Ssnow Patrol

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INDEX

TRAINING....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 MEMBERS.................................................................................................................................................................... 11 DISCOGRAPHY................................................................................................................................................. 43 SONG LYRICS..................................................................................................................................................... 95

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TRAINING

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TRAINING Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish rock band formed in 1993, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jonny Quinn (drums), Tom Simpson (keyboardist), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, backing vocals). Initially an indie rock band, the group rose to prominence in the 2000s as part of the post-Britpop movement.

The group was founded at the University of Dundee in 1993 by Lightbody, Michael Morrison, and Mark McClelland as Shrug. After briefly using the name Polar Bear and losing Morrison as a member, the band became Snow Patrol in 1997 and added Quinn to its line-up. Their 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. The band signed on to the major record label Polydor Records in 2002.

Connolly joined Snow Patrol in 2002, and after their major label debut, Final Straw, the following year, the group rose to national fame. The album was certified 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 Albums Chart and was the best-selling British album of the year, selling over 6 million copies worldwide. In 2008, the band released 10

their fifth studio album, A Hundred Million Suns; then, in 2009, they released their first compilation album, Up to Now; and, in 2011, released their sixth studio album, Fallen Empires.

During the course of their career, Snow Patrol have won seven Meteor Ireland Music Awards and have been nominated for six Brit Awards. Since the release of Final Straw, the band have sold over 13 million albums worldwide.

Originally formed in late 1993 by University of Dundee 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 was entitled the Yoghurt vs Yoghurt debate. In 1996, they changed their name to Polar Bear (or Polarbear) to avoid issues with any American bands that were also named Shrug. Shortly afterwards, drummer Michael 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 in 1997, 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.

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.

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MEMBERS

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GARY LIGHTBODY Gary Lightbody (born 18 June 1976) is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION Born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, to Jack and Lynne (née Wray) Lightbody, on 15 June 1976, Jack Lightbody has been an independent business owner and has roots in Rosemount, Derry.

Gary Lightbody has one sister, Sarah, and attendedRockport School and Campbell College.

In 1994, Lightbody left home for Scotland to study English literature and English language at the University of Dundee.

CAREER SNOW PATROL Lightbody formed a band with Mark McClelland and drummer Michael Morrison in 1994, called Shrug. Morrison left the band later, and the band were forced to change the name to Polarbear, as another band had claimed the name. In the band’s first seven years of existence, they added drummer Jonny Quinn, released two albums (Songs for Polarbears, and When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up), and toured with bands such as Levellers, Ash and Travis. The band stayed in Glasgow during the recording of the first two albums. Lightbody used to hold a job at the Nice n Sleazy’s Bar in Sauchiehall Street. Today, Lightbody owns a small place in Glasgow and says he will never leave the country behind, though he 14

resides in Belfast. He feels an attachment to the place, as it gave him his first taste of success.

In the early days, Lightbody used to drink very heavily, and in his words, was “irrational, erratic, neurotic”. He had become frustrated

by Snow Patrol’s lack of financial success and felt lost and aimless.

He started cursing at the audience and demolishing the band’s equipment. He found himself breaking guitars they could not afford.

This phase ran for two years. He later gave up drinking and now does it “for fun” and credits his band mates for the turnaround. The song “Disaster Button” (A Hundred Million Suns) deals with this topic.

Though a musician, he cannot read music and has said that he “guesses” his way through chords. He has a baritone vocal range.

DJING When at the University of Dundee, Lightbody met Nick DeCosemo, a fellow student, and the two became friends. DeCosemo also moved in Lightbody’s Springfield apartment when he moved out of his parents’ house. Nick had formed a club night called The Spaceship at the Tay Hotel. Along with Lightbody, friends Roy Kerr, Tom Simpson, and Anu Pillai also used to DJ there. They mixed up various styles of music as house, rock, and hip hop. They gained a loyal following and socialised together for about two years.

Lightbody later co-wrote “What Are You Waiting For” on the album Strangest Things, with Anu Pillai for Freeform Five. “What Are You Waiting For” was written before Snow Patrol released Final Straw, during a time when Lightbody was staying over at the band’s place for a few days. Pillai had to literally drag a hungover Lightbody to the studio.

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OTHER PROJECTS In addition to his work with Snow Patrol and DJing, Gary Lightbody has contributed to other projects and works.

WRITING Lightbody writes as essayist articles or columns in variously music magazines and newspapers like Q magazine and previously wrote for The Irish Times music section as guest-editor. As an impassioned music fan and DJ, he recommends in his blogs or essays albums and artists of different and wide-ranging genres of music.

In May 2009, Lightbody commenced writing his music column, Gary Lightbody’s Band of the Week, in the magazine Q The Music.com.

In 2011, he wrote as an essayist for The Huffington Post.

OTHER MUSICAL PROJECTS As a songwriter/bandleader, he has written songs and lyrics for a wide variety of artists and genres.

In 2000, he formed the Scottish supergroup The Reindeer Section, comprising 47 musicians from 20 different bands, including members of bands like Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap and other musicians. The group released Y’All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! in 2001 and Son of Evil Reindeer in 2002.

2000–2002 • In addition to work on Snow Patrol and side-project material, Lightbody lent his voice to the band Mogwai (one track on Rock Action).

• In 2001, he contributed to British breakbeat/electronica musician Cut La Roc’s song Fallen.

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2005–2006 • In 2005, he was included in another musical collective, The Cake Sale, formed by Brian Crosby to raise funds and awareness for Ireland’s Make Trade Fair campaign. He partnered with Lisa Hannigan to perform “Some Surprise”, a song written by Bell X1’s Paul Noonan. The song reached No. 5 on Irish charts as a radio–single release.

• He contributed vocals to The Freelance Hellraisers Waiting for Clearance debut album in 2006 and for UK producer Kidda’s debut album Going Up. 2007–2008 • As songwriter for the track “Just Say Yes” for Nicole Scherzinger’s debut solo album Her Name Is Nicole but due to the album being shelved the single was re-recorded by Pussycat Dolls and remains unreleased by Scherzinger. In 2009 Gary Lightbody announced in an interview that Snow Patrol would be releasing “Just Say Yes” as the first single from their Up to Now compilation record.

• In 2007, he lent his voice to British house musician and DJ Cut La Roc’s track Mishka on his album Larger Than Life which is yet to be released.

2008–2009 • In 2009, he announced that he had begun work on two solo side projects, a country group Tired Pony and an avant-garde group with Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee: Listen... Tanks!.

• August/September 2009: Gary Lightbody joined with bandmates Johnny Quinn and Nathan Connolly to form Polar Music, a publishing music company “run by artists for artists” in co-operation with Uni17

versal Music Group and which will be administered by Kobalt Music in London. Polar Music’s debut signing is artist Johnny McDaid from Northern Ireland who is currently writing with German Electronica/ Trance DJ Paul van Dyk for an album due in 2010.

2010 • In January, Gary Lightbody recorded in Portland, Oregon the debut album of his side project Tired Pony with title The Place We Ran From. The album’s release was announced for 12 July 2010. This new supergroup he founded includes Jacknife Lee as producer and musicians like R.E.M.’s guitarist/co-founder Peter Buck, Editors singer Tom Smith, singer and songwriter Iain Archer, Belle & Sebastian’s drummer Richard Colburn, The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5 singer Scott McCaughey, She & Him singer Zooey Deschanel, Snow Patrol’s touring member guitarist Troy Stewart and guitarist M. Ward.

• Gary Lightbody and producer Jacknife Lee contributed to the original score for the Irish film My Brothers, which appeared in the 2010Tribeca Film Festival.

• Gary Lightbody lends his songwriting and vocal talents to Mishka, a collaboration with Cut La Roc, released on La Roc’s 2010 album, ‘Larger Than Life’.

• During 2010, on tour for several concerts of Snow Patrol and Tired Pony in Europe, USA and South America • Collaboration with former Kinks singer Ray Davies on Davies’ album See My Friends as song Tired of Waiting for You 2012 • Several TV-performances on European and American shows as The 18

Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Late Show with David Letterman • Performs with Snow Patrol at the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony Concert in Hyde Park, London • Featured on the track “The Last Time” on Taylor Swift’s 2012 album Red • Performs with Ed Sheeran at the iTunes Festival singing a duet of “Chasing Cars” 2013 • Along with Johnny McDaid, performs at the Derry City of Culture Sons and Daughters concert, plays a three song acoustic set singing “Run”, “Just Say Yes” (the festival’s anthem) and “Chasing Cars”.

• Lightbody, Nathan Connoly and Johnny McDaid play at the Comic Relief ‘Funny for Money’ show and perform Lifening.

• Forms “Gary Lightbody and the Assembly” at Stormont for TEDx, records a song, and speaks for TEDx. • Appears in a cameo in the Game of Thrones episode “Walk of Punishment • Appeared on The X Factor UK Season 10 in a duet with Taylor Swift. They sung The Last Time to promote it as a UK single on 3 November 2013.

MUSICIANSHIP INFLUENCES

Growing up, Lightbody listened to artists like Super Furry Animals, Quincy Jones, Kool & the Gang, and Michael Jackson. He subsequently got into hard rock bands AC/DC and KISS as a teen, and then alternative acts like Sebadoh, Mudhoney, Pixies and Pavement.

As a boy, he dreamed of becoming “the biggest rock star on the planet” like Bono, but he was never “cool”.

