 April 2006; the first U.S. single was "Hands Open" and the first... |
14 February 2006 | 22 September 2007 |
| Take Back the Cities Tour | A Hundred Million Suns A Hundred Million Suns A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by long time producer Jacknife Lee who has previously produced albums for Bloc Party, R.E.M., and U2. The songs were recorded through the summer of 2008 in Hansa... |
26 October 2008 | 20 October 2009 |
| Reworked Tour | Up to Now Up to Now Up to Now is the first compilation album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen year music career, including tracks from The Reindeer Section, a side-project/supergroup involving musicians from all over Scotland... |
18 November 2009 | 12 December 2009 |
| Fallen Empires Tour Fallen Empires Tour The Fallen Empires Tour is a forthcoming world tour by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol.-Background:The tour was announced on September 20, 2011 with dates in Dublin and Belfast only. Tickets for these shows went on sale on September 22, 2011. These two shows sold out causing the... |
Fallen Empires (album) Fallen Empires (album) -Track listing:The track list for Fallen Empires is as follows.-Charts:... |
20 January 2012 | 25 January 2012 (more dates tba) |