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SONGWRITING Lightbody started writing songs at the age of 15, in a little room under the kitchen of the family’s house. He had few guitar lessons where he learnt the basics of the instrument but did not continue them, as he felt that one should not know any instrument “inside-out”.

He preferred to invent rather than use a formula. Today, he is not too fond of his earliest songs and thinks they “sucked”. His songwriting style is mostly simple and basic, and he acknowledges that, saying he advanced past rudimentary”. He feels the best way to write an honest song is to be simple, and that trying to complicate matters distorts the intended message. He believes the band has always tried to keep things as “simple and pure” as possible and has written from the heart. One of Lightbody’s major inspirations to begin writing was notable Irish poet Seamus Heaney; which is alluded to on the B-side track on Snow Patrol’s The Planets Bend Between Us single, named ‘Reading Heaney To Me’. It also refers extensively to Heaney’s poems throughout the lyrics.

Lightbody’s lyrics typically deal with the topic of love. Although he considers himself a political person and has tried writing songs with such themes, he eventually abandoned his efforts as he found all of them awkward. Lightbody has said that all of the songs from the first two albums; Songs for Polarbears and When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up were written from personal experience.

His lyrics often criticise himself or are self-deprecatory. He has cited “Chocolate” as an example, which he wrote after cheating on his girlfriend. He also considers writing a sort of “therapy” for himself.

Lightbody’s songwriting has earned him much praise. In October 2009, he revealed that a certain “public figure”, whom he wanted to remain nameless, told him that the band had written songs that 20

were standards in today’s world, and that Snow Patrol songs had become a part of the public consciousness. He compared their work to that of artists likeFrank Sinatra and The Beatles. Lightbody realises this and cites performances of their songs on reality TV shows as an example.

VIEWS ON MUSIC INDUSTRY Lightbody has held the view that Snow Patrol may have had an easier time succeeding in the music industry than a band forming at the present time and attempting to become successful, given the changed state of the music industry, specifically how music is obtained by consumers. He questions the public’s motive to buy the songs which they have already listened to, and blames Myspace for it.

Of Snow Patrol, Lightbody has said that all albums they managed to sell in the early days were from touring, as there were no unauthorized copies of their music available then. He believes if the current state of the industry continues, it would become impossible for bands starting out to become full-time. Despite this, he observes that the band might not have survived if they had been successful early in their career, as they would have subsequently taken that success for granted.

PERSONAL LIFE

Lightbody is known to keep his personal life private.

Lightbody is passionate about football (soccer) and has been known to support both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland national football teams. This is supported by the song “Lifening”, in which he sings the lyrics “Ireland in the World Cup, either North or South”.

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He is a fan of the X-Men, particularly Wolverine, and owns a stack of comics. He bought several comics as a kid and has some that he has never opened, hoping they would become rare collectibles someday; in a later interview, he light-heartedly mentioned that they could earn him a small pension. He considers himself a “comics freak”.

Despite having written several romantic songs, Lightbody has been reported as having had trouble talking to women. Lightbody has been in many doomed relationships, and he blames their failure on only himself, considering himself “rubbish with women”. He attributes the failure partly to him “never being in the same place for very long”, and admits that at times he’s been hopelessly in love.

PHILANTHROPY Lightbody has been involved in numerous causes, mostly related to music and football. He is currently on the board of directors of the Oh Yeah Music Centre in Northern Ireland, a project set up to give young artists a place where they can share ideas and kick-start their music careers, as often is the trend of talent leaving the country from lack of appraisal. He supported young bands from Northern Ireland and involved them as support bands to shows of Snow Patrol’s UK & Ireland Arena Tour of February–March 2009.

Lightbody is one of the supporting voices for the growing music-scene in his hometown Belfast in Northern Ireland and once stated in an interview to have grown up as an “Indie rock kid” inspired to become a musician through influences of artists and acts such as Kurt Cobain, Super Furry Animals, and Sebadoh.

Lightbody has worked with the aid organisation Save the Children in 22

Uganda, an experience on which he has written in New Statesman.

He has also been involved in raising awareness of depression, a condition that he himself has struggled with.

RECOGNITION HONOURS In July 2012, Lightbody received an Honorary Doctorate in Letters from the University of Ulster at a ceremony in the Millennium Forum, Derry/Londonderry. See also Snow Patrol Awards

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES YEAR

PUBLICATION

ENTITY

2005

2006

RANK

4 Scotland on Sunday

The Eligibles

1

2007

TOP TEN

2006

5 Daily Record

100 Hottest Scots 9

2007

2009

Social and Personal

Sexiest Irishmen

96

Q

Artists of the Century

*

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MUSICAL EQUIPMENT GUITARS • Lightbody’s main guitar is a Fender ‘72 Telecaster Deluxe reissue in Black. Gary’s guitars are known for the ‘CELT’ sticker on them.

• Gretsch 6120 New Nashville – Orange (seen during a 2008 performance on Later... with Jools Holland) • Gretsch G6122-II Chet Atkins Country Gentleman (seen during the Snow Patrol European May – July 2010 tour) • Gibson SG – Black with White Pickguard • Fender Telecaster ‘72 Thinline Reissue – Blonde • Fender Telecaster (c)’77 Deluxe – Blonde • Fender Telecaster Standard – USA model in Yellow • Fender Telecaster Standard – Black (seen in music video for Spitting Games) • Gibson Les Paul Deluxe – Black (also bears the CELT sticker) • Guild Acoustic • Lowden Acoustic AMPLIFIERS • Diamond Decada Amp Head with Decada 4x12 Cab (uses two of the same) • Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Heads with Rectifier 4x12 Cabs • Marshall JCM800 2203 with JCM 1960A 4x12 Cab • Marshall 3315 Transistor Amp (originally used by Nathan Connolly) with 1960TV 4x12 Cab • Vox AC30 Custom Classic Effects • BOSS TU-2 Tuner • BOSS TR-2 Tremolo 24

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NATHAN CONOLLY Nathan Connolly (born 20 January 1981) is a musician from Northern Ireland, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol.

EARLY LIFE Connolly, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, sang for a gospel church choir at Glenmachan, Church of God, Belfast when he was 16, and the experience, he says, is what inspired him to be a musician.

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I suppose I was always around music, and like any other kid, teenage kid, 12 or 13, I either wanted to be a pub quiz addict or a rock star and play guitar. After a particularly brutal thrashing at Scrabble, when my opponent played the word ‘SCOPIE’ on a triple word score, I kind of played around with it for a few years and didn’t really learn much and wasn’t very good for the first two years, but then I started a band with my cousin and two mates from school and it kind of just went on from there. I started taking it a bit more seriously. I mean, I’ve always wanted to play in a band and write music, I just didn’t realize exactly how much when I first started.

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Personal life

Connolly is the long-term boyfriend of Laura Donnelly, whom he met before joining Snow Patrol. He lives in Crouch End, London, nearby band mate Jonny Quinn.

MUSIC CAREER Prior to joining Snow Patrol, Connolly was a member of a band called File Under Easy Listening (or F.U.E.L), who were managed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray. The band consisted of Connolly, vocalist Aaron Ditty, Dave Magee and Peter Comfort. Unfortunately, it did not last long; the single “Closure/Dryform” was F.U.E.L.’s first and only release.

While working at the record store HMV in Belfast, Connolly was introduced to the band Snow Patrol. He reluctantly agreed to join, despite the fact that the band had no record deal at the time.

He jokingly recalls his mother thinking he “was being kidnapped by rock stars.”

Connolly became a permanent member of the band near the end of 2002. His recruitment played a large role in shaping the band’s new sound. With Connolly as a composer of the band’s new material, Snow Patrol garnered a new record deal and released Final Straw in 2003. The album proved to be the band’s breakthrough and helped introduce them to a wide audience.

In late 2006, he talked about plans to record a solo album, which he said would be “melodic and tuneful”.

In 2013, Connolly formed his own side project called Little Matador.

PERSONAL LIFE Connolly is the long-term boyfriend of Laura Donnelly, whom he met before joining Snow Patrol. He lives in Crouch End, London, nearby band mate Jonny Quinn.

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EQUIPMENT GUITARS • Gibson Les Paul Custom - Tobacco 1979 • Gibson Les Paul Custom - Ebony (appears in the video for Take Back the City) • Fender Telecaster Custom - Sunburst 1974 • Fender Telecaster Custom - Blonde 1977 • Gretsch Countryman - Brown 1962 • Gretsch Duo Jet - Black • Fender Jaguar - Sunburst 1965 • Fender Telecaster Custom - Black ‘72 reissue • Fender Telecaster Nashville - Sunburst • Guild Electro/Acoustic • Rickenbacker 360 - Jetglo • Hutchins Memphis - Black He uses Jim Dunlop Tortex .60mm picks AMPS • Diamond Amplification Spitfire I Head with Spitfire 4x12 Cabinet • Vox AC30 (Used at Mandela Hall SG3) • Marshall JCM800 2203 Jubilees • Marshall 3315 Transistor (Used on Final Straw Tours) • Fender Twin Reverb (Also Used on Final Straw Tours) EFFECTS Connolly uses a setup that is primarily rack based. His rack consists of the following

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PAUL WILSON Paul “Pablo” Wilson (born in 20 October 1978) 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 instruments to bass. Wilson has been friends with the band years before he joined them and even Terra Diablo, and had contributed guitar and keyboards as an unofficial live member. He plays left-handed and generally uses a black Rickenbacker on-stage.

He is a multi-instrumentalist and is trained in piano.

CAREER Wilson, was born and grew up in Kinlochleven and attended the Kinlochleven High School. He always wanted to be a musician and has said that it is the only thing “he’s ever done”. He has said that if he couldn’t be a musician, he would have worked as a music producer or teach children how to be in a band. Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist, and can play instruments such as piano, guitar, bass, drums and banjo. He went to music school to learn the piano, and in his own words, can “play most things unless they have to be blown into”. He has been friends with members of Snow Patrol since 1995, during their “wilderness years”.

In 2000, he joined Glasgow band Terra Diablo as guitarist.

Whenever Terra Diablo supported Snow Patrol on tours, Wilson joined Snow Patrol on-stage as an unofficial member, contributing guitar and keyboards. He once joked that he agreed to tour with 30

Snow Patrol only the condition that Terra Diablo could tour with them. Wilson left Terra Diablo in mid-February 2005, the reasons for which were not made public. On 16 March 2005, Snow Patrol bassist Mark McClelland was fired from the band. Vocalist Gary Lightbody asked Wilson to replace him. He accepted, and switched to the bass guitar when he joined the band.He played his first show as permanent member in Dingle on 1 April 2005. In October 2006, during the Eyes Open Tour, he injured his left arm and shoulder. Though wanting to continue, the band thought better and six concerts were subsequently cancelled.

Apart from his work with Snow Patrol, Wilson also guested on Film School’s 2007 album Hideout.

STYLE His favourite instrument is the guitar, which he played for nineteen years, before switching to bass. He found the transition difficult, as he felt that one could “get away with more” playing the guitar. He finds the bass a difficult and challenging instrument to play and “express” oneself. But he enjoys playing it and likes the potential of the instrument: “By changing one note, you can make the whole thing sound a lot better”. Apart from writing bass-lines for the band, Wilson occasionally contributes guitar and piano parts. He writes bass-lines based on the song’s rhythm and at times teams up with drummer Jonny Quinn to come up with a basic riff or simple chord changes. He plays the bass left-handed, and prefers using a pick.

On-stage, he generally uses a black Rickenbacker 4000 bass.

PERSONAL LIFE

As a child, Wilson was a huge fan of Star Wars, and owned toys of all characters. He has the name of his previous band “Terra Diablo” tattooed on the inside of his left arm

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MUSICAL EQUIPMENT BASS GUITARS • Rickenbacker 4000 (Black) • Rickenbacker 4003 • Fender Jazz Bass AMPLIFIERS • Ampeg SVT–2PRO, SVT–4PRO • Orange AD200 OTHER EQUIPMENT • Ampeg SVT–810E (Bass cabinet) • Big Muff (distortion pedal,) • Line 6 Bass POD XT Pro

DISCOGRAPHY YEAR

with Terra Diablo

YEAR

2001

“The Way Things Are and How They’re Meant to Be”

2006

“Eyes open”s

2002

“The Smoke”

2008

“A hundred million Suns”

2004

“Satellites”

2009

“Up to now”s

2004

“Swings & Roundabouts”

2011

“Fallen empires”

2004

Terra Diablo

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with Snow Patrol

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JOHNNY McDAID John “Johnny” McDaid (born July 24, 1976) is an Northern Irish songwriter, musician, producer, and recording artist from Derry

EARLY LIFE One of six children of John (died 2011) and Pauline McDaid, Johnny McDaid attended St Bridgid’s Primary School, Carnhill,and St Columb’s College.

CAREER McDaid was the singer and songwriter of the band Vega4, whose second album You and Others was produced by Jacknife Lee. Its first single, “Life Is Beautiful”, was featured on the US Contemporary Radio Charts Top 40 for 12 weeks in 2007, and was the song used for the theatrical trailer of My Sister’s Keeper. In 2009, McDaid was the first person to sign to Snow Patrol’s publishing company, Polar Patrol Publishing.

McDaid went on to play guitar and piano and sing backing vocals in the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.

McDaid’s songs have been featured on many television shows, including Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, The Hills, Pushing Daisies, Defying Gravity, and has been used for many HBO network season campaigns, among others. His songs have also been used on various advertising campaigns including: Land Rover, Jeep, and RTÉ, and in feature films, including Into the Blue, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Sex Drive. McDaid produced the “Snow Patrol Remix” ofU2’s “Unknown Caller” in January 2010.

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McDaid also has a studio, Fieldwork Music, in North London where he writes, produces and mixes with and for various artists and songwriters. He has used Fieldwork as a project name for song releases, including the single “This Is Not The End”, which featured in a trailer for the film Edge of Tomorrow.

In 2012, Example released his album The Evolution of Man. The debut single “Say Nothing”, co-written with McDaid was released in September 2012, debuting at number two on the UK Official Charts.

The song was received positively overall and became the best selling song from the album. Digitl Spy rated it four stars, calling it “an electronic anthem that’s ready to take over the airwaves” and commenting that it “maintains a sense of depth, proving that despite his questionable celebrity jibes his talent still comes out on top.

PERSONAL LIFE

McDaid began dating former Friends actress Courteney Cox in late 2013. The couple announced their engagement on 26 June 2014.

He has a tattoo on his left arm reading “Nuair is gá dom filleadh abaile, is tú mo réalt eolais” (“When I need to get home you’re my guiding light”), an Irish translation of the song “Guiding Light” by fellow Irishman Foy Vance. Ed Sheeran and Vance both have the same tattoo. The song was written for Johnny’s late father, John McDaid, Sr., who died in July 2011. “Guiding Light” was recorded with Sheeran featuring on vocals, and McDaid on vocals and piano.

COLLABORATIONS Known to work with styles of music from dance and pop to acoustic singer songwriters, McDaid has written and produced tracks for Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Carina Round,Ingrid Michaelson, Gary Go, Example, and Rosi Golan. He has also worked with Iain Archer, Declan O’Rourke, Tonio K, and Freelance Hellraiser. He wrote and produced the title track for the movie House of Fools, which was directed by Academy Award-nominated director Eva Isaksen, and has written and produced records for Sony BMG, Universal 35

Music Group, EMI, PIAS Recordings, Mushroom Records, and Capitol Records.

McDaid worked with Paul Van Dyk, resulting in “Time of Our Lives”, the number one club chart single from the Grammy Award-nominated album Reflections. He also wrote and performed the number one club chart hit “Home” for Paul van Dyk. The single was awarded Best Track at the 2009 Trance Awards. McDaid has performed with Paul van Dyk at selected shows.

In January 2013, McDaid and Gary Lightbody performed at the “Sons & Daughters” concert in Derry, McDaid’s hometown, to mark the opening of the city’s UK City of Cultureyear. In early 2013, McDaid moved to Nashville, Tennessee with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran to work with him on his second album. Sheeran and McDaid are close friends and later moved to Los Angeles together to continue working on Sheeran’s sophomore record. In November 2013, Sheeran posted a picture of himself and McDaid onInstagram stating that they had been making the record together for two years and that it was now complete.

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JONNY QUINN Jonathan Graham “Jonny” Quinn (b. 26 February 1972) 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. He is married to industrial designer Mariane Quinn (née Rokke)

BIOGRAPHY He attended Rockport School near Holywood where singer Gary Lightbody was also a pupil. He once used to work in the music store for Good Vibrations, the record label that first signed The Undertones. In the early 1990s, he was a member of The Mighty Fall, in which he had a band mate in Iain Archer. He was also a member of The New Brontes. In the summer of 1992, he became a member of Disraeli Gears, which was formed by Iain’s brother Paul.

In 1995, he completed a BTEC Diploma in Performing Arts. In October 1996, he started a live music venue with Brendan McCauley, called The Crescent Arts Centre. Disraeli Gears played regular shows at the venue throughout the rest of the year. In 1997, they recorded their first studio album, Pure Groove.

He’s been with Snow Patrol since their first full-length release, Songs for Polarbears. During Snow Patrol’s Eyes Open Tour, on 15 January 2007, Quinn broke a bone in his elbow in a snowboarding accident and was unable to play several shows of the tour. He asked Ex-Therapy? drummer and long-time friend of the band Graham Hopkins to fill in for him. Hopkins toured Europe,Australia, New Zealand 38

and the United States for 3 months until Quinn had fully recovered. In the meantime, Snow Patrol were to play at the 2007 BRIT Awards. U2’s Larry Mullen, Jr. volunteered to take on the duty but the band already had Hopkins. Quinn said he felt “honored” at the offer. He names Ginger Baker, Louie Bellson and Stewart Copeland among his influences.

PERSONAL LIFE

He is the nephew of actress Patricia Quinn and the brother of Bradley Quinn, Snow Patrol’s longtime photographer. His cousin is Debbie Armstrong, wife of former Northern Ireland assistant manager Gerry Armstrong. Quinn had a habit of stage-diving, which resulted in many fractured limbs. After the band signed to Fiction/Interscope, he was asked to curb it, lest he break his arm.

He proposed to his longtime girlfriend, industrial designer Mariane Rokke at Snow Patrol’s homecoming show at Ward Park in 2007. He wrote “Marry me Mariane” on his drum kit, which was shown on the screens beside the stage. They tied the knot in Mariane’s hometown Oslo on 16 August 2008. Jonny’s brother Bradley Quinn was the best man. Guests included the band, past Snow Patrol collaborator and band mate Iain Archer and singer Declan O’Rourke. The couple went to Zanzibar for their honeymoon. He lives inCrouch End, London with his wife and son, near band mate Nathan Connolly.

DISCOGRAPHY YEAR

with The Mighty Fall

YEAR

1991

“Kick in the head”

1998

“Songs for Polarbears”s

with Disraeli Gears

2001

“When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up”

1995

“Sense EP”

2003

“Final Straw”s

1997

“Pure groove”

2006

“Eyes open”

2004

Terra Diablo

2008

“A hundred million Suns

2009

“Up to now!

2011

“Fallen Empires”

2013

“Greatest Hits”

with Snow Patrol

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TOM SIMPSON Tom Simpson (born 7 January 1972) is a Scottish DJ and musician, best known as the former keyboardist of the alternative rockband Snow Patrol. Having been with Snow Patrol as a touring member since 1996, he became a permanent one in 2005. In August 2013, he quit the band, citing his desire to do his own thing.

BIOGRAPHY Tom Simpson attended Monifieth High School in Angus, Scotland.

He went to the art school in the University of Dundee, the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, and has a degree in drawing and painting.

He had no musical leanings as a youngster, and always had aspirations of being a scratch/mix DJ. He started deejaying when he was about 17, and used to run a few clubs in Dundee, in whose university Gary Lightbody studied at the time. Lightbody used to visit one of these clubs, and met Simpson one day, and the two ended up becoming friends. Simpson, at the time did not know Lightbody was in a band. However, one day, Lightbody invited him to the university to watch Snow Patrol (his band) play a concert. Simpson liked the band’s show, and felt they had “potential” and “a lot of soul”. Lightbody was relieved, and said that the band would like him to do synthesizers and turn table effects for their first album Songs for Polarbears. He did, and later got invited to go on tour with the band. He felt happy at the opportunity, as he was finding himself at “crossroads” in his own life. Since, he has been with Snow Patrol.

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Simpson started to play keyboards in his late 20s, and in around 2006, finally took lessons in classical piano at the insistence of a friend. He finds the lessons interesting and challenging. He has said that after the years he was with Snow Patrol, he realized that he had become a musician, despite having no intentions to become so.

He was declared an official member of the band when bassis tPaul Wilson was recruited into the band, after founder Mark McClelland was fired. As a musician, Simpson plays piano, keyboards, a monitor mixer, and professional instrumental mixing of effects (recording music and application in live shows). On 15 August 2013, during a gig in Belfast, Gary Lightbody announced that Simpson had decided to quit the band and that this would be his final show.

His previous experiences as a DJ included playing at The Spaceship, Skoolin’ and The Phat Clinic which were held at the old Coffee Bar at Duncan of Jordanstone College. His nights at The Spaceship were done in partnership with friends Nick DeCosemo and Anu Pillai (of the band Freeform Five), Lightbody and Roy Kerr. He still follows his passion as DJ in British clubs outside Snow Patrol, often in partnership with his friend and band mate Gary Lightbody under the moniker Snow Patrol DJs or SP DJs, and with Dave Bowie from the Autodisco DJs. PERSONAL LIFE

Simpson was accused of possessing Class A drugs in Glasgow in June 2006.

He was arrested on 7 July 2007 in RAF Northolt, Middlesex, which put the band’s headlining set the next day (at T in the Park) in jeopardy. He was held at London’s Heathrow Airport, mere hours after the band played at Live Earth, which made him miss the Oxegen 2007performance that night. The band had started searching for a replacement for Simpson, who however, was released in time to play at T in the Park. All charges against him and a friend were later dropped.

Tom currently lives in Monifieth Scotland. Outside of his passion for music he enjoys playing golf and when off tour he can be found playing on the town’s course.

Tom is also an avid supporter of Dundee F.C.. Although his occupation has |brought him to public notice, he endeavours to maintain his privacy.

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DISCOGRAPHY

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1st DISC SONGS FOR POLARBEARS Snow Patrol joined 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, without heavy promotion. The band were happy to be associated with an indie label, because it provided them greater independence than a major label. At that time, they were quoted as saying they expected Jeepster wouldn’t expect them to have a strict work ethic or focus too much on promotional efforts.

Snow Patrol’s debut album was Songs for Polarbears, released in 1998 after the band had started living in Glasgow. Lightbody was then working 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 getting 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.

The band began 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 46

regular visits and letters from them when on tour. After the failure of the second album, the band began to realise that the label’s lax attitude towards management and record promotion, qualities that had initially attracted the band to Jeepster, was likely holding them back. 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 coloured splitter bus in which the band used to travel to play concerts.

Jeepster dropped Snow Patrol in 2001 a decision that was criticised by Hot Press magazine as brainless. 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 47

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 to make space for the band to play, something that Gary would later joke about whilst performing at a sold out Wembley Arena. Quinn calls the show “horrendous”.

Desperate for attention, the band raised £200 to nominate themselves for a Mercury Prize, but failed to get shortlisted.

TRACK LISTING ORIGINAL ALBUM 1.

“Downhill from here”.

2.

“Starfighter pilot”.

3.

“The last shot ringing in my ears”.

4.

“Absolute gravity”.

5.

“Get balsamic vinegar... quick you fool”.

6. “Mahogany”.

7. “NYC”.

8.

“Little hide”.

9.

“Make up”.

10.

“Velocity girl”.

11.

“Days without paracetamol”.

12.

“Fifteen minutes old”.

13.

“Favourite friend”.

14.

“One hundred things you should have done in bed”.

RELEASE 2006 1.

“Downhill From Here”.

2.

“Starfighter Pilot”.

3.

“The Last Shot Ringing in My Ears”.

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4.

“Absolute Gravity”.

5.

“Get Balsamic Vinegar... Quick You Fool”.

6. “Mahogany”.

7. “NYC”.

8.

“Little Hide”.

9.

“Make Up”.

10.

“Velocity Girl”.

11.

“Days Without Paracetamol”.

12.

“Fifteen Minutes Old”.

13.

“Favourite Friend”.

14.

“One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in

Bed/ Marketplace”.

15.

“Sticky Teenage Twin”.

16.

“Limited Edition”.

17. “Jj”.

18.

“My Last Girlfriend”.

19. “T.M.T.”.

20. “I Could Stay Away Forever”.

21.

“When You’re Right, You’re Right (Darth Vader Bringing In His

Washing Mix)”.

22.

“Raze The City”.

23.

“Riot Please”.

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2nd DISC WHEN IT’S ALL OVER WE STILL HAVE TO CLEAR UP Is the second album by the indie rock band Snow Patrol, released on 24 April 2001 in the UK and 5 March in the US. The album charted at N° 129 in the UK and failed to sell well upon its initial release. But its re-release saw it eventually go gold in the UK. It was the first album to feature drummer Jonny Quinn.

BACKGROUND The album was to be titled Santa Maria, and by June 2000, newer material like “Chased By... I Don’t Know What”, “Black and Blue” and “One Night is Not Enough” was making its way into live performances. However, the album’s release was held over for six months. Gary Lightbody used this time to write more songs. “Run”, “Chocolate” and “Spitting Games” were written during this period, and later appeared on the next album Final Straw. On the tour following the release in March 2001, the band introduced “Run” to their audience, who received it very positively. In Lightbody’s words: “I remember people’s jaws dropping, and the applause going on for longer than any of our other songs.

TRACK LISTING All lyrics written by Gary Lightbody, all music composed by Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland and Jonny Quinn.

1.

“Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” 2.

“Ask Me How I Am” 3.

“Making Enemies” 52

4.

“Black and Blue” 5.

“Last Ever Lone Gunman” 6.

“If I’d Found the Right Words to Say” 7.

“Batten Down the Hatch” 8.

“One Night Is Not Enough” 9.

“Chased by... I Don’t Know What” 10. “On/Off 11.

“An Olive Grove Facing the Sea” 12.

“When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up” 13.

“Make Love to Me Forever” 14. “Firelight” BONUS TRACKS ON 2006 RE-RELEASE No. Title Length 15.

“In Command of Cars” 3.59 16.

“Talk to the Trees” 1:57 17.

“Monkey Mobe” 1:16 18.

“Workwear Shop” 2:25 19.

“Ask Me How I Am (Video)” 2:44 All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from “When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up”.

”

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3rd DISC FINAL STRAW In 2002, the band started to be managed and published by Jazz Summers of Big Life.

Nathan Connolly was asked to join the band in 2002.

Guitarist Nathan Connolly, previously a member of the band File Under Easy Listening 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.

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. Chancellor introduced them to producerJacknife 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.

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 56

“Run” (which debuted at No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart), gave the band their first taste of mainstream success. The record peaked at No. 3 in the UK Albums Chart. 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.

BACKGROUND The band’s A&R representative Jim Chancellor explained the reasons for choosing rock producer Jacknife Lee to oversee the record by saying, “I wanted a record for them that was bigger and bolder and a lot different than their previous records. I wanted them to make a more of a rock album than an indie record.” Chancellor, Lee and the band chose fifteen songs to start working on out of 57

an original pool of 24 Critical to the new direction was Lightbody’s development into a more rounded songwriter. “They played us some songs which were not indie. There were a couple of pop songs and then ‘Run’, which is an enormous emotional rollercoaster of a track,” said Chancellor.

RECORDING AND COMPOSITION During the first couple of weeks in the studio the band found it quite difficult to adapt from an ‘indie’-orientated sound to a more commercially viable pop rock sound. Producer Lee offered constructive suggestions about how to both simplify their songs and augment them with other sounds such as strings, and Snow Patrol proved very receptive his advice. According to Chancellor, “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.’”

The lyrics, all written by Lightbody are about failing relationships and break-ups. They were inspired by his personal experiences. Quinn, his longtime friend, says that he knows who Lightbody sings about in those songs. The lyrics deal with the themes of relationships and politics. Lightbody has said that his “finally learning to write a chorus” was the key to the album’s success.

Guitarist Nathan Connolly joined the band during the recording sessions. He did not contribute much, as the whole album had already been demoed. He commented that he found it easy to start writing and sharing his ideas with the rest of the band, as he had a good relationship with the band before being a member. The album’s music incorporates distorted guitar, feedback styles, and the vocals are gritty. The band’s sound on the album was described as 58

being a “cross between the sullen folk of Nick Drake and the more punchy rock moments of Simple Minds and the Pixies. Reviewing the album, Pitchfork described the performances as being based around “rigid, unwavering tempos that approximate dance music,” created through looped sections of playing augmented with electronics. The first song, How To Be Dead, introduces this sound with extensive use of drum machine programming.

RELEASE A limited 20,000 copies of the album were pressed and released, all eventually selling by word of mouth. The album was later re-issued.

TRACK LISTING All lyrics written by Gary Lightbody, all music composed by Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland, Nathan Connolly and Jonny Quinnexcept where noted.

1.

“How to Be Dead” 2. “Wow” 3.

“Gleaming Auction” 4.

“Whatever’s Left” 5.

“Spitting Games” 6. “Chocolate” 7.

“Run” (Iain Archer, Lightbody, McClelland, Connolly, Quinn) 8.

“Grazed Knees” 9.

“Ways & Means” (Archer, Lightbody, McClelland,

Connolly, Quinn) 10.

“Tiny Little Fractures” 2:28 11.

“Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking” (Archer, Lightbody, 59

McClelland, Connolly, Quinn) 12. “Same” UK RE-RELEASE BONUS TRACKS 13.

“We Can Run Away Now They’re All Dead and Gone” 14.

“Half the Fun” iTUNES BONUS TRACKS 13.

“Post Punk Progression” 14. “Steal” DualDISC VERSION BONUS MATERIAL 13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

•

•

“Chocolate” (video) “Run” (video) “Spitting Games” (video) “Sessions AOL: Interview” “Sessions AOL: Run” 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.

ALBUM IN POPULAR CULTURE •

•

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The song “Wow” is featured the PlayStation 2 game Gran Turismo 4.

The song “Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking” is featured in “17 Seconds”, an episode from season 2 of Grey’s Anatomy, “The Man on the Fairway”, an episode from season 1 of Bones and the feature trailer for I Am Number Four.

•

•

• •

•

•

•

•

•

•

“How to Be Dead” was featured on the soundtracks to American Pie Presents: Band Camp and Wicker Park.

“How to Be Dead” was featured in episode 10 of the second season of One Tree Hill.

“Chocolate” was featured in The Last Kiss starring Zach Braff.

The song “Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking” was used as the background music for the video highlights package of the WrestleMania XXV match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, as shown on ECW on 1 September 2009.

“Spitting Games” was featured in the EA Sports game MVP Baseball 2004. It was also featured in a Liverpool FC foot ball game in 2005 and on the BBC Wales TV series Torchwood in 2006.

“Spitting Games” was featured in episode 19 of the first season of One Tree Hill.

“Run” was featured in the soundtrack of the film Charlie St. Cloud, starring Zac Efron. The song was also featured in the season one premiere of Jericho, and in the season one finales of One Tree Hill and Mad Dogs.

“Run” was mentioned in the second book of the Internet Girls series, written by Lauren Myracle. In the book TTFN, the character Angela Silver states that it is her new favorite song in the first few pages.

“Run” was featured in a 2012 episode of the NBC TV series “Smash”, being performed by Katharine McPhee.

“Tiny Little Fractures” was featured in episode 16 of the first season of One Tree Hill.

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4th DISC EYES OPEN Eyes Open is the fourth studio album by British alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released in the UK on 1 May 2006, and 9 May 2006 in the US. It was the band’s first album without bassist Mark McClelland and the first to feature bassist Paul Wilson and keyboardist Tom Simpson. Recording for the album took place between October and December 2005 at Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland, The Garage in Kent, and The Garden and Angel Studios, both in London.

• Six singles were released from the album, including top 10 hits “You’re All I Have” and “Chasing Cars”, the latter of which came to worldwide attention when it was featured during the season 2 finale of the American medical drama Grey’s Anatomy. It went on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide and has spent a total of 166 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, more than any other song in history.

• Eyes Open was the best-selling album of 2006 in the UK, selling 1.5 million copies and 6 million worldwide. It was also the 15th best-selling album of the 2000s.

Snow Patrol’s primary aim for a fourth album was to create a better one than the previous,Final Straw. They felt the need to become better players of their respective instruments as they thought they had “barely away” with the success of the last album.

Subsequently, keyboardist Tom Simpson and drummer Jonny Quinn took classical piano and drum lessons respectively, during the recording of the album.

The band visited Dingle, on Ireland’s west coast and started writing new material. They stayed in a small house, described by Simpson 64

as a “little round house overlooking the sea”. They then did some recording in a studio. The main recording sessions, though, happened in an old “condemned” studio in Westmeath, located in the central part of the country. Simpson found the place to be “laid-back” and “almost like a holiday home”. The location was in a secluded area, quite distant from any civilization, with animals running around.

This helped the band concentrate well without much distraction.

The band stayed there for six weeks. Simpson felt the reason why producer Jacknife Lee was taking the band to different places was because he did not want them to get too comfortable with the surroundings. The songs were generally not written as a whole, but the band wrote them as they “came”. The writing process thus varied for each song; instead of spending excess time on one and overworking themselves, the band chose to work on another, often revisiting the song later. The band was also constantly changing song arrangements. Due to this, they found they had gotten a much clearer idea of which songs they would ultimately polish to possibly make the album. Simpson noted that the band had much more time to write and record this time, a luxury they had not enjoyed previously.

Inspiration for writing came from the band’s record collections, musical tastes and influences. The band, fans of The Posies, met Ken Stringfellow at a couple of festivals they attended, and asked him if he wanted to get involved. He accepted, and visited the studio for a day, contributing piano. The band had been listening to Martha Wainwright’sBloody Mother Fucking Asshole during the sessions and were fans of it. Towards the end of the recording sessions, Lightbody wrote a duet with her in mind, hoping to get her to sing it. She liked the song and agreed to record it. Eugene Kelly and a 65

few members from The Reindeer Section also appear as choir in various songs throughout the album. Simpson credited Lee for being supportive of the band, and at the same time critical, when necessary. Each band member used to come to him for opinion on work they were doing. Morale during the sessions was high, with the band feeling a sense of togetherness seeing the hard work everyone was doing.

The album is the first without founding bassist Mark McClelland and represents a step forward for the band. Simpson feels that the album is more confident that its predecessor, as the band pushed themselves more than ever before during its sessions, and had a better understanding of music. According to him, the album title does not mean anything specific and that it can have its own meaning to different people. Bassist Paul Wilson says that it came from the titles of songs they had written, citing “Open Your Eyes” as an example

APPEARANCES IN OTHER MEDIA The album’s third track, “Chasing Cars”, was featured on the second season finale of the ABC prime time hit drama Grey’s Anatomy on 15 May 2006. A Grey’s Anatomy-themed video of the song can be seen at the ABC website. The seventh track, “Make This Go On Forever”, was later used in the third season of Grey’s Anatomy, at the end of the episode entitled “Walk on Water”.

The album’s tenth track, entitled “Open Your Eyes,” was used in the season 4 finale of CBS’s Cold Case and in the season 12 finale of ER, also appeared in an episode of The Black Donnellys and also in the second episode of the third season of Grey’s Anatomy.

The sixth track, “You Could Be Happy”, was used at the beginning 66

the episode “Promise” of Smallville’s sixth season, as well as in advertisements for Australian soap Neighbours. The single was also used in Doctor Who: Top 5 Christmas Moments and the penultimate episode of Season 2 of BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

The first track, “You’re All I Have”, appears on the soundtrack of the teen film The Invisible.

In 2007, “Open Your Eyes” was used as the “Best Bits” song for Celebrity Big Brother 5 during the final watched by over 7 million viewers, the year of the race row.

In 2013, “Open Your Eyes” was heard in the penultimate episode of the hit NBC comedy The Office 9th season and the series. In it, Jim Halpert asks the documentary crew to make a video to prove his love for his wife, Pam Halpert, consisting of footage of their relationship throughout the entire series, during which the song plays.

RELEASE Eyes Open was made available in two formats: • Standard CD – with two UK bonus tracks • Special edition – in a deluxe box, with the full album plus a DVD featuring footage shot over the past months, including the band’s tour with U2, special gigs and the making of the new record.

Additionally contained exclusive photos and other content.

The artwork for the album and the first single “You’re All I Have” was designed by Mat Maitland of Big Active. It was revealed by Hot Press magazine on 16 March 2006, which called it “arty”.

TRACK LISTING All lyrics written by Gary Lightbody, all music composed by Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Tom Simpson and Paul Wilson.

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STANDARD EDITION 1.

“You’re All I Have” 2.

“Hands Open” 3.

“Chasing Cars” (Gary Lightbody) 4.

“Shut Your Eyes” 5.

“It’s Beginning to Get to Me” 6.

“You Could Be Happy” 7.

“Make This Go On Forever” 8.

“Set the Fire to the Third Bar” (featuring Martha Wainwright) 9.

“Headlights on Dark Roads” 10.

“Open Your Eyes” 11.

“The Finish Line” BONUS TRACKS 12.

“-” 13.

“In My Arms” 14.

“Warmer Climate” 15.

“The Only Noise” 16.

“Perfect Little Secret” • The untitled twelfth track is a recording of background noise

and one of Jacknife Lee’s young children talking.

• “Perfect Little Secret” is a solo recording from

Gary Lightbody.

CRITICAL RECEPTION Eyes Open received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based 25 reviews, indicating “generally favourable reviews”.

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COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE The album hit number one in its 11th week on the New Zealand chart and reached 2nd Platinum therefore shipping over 30,000 units.

It also reached 11th in the ARIA Albums Chart, and was certified 3rd Platinum on 8 January 2007 (for 210,000more units shipped).

On 26 November 2006, it became the UK’s best-selling album of 2006, selling over 1.5 million copies at the end of the year, with a cumulative total of 1.8 million. Furthermore, it peaked at 11th in the Irish Albums Chart, where it went 7th Platinum. In total, the album has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.

The album sold 36,191 units in its debut week throughout the U.S., substantially improving from their first week sales of Final Straw. U.S. sales have totaled over 1,200,000 as of October 2008. In the UK, the album has sold over 2,333,000 copies, being certified 7th Platinum by the BPI.

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5th DISC A HUNDRED MILLION SUNS A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by longtime 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 Studios in Berlin and Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland. The album was released in Ireland on 24 October 2008, on 25 October in Australia, on 27 October in the United Kingdom and the rest ofEurope and in the US on 28 October.

RECORDING AND PRODUCTION “There were so many lines with big penstrokes through in my notebook.”

—Gary Lightbody, on how distressing the songwriting sessions were

The band wanted to make an album more quickly than they had done the last time. By the time Snow Patrol ended their Eyes Open Tour, Lightbody had approximately 220 songs written on GarageBand. During the recording process, the band narrowed them down to approximately 30 songs, of which about 20 were eventually recorded. Apart from Lightbody, Nathan Connolly and Paul Wilson too had written songs. The band listened to albums from artists like Fleet Foxes, Wolf Parade and Sigur Rós during the process.

In an interview after the Eyes Open Tour, it became known that the band wished to record their next studio album amidst “sun-drenched” 72

surroundings. Band members Quinn and Simpson mentioned Hawaii and Brazil as possible locations. The album was finally recorded in two studios, Hansa Studios in Berlin and Grouse Lodge Studio in County Westmeath, Ireland through the Summer of 2008, with producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee. The album was a departure from Snow Patrol’s earlier productions. Lightbody said he wanted to make a record cheerful as compared to their previous albums. Instead of describing a relationship’s end, the record was written in perspective of a relationship that is working. The band members took additional lessons before starting the recording. They have described the album as their best to date. Lightbody commented that he encountered a writer’s block while writing the album. He further explained: On previous albums, his focus was on his past mistakes, though this time he had forced himself to write about being in love without sounding clichéd. The lyrics did not come naturally to him, and although the songwriting sessions were distressing, he has said the lyrics were “honest”. The recording sessions were hampered by bats invading the studio at dusk, when they’d fly around constantly outside the windows. Lightbody said that he once found one in his room.

RELEASE The album title was revealed by drummer Jonny Quinn in an interview to The Belfast Telegraph, and was initially reported as “One Hundred Million Suns”. Lightbody later confirmed the title as “A Hundred Million Suns” on the band’s official website, and noted that the newspaper had gone on to print the title despite the band’s wish to reveal it themselves.

A Hundred Million Suns was made available in three different 73

formats, standard CD, LP Vinyl, digital download. There was also a deluxe version including a specially produced DVD directed by James Russell and full color book The first single taken from the album, “Take Back the City” premiered on Zane Lowe’s show on BBC Radio 1 on 1 September at 7:20 pm. The title of the album was revealed on 1 August 18th and the final track listing for the album was officially revealed on Snow Patrol’s website on 29 August. In early October, almost a month before the release of the album, exclusive listening parties were organized and fans were invited on a first come, first served basis. Three days before the album was officially released, the band’s website put up the whole album for online playback. A section featuring Gary Lightbody and his thoughts on the new songs was also put up. The album artwork was designed by Farrow Design. The use of handwriting on the album and single sleeves was the band’s idea.

Snow Patrol also teamed up with Apple Inc. and became the first band to have an interactive application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The free digital application enabled users to access extra content like lyrics, behind-the-scenes images and exclusive album related artwork.

RECEPTION A Hundred Million Suns received generally favorable reviews. The A.V. Club’s Chris Mincher called it sincere and effortless, and praised it for employing the use of various techniques, citing the use of glockenspiel, tap dancing and Mongolian folk. He said that the album was Snow Patrol’s “solid reminder” of “how simple it can be to make good music” and praised the album, calling it the band’s most genuine and biggest yet. He called the guitar hooks “swelling” 74

and “urgent” and called the choruses “compelling” and “soaring”. He had praise for songs like “Lifeboats”, which he called “coolly slick”, he praised the “guitar-buzzing pump” of “Engines”. He mentioned “The Golden Floor”, which employs fingerpicking and “a scratchy persuasive thump”; he praised Lightbody vocals, calling them “restrained” and “seeping”. Though he felt the songs weren’t arena rock, the band’s “sincerity and effortless songwriting” would make them work individually as well as in stadiums. He still felt that critics blasting the band were likely to do the same to A Hundred Million Suns, though he felt “novel” that the album retained the band’s passion they’ve always had. PopMatters’ Ross Langager, who gave the album a rating of 9 out of 10 defended the band on the comparisons made with Coldplay, saying that the band are more focused. He compared Lightbody and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, saying Lightbody’s lyrics are “finely-observed”, whereas Martin prefers “scrubbed-up existential clichés”. He further praised Lightbody, calling him a romantic, calling his words “sturdily poetic and subtly evocative”. He felt credit was due to the band for avoiding the formula of “Run” and “Chasing Cars” on A Hundred Million Suns. He credited producer Jacknife Lee with improving and expanding the band’s sound. He had much praise for the songs, saying the “highlights keep flowing into each other”. He called “The Planets Bend Between Us” the “Chasing Cars” moment of the album, and wrote that it perfectly captured separation by an ocean. The album’s closer, the sixteen-minute “The Lightning Strike” was compared with the “grand climax” of “Open Your Eyes” on the last album Eyes Open.

Pitchfork Media’s Joshua Love derided the band’s music (on previous albums Final Straw and Eyes Open) as “soaring sissy-rock” and said it came easy to them. He felt if A Hundred Million Suns had any hits, 75

they’re within the first eight minutes; he praised the opener “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me to It” saying it captured the band at their best.

However, he found some of Lightbody’s lyrics “cringe-worthy”. The album, which contains many metaphors referencing planets and cosmology, was slammed by him as “bullshit”. He further said the band’s other efforts on the album, like “The Golden Floor”, “Engines”, “Set Down Your Glass” and “Take Back the City” fail to “strut”, something they appear wanting to do. He finally wrote that the album sounded as if the band was “striving to be taken more seriously”, which they did in “simply stringing together three ponderous, already-overlong songs and calling the impenetrable result a 16-minute stand-alone epic (“The Lightning Strike”)”. He felt the band wasn’t talented enough to give justice to more “artful ambitions” like “The Lightning Strike”. He graded the album 4.9 out of 10. Paste Magazine’s Austin Ray was not pleased with the album, and called it “A Hundred Million Yawns”.

He found that listening to Lightbody’s voice was a reminder that it was the unavoidable time to hear the band’s “new batch of soundtrackable mush”. He called the band “bubonic plague of alt. rock, omnipresent and poisonous”, though he clarified that he had nothing personal against the band members. He found the album sleep-inducing, and cited the lyrics ‘I wanna bathe you in the light of day/and just watch you as the rays/tangle up around your face and body… the daylight seems to want you/just as much as I want you’ as such. He felt that the sentiment felt like it had originated in a junior-high diary and was never used. According to review aggregator website Metacritic, the album has received an average critic score of 67/100, which translates to “generally f avorable reviews”.

A Hundred Million Suns was a moderate chart success. It charted 76

in 12 different countries and stayed in the charts for a total of 165 weeks. However, compared to the previous albums Eyes Open and Final Straw, it was the least successful commercially, staying the least amount of weeks on chart. The album debuted at N°2 in the UK with sales of 100,330. It narrowly missed reaching the top spot, being beaten by Pink’s album Funhouse. It, however topped the Irish Charts, staying there for 2 weeks. The album reached the Top 10 in a further five countries. The interactive iPhone application was well received, and was downloaded more than 30,000 times in its first week. The album has been certified Gold in Australia, Platinum in the UK and 3rd Platinum in Ireland.

The track ‘What if This Storm Ends?’ was used as a single for the band’s 2013 Greatest hits album.

TAKING BACK THE CITIES TOUR On 3 October, Snow Patrol announced their “Take Back the Cities Tour”. The band played in four capital cities in a 48-hour period. The tour began on 26 October at Gate Theatre in Dublin and ended next day in Bloomsbury Theatre in London. The band also played a small acoustic set in their living room as a part of Jo Whiley’s Live Lounge on tour on 23 September. The band appeared on Later... with Jools Holland, performing “Take Back the City”, “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me to It”, and “What If This Storm Ends?”.

The band next headlined a major UK and Ireland tour in the early 2009. The tour kicked off in Bournemouth on 22 February and commenced in Belfast on 20 March. Numerous support acts hand-picked by the band became opening acts to these shows.

In November, the band visited Australia to headline the V Festival.

The band then visited South Africa to headline the Coca-Cola Zero 77

Festival. The band is now in Europe to begin a European leg of the tour which will see the band visit countries like Sweden, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and France. Snow Patrol also supported Coldplay on their Viva la Vida Tour in June and U2 on their U2 360° Tour in July. The band is to start a headlining tour in September, which will see them visit various music venues in North America.

TRACK LISTING All lyrics written by Gary Lightbody, all music composed by Snow Patrol.

1.

“If There’s a Rocket Tie Me to It” 2.

“Crack the Shutters” 3.

“Take Back the City” 4.

“Lifeboats” 5.

“The Golden Floor” 6.

“Please Just Take These Photos from My Hands” 7.

“Set Down Your Glass” 8.

“The Planets Bend Between Us” 9.

“Engines” 10.

“Disaster Button”

11.

“The Lightning Strike

I. What If This Storm Ends?

II. The Sunlight Through the Flags

III. Daybreak”

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6th DISC 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.

The album was released in early November 2009, primarily as a two-disc set and a three-disc digipak format containing one DVD of bonus material. A limited edition heavyweight box was also sold.

Three new songs were released on the album. One of these was “Just Say Yes”, the lead single taken from the compilation. The solo re-recording of “An Olive Grove Facing the Sea” was released as the album’s second single. In Netherlands, Belgium and Finland “Run” was re-released in a version called “Run (2010 Version)” in January 2010.

The release has been described by the band as a collection of the band’s best loved songs, and not a greatest hits, as the album also contains non-singles. It was received favorably by music critics for not being a typical hits record. The album performed well commercially, reaching the top 5 in three countries and the top 40 in another. It also sold well on the iTunes Store, making the top 10 selling albums lists in various countries.

BACKGROUND The album marks the band’s 15 year music career. It is a reminder to newer fans that the band had made two albums before Final Straw, and achieving any commercial success. In line with the 15 years they have been recording, the album features 2 CDs with 82

15 songs on each, with 3 brand new tracks. The band felt it was a good time for such a release as their newer material was heading towards new, unexplored musical styles.

To come up with a track list for the album, each member compiled one individually, initially coming up with almost the same song selections. According to guitarist Nathan Connolly, the only differences in opinion on song selections among the band members arose on songs from the earliest albums. Forty songs were initially selected, but they realized it wouldn’t be practically possible to include all of them. They were whittled down to thirty, some reluctantly. One of these was “Make This Go on Forever”. Vocalist Gary Lightbody explained that they did it as to evenly represent all their albums. The final chosen songs are from all five studio albums, past b-sides and rarities, apart from three new recordings. They also felt the song selection should draw all sorts of fans; those who’ve supported from the start and those who might be hearing about the band for the first time, which was the reason for comparatively less representation of songs from the early albums. Commenting on fans’ arguments about leaving singles “How to Be Dead” and “One Night is Not Enough” off the album, Lightbody said that they couldn’t please everyone. Drummer Jonny Quinn remembers enjoying the selection process as he went back to listen their older songs he hadn’t heard for long.

“Calling it a greatest hits album would be a bit grandiose.”

—Gary Lightbody

Their record label was originally going to call the album a Greatest hits, however, the band contested that they hadn’t had that many hits. They went on to suggest a Best of, before realizing it was along 83

the same lines. Lightbody has made it clear that the album isn’t a greatest hits record, and has expressed his dislike for such. According to him, the compilation is a way to leave the last 15 years behind, and looking forward to 15 years in the future. The album’s title, Up to Now was specifically chosen to indicate the band has more to offer in the future, and that it wasn’t a way of saying goodbye.

The band believes that the album signifies a portrait of the band, who they are, “warts and all”. Lightbody said it represents the band making a statement, explaining: “We’ve climbed a hill and now we’re looking back and taking in the view for a bit. It’s nice to show people that we didn’t just arrive overnight”. The artwork for the album was revealed on 25 September 2009.

PROMOTION To promote the album, a competition exclusive for members on the Snow Patrol mailing list was held. Fans wishing to enter the competition had to sign up and answer a question. The competition closed on 9 October 2009 and its winner received a drum skin, signed by all members of the band, as well as a photograph proving its authenticity, taken on the band’s North American Tour of September–October 2009. On 16 October 2009, a competition called the “Up to Now Pub Quiz” was launched on Facebook. Fans were required to create teams of five, and were posed with ten questions each week, related to the band’s entire career. The team with the most correct answers at the end flew to London to see a Snow Patrol concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with a certain part of travel cost paid. The team was allotted their own private box at the venue, and got to meet the band afterward. citation needed. Along the same lines, a Swiss radio 84

station 20 Minuten hosted a similar competition for listeners. They had a pair of tickets for the concert for the Royal Albert Hall concert of 24 November to give away. All flight and hotel accommodation costs were paid for by the radio station. The band also played an intimate, acoustic show at King’s Head in Crouch End, London on 4 November. Tickets for this show could only be obtained via two competitions, one organized on Play.com and the other on the band’s official website. Both involved answering a simple question. On 8 November 2009, the band released a second application for the iPhone. An online application was also made, where users could manually create their own snowflakes.

SINGLES The lead single taken from the album was the new recording “Just Say Yes”, released first in the United States on 23 October 2009 via Amazon.com and iTunes. It was physically released on CD on 30 October and 2 November in Ireland and the United Kingdom respectively. The single was a hit in the Netherlands, topping the Top 40chart. The second single, “An Olive Grove Facing the Sea” (2009 Version) was only released digitally on iTunes on 4 December 2009. It was also given away as a freebie for a day on the 1st day (26 December 2009) of iTunes’ 12 Days of Christmas.

In Belgium and The Netherlands the song “Run” was released on 25 January 2010 as the 2nd single of Up to Now. In The Netherlands the song was Alarmschijf on Radio538 in week 6 of 2010. The song entered the Dutch Top 40 on 26 February 2010 and moved up to the number one position on that chart. That makes it the 5th Snow Patrol song on that hit that chart and the first number one hit in The Netherlands. In Belgium, Wallonia, the song was on the Top 85

30 of the Ultratop 50, but in Flanders, Just say Yes peaked at number 6 in the Ultratop 50.

RELEASE The album was made available in three formats: • Standard – Two CDs featuring thirty tracks.

• Digipak – Two CDs, and a DVD containing documentaries and live footage.

• Box set – Limited edition heavyweight box, numbered and wrapped in cloth. Contains three CDs, three heavyweight LPs, two DVDs, a lithograph print by Bradley Quinn and an LP sized booklet.

The additional DVD in the digipak format contains the animated film for “The Lightning Strike” and previously unseen live footage. The box-set went on pre-order on 11 September 2009 and was priced at £49.99. The first 100 sold boxes were individually numbered and signed by all band members. The DVDs have no region restrictions, and can be played in any part of the world. The album contained three new songs: “Just Say Yes”, “Give Me Strength” and “Dark Roman Wine”. Additionally, a solo rendition of “An Olive Grove Facing the Sea”, performed by Gary Lightbody was also released through the album. Also featured is the cover of Beyoncé Knowles’ “Crazy in Love”, which became a hit in the hip hop community.

Lightbody felt it would be one of the most sought-after songs on the collection.

“This song is about the guys in the band. Ten of our 15 years were shit. They were fun, but we didn’t sell any records, so this is me saying thank you. Soppy, isn’t it?”

—Gary Lightbody, on “Give Me Strength”

Lightbody is pleased with “Give Me Strength” and has named it probably his most favorite song by the band. The song is about everyone who’s “been there”, his love for his band mates, 86

especially Jonny Quinn, whom he considers his big brother. He has said that it was “long overdue”. The song is lyrically similar to “Weather to Fly” by Elbow. Lightbody is a huge fan of the band and is “head-over-heels in love” with them. He has credited the band for being the reason for “most of the things he does” and does not deny that he may have subconsciously based “Give Me Strength” on “Weather to Fly”,

RECEPTION Critical reception towards Up to Now was “generally favorable” according to the review collecting site Metacritic, where it holds a score of 62. IndieLondon’s Jack Foley gave it a 4.5/5 rating, and found it “classy”. He praised it for not being a generic compilation album, noting the inclusion of the band’s lesser known songs. He praised the band’s willingness to tread unfamiliar territory (with “Just Say Yes”) and found the synth a “nice touch”. Rolling Stone reviewer Jon Dolan found the set “claustrophobic” and awarded it three stars out of five. Allmusic’s Andrew Leahey gave the album a positive review, and also gave it three stars. He felt it indicated the band’s growth over the years. He found the new song “Give Me Strength” as one of the best songs the band has written in years. The Border Mail gave it 4 out of 5 and found the set “expansive”. Drowned in Sound called “An Olive Grove Facing the Sea” a classic and named it the song to be played to Snow Patrol detractors. Stuff.co.nz gave it 4 stars out of 5. Reviewer Kris Hall said that the album looked like a “shameless cash grab” at the first look, but turns out to be different.

He noted that the diverse material meant that there was something for everyone. He also said wrote the live renditions of “Run” and “Chasing Cars” were not be missed. However, Scottish magazine The 87

List in a negative review said that it was still a typical greatest hits album. In Pitchfork Media’s mixed review, Tom Breihan wrote that the album was too long and “overstuffed”. The inclusion of “Crazy in Love” was praised in most reviews, and was seen as an indication of the band’s lighter, fun side. However, in Pitchfork’s review, it was called “limp” and “unfunny”. Hot Press’ Peter Murphy wrote he would have liked to see the duet “Some Surprise” included On national record charts, it peaked at N°5 in the Netherlands and Ireland. In the UK, it peaked at. It also reached the top 40 in Switzerland, peaking at.

SUPPORTING TOUR The band “looked back” by playing a special tour, called the Reworked Tour. It saw the band play “reworked” versions of songs that spanned their full career, including songs from side-project The Reindeer Section. The songs were reconstructed using strings, brass and choir. The band visited a south London studio to rehearse the reworked songs. Touring began in mid-November, and continued till early December. The band played without any support act. They took the stage twice between an interval, accompanied by 11 special musical guests, including Iain Archer, members of Belle & Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub and Idlewild.

TRACK LISTINGS DISC 1 1.

“Chocolate (originally from Final Straw)” 2.

“Chasing Cars (originally from Eyes Open)” 3.

“Crack the Shutters (originally from A Hundred Million Suns)” 4.

“Set the Fire to the Third Bar (originally from Eyes Open) 88

”(featuring Martha Wainwright) 5.

“Crazy in Love” 6.

“Just Say Yes” 7.

“Batten Down the Hatch (originally from When It’s All Over

We Still Have to Clear Up)” 8.

“You’re All I Have (originally from Eyes Open)” 9.

“Hands Open (originally from Eyes Open)” 10.

“Cartwheels (originally from Son of Evil Reindeer)” 11.

“The Planets Bend Between Us (originally from A Hundred

Million Suns)” 12.

“Ask Me How I Am (originally from When It’s All Over We Still

Have to Clear Up)” 13.

“On/Off (originally from When It’s All Over We Still Have to

Clear Up)” 14.

“Making Enemies (originally from When It’s All Over We Still

Have to Clear Up)” 15.

“Run (original version from Final Straw)” (Mencap Little Noise

Sessions, Live at the Union Chapel) DISC 2 1.

“Take Back the City (originally from A Hundred Million Suns)” 2.

“Shut Your Eyes (originally from Eyes Open)” 3.

“An Olive Grove Facing the Sea (original version from When

It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up)” (2009 Version) 4.

“Run (originally from Final Straw)” 5.

“Give Me Strength” 6.

“Signal Fire (originally from Spider-Man 3 (soundtrack))” 7.

“Spitting Games (originally from Final Straw)” 8.

“Open Your Eyes (originally from Eyes Open)” 89

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7th DISC FALLEN EMPIRES Fallen Empires is the sixth studio album by Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol. The album was released on 11 November 2011 (10 January 2012 in North America). The album became the first to feature guitarist Johnny McDaid, who joined during the recording and last to feature keyboardist Tom Simpson, who would later depart the band in 2013. It is also the only album by the band as a six-piece.

Background and development When asked about the writing process for the album, Gary Lightbody commented by saying “It’s the longest album we’ve ever made by far but also the best. We took our time and I also had some bouts of writer’s block. It’s the first time it’s happened for such a long time. I’ve had days when I haven’t been able to write. Since 2009, I’ve gone through three writer’s blocks but I’m glad because the results are great afterwards. They probably made me write better songs. Snow Patrol planned a “Fallen Empires tour” in 2012 with the first date being at the O2 in Dublin. The song “New York” can be heard at the end of “Suddenly” (Season 8 Episode 10) ofGrey’s Anatomy.. The song is also played in “After School Special” (Season 4 Episode 10) of The Vampire Diaries.

SINGLES • “Called Out in the Dark” was released as the first single from the album on 2 September 2011 in the UK as an EP. A video was released for the song before its release date on 17 August 2011.

• “This Isn’t Everything You Are” was announced as the second single from the album on Snow Patrol’s official site. It was released on 14 92

October 2011.

• “New York” was the third single from the album released in America on 20 December 2011.

• “In the End” was released as the fourth single on 13 February.

• “Lifening” was the fifth single and was released on 5 July.

RECEPTION CRITICAL RECEPTION Fallen Empires received mixed reviews from critics. According to the website Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average review score of 58/100, based on 25 reviews, which indicates “mixed or average reviews”.

James Christopher Monger wrote a favorable review for Allmusic, stating that the album “establishes an expansive vista of sound early on, bathing fairly simple melodies in waves of fastidious loops and sparse percussion. Mike Haydock wrote a positive review for BBC Music, analysing that “Best of all are the moments when Snow Patrol blend the two approaches together, combining their own aesthetic with an Achtung Baby adoration. Entertainment Weekly’s Melissa Maerz wrote that “For all the sentiment, it’s the simplest stuff that rings true. The New York Times’s Nate Chinen praised the songwriting, saying that “What makes this all feel reasonably unforced is the abiding earnestness in the songwriting. The A.V. Club wrote that the album “it’s comforting at worst and occasionally fantastic.

Dave Simpson wrote an average review, saying that “Although the variation in styles doesn’t make for the most cohesive album, the default mood is still downbeat but anthemic--songs for couples to cling tightly to one another while raising mobiles in the air. WhileNow 93

Magazine found out that “In the first few songs they stretch themselves creatively and come up with promising results, but halfway through it’s back to overwrought ballads and middle-ofthe-road mid-tempo rock songs. A mixed review came fromRolling Stone’s Stacey Anderson, who wrote that “Snow Patrol fall back to the blandly inoffensive safe zone--though at least they sound a little brighter. Pitchfork Media thought that “the results are goofy. The Daily Telegraph criticized the album for “sticking too rigidly to the formula.

COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE In 2011, Fallen Empires sold 269,000 copies in the UK. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 31,000 copies. It became the band’s highest debut on the Billboard chart and the second album to reach the top-ten.

TRACK LISTING The track list for Fallen Empires is as follows.

All lyrics written by Gary Lightbody, all music composed by Snow Patrol, except “New York” by Lightbody and Johnny McDaid.

1.

“I’ll Never Let Go” 2.

“Called Out in the Dark” 3.

“The Weight of Love” 4.

“This Isn’t Everything You Are” 5.

“The Garden Rules” 6.

“Fallen Empires” 7.

“Berlin” 8. “Lifening” 9.

“New York” 94

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

“In the End” “Those Distant Bells” “The Symphony” “The President” “Broken Bottles Form a Star (Prelude)”

There was also a special digipak version of the album showing highlights of the band playing live at the Royal Albert Hall on the 25th of November 2009 on their ‘Reworked’ tour. The track listing is as follows: FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS: 1.

“Finish Line” 2.

“An Olive Grove Facing the Sea” 3.

“Give Me Strength” 4.

“You Could Be Happy” 5.

“Take Back the City” SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS: 1.

“Dark Roman Wine” 2.

“Spitting Games” 3.

“Run” 4.

“Lifeboats” 5.

“The Planets Bend Between Us” 6.

“Chasing Cars”

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SONG LYRICS

CHASING CARS We’ll do it all Everything On our own We don’t need Anything Or anyone If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me And just forget the world?

I don’t quite know How to say How I feel Those three words Are said too much They’re not enough If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me And just forget the world?

Forget what we’re told Before we get too old Show me a garden That’s bursting into life Let’s waste time Chasing cars

Around our heads1 I need your grace To remind me To find my own If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me And just forget the world?

Forget what we’re told Before we get too old Show me a garden That’s bursting into life All that I am All that I ever was Is here in your perfect eyes They’re all I can see I don’t know where Confused about how as well Just know that these things Will never change for us at all If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me And just forget the world?

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LIFEBOATS Hold on, hold on, let me get the words out before I burst There’s no truth at all, poking at the giant eyes of ancient gods Cool hats have failed, now it’s time for me to have my turn Kiss me, kiss me, life is far too short to scream and shout Flashed up in my wildest dreams, like red blood streams, stretch out like vast cracked ice The veins of you, the veins of me, like great forest trees Pushing through and on and in Gliding like a satellite in the broken night And when I wake you’re there I’m saved Your love is life piled tight and high set against the sky 98

That seems to balance on its own Sing out sing out the silence only eats us from the inside up I meant no harm but I only get to say these words too late Wake up wake up dreaming only leads to more and more nightmares Snap out of it you said it in a way that showed you really cared.

Send your lifeboats out for me, Send your lifeboat out Send your lifeboats out for me, Send your lifeboat out Send your lifeboats out for me, Send your lifeboat out Send your lifeboats out for me, Send your lifeboat out

RUN I’ll sing it one last time for you Then we really have to go You’ve been the only thing that’s right In all I’ve done And I can barely look at you But every single time I do I know we’ll make it anywhere Away from here Light up, light up As if you have a choice Even if you cannot hear my voice I’ll be right beside you dear Louder louder And we’ll run for our lives I can hardly speak I understand Why you can’t raise your voice to say To think I might not see those eyes Makes it so hard not to cry And as we say our long goodbye I nearly do Light up, light up

As if you have a choice Even if you cannot hear my voice I’ll be right beside you dear Louder louder And we’ll run for our lives I can hardly speak I understand Why you can’t raise your voice to say Slower slower We don’t have time for that All I want’s to find an easy way To get out of our little heads Have heart, my dear We’re bound to be afraid Even if it’s just for a few days Making up for all this mess Light up, light up As if you have a choice Even if you cannot hear my voice I’ll be right beside you dear

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Author: Diana Abarca González Designed by: Diana Abarca González Photographies: Snow Patrol© Official Website