Snow Patrol: The story of the 'Chasing Cars' hitmakers' career

Snow Patrol are one of the most enduring indie bands Britain has ever produced. They may have had a pretty huge hit with 'Chasing Cars', but the Irish-Scottish band have backed up that track with an impressive catalogue of albums.

Although Gary Lightbody, Jonny Quinn, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson and Johnny McDaid had a tough 2019 due to illnesses, they completed their 'Reworked' Tour, and were able to reach out to their fans in 2020 amid the Coronavirus pandemic - with the band performing at Absolute Radio’s Front Room Festival and Gary announcing a virtual covers gig.

What else did Snow Patrol do in lockdown?

Gary took to Instagram throughout lockdown, in 2020, for a live songwriting sessions with fans. Around 5,000 people joined the 'Saturday Songwrite', which has resulted in an EP called 'The Fireside Sessions', released in August 2020 - the proceeds of which go to Trussell Trust.

Gary told the Metro how it happened, explaining that contributors would suggest chords and lyrics, and he would put them together whilst adding a few of his own where needed, adding that he had an unwritten rule, "That there would be lyrics from a Saturday Songwriter in each line of the song."

He added that he'd been writing a lot throughout the time, and wanted to try writing live online somehow. Although he initially disregarded the idea, "the thought wouldn’t leave my head," so they decided to try it "with the caveat that it didn’t matter if we didn’t write a song". However, a song written on the first night is on the EP.

He explained, "It worked every time with 12 songs from 11 sessions. One night we wrote two songs. It was great. I didn’t think it would be as liberating as it was. One of the things I don’t always find as instinctive is writing the lyrics for songs — I usually start with the melody — but everyone else was doing that for me! They threw everything in and I just put the connective tissues to it to make it into one thing.

"I’ve written all of the Snow Patrol lyrics over the years so it has been quite unusual for me to collaborate - and with 5,000 people at that - but it was great. The themes reflected how we were all feeling during the pandemic, so there’s a lot of the horrifying and negative emotions of the time, but also a real feeling of hope, and everyone’s mind was focused in the same direction."

Who is in Snow Patrol?

The band is currently made up of lead singer Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar, piano), Nathan Connolly (guitar) and Johnny McDaid (keyboards, guitar).

In September 2023 Jonny Quinn (drums) and Paul Wilson (bass) announced their departure from the band. Quinn had been the second longest serving member of the band, having joined in 1997, whilst Wilson had been a member since 2005.

Former members include Mark McClelland on bass and keyboards from 1994 to 2005, Michael Morrison on drums 1994 to 1996 and Tom Simpson on keyboards and piano between 2005 and 2013. The band's touring musicians are Richard Colburn, Iain Archer, Colm MacAthlaoich, Miriam Kaufmann and Troy Stewart.

When did Snow Patrol form?

The band originally came together at the University of Dundee in 1994, when Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland and Michael Morrison began playing as students under the name Shrug.

How did Snow Patrol get their name?

After swapping from Shrug to Polar Bear to avoid any conflicts with American bands also using the name, they renamed the band to Snow Patrol in 1997 after discovering another band called Polar Bear. In keeping with the icy theme, the band chose the name after a friend jokingly referred to them as the Snow Patrol whilst they were still called Polar Bear.

Where do Snow Patrol come from?

The three current members are from Northern Ireland, with the band originally forming in Dundee, Scotland. Gary Lightbody is from Bangor, Nathan Connolly is from Belfast and Johnny McDaid is from Derry.

What is Snow Patrol's most popular song?

It's probably a toss-up between 'Chasing Cars' and 'Run', which had a new lease of life after The X Factor's Leona Lewis covered it in 2007, four years after the original release. But 'Chasing Cars' was crowned the most popular song of the 21st Century in July 2019, having had more radio plays than any other song according to music licensing company PPL.

When asked why he thought it was so popular, Gary said, "It's an emotionally open song and it's a simple song. But it's also unabashedly a love song, and we don't really have any others. The way it unifies an audience is the thing I most cherish about it. It's a beautiful moment every time you play it."

When did Snow Patrol release 'Chasing Cars'?

The track was released as the second single to the band's fourth album 'Eyes Open' in 2006.

What movie was Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars' in?

It has appeared in plenty of TV shows and films over the years, most notably receiving a huge boost from its inclusion in the second season's finale episode of Grey's Anatomy in 2006. It also featured in an episode of One Tree Hill, and also in Gavin & Stacey where the two titular characters get married.

WATCH: Snow Patrol talk about Chasing Cars

How many albums have Snow Patrol released?

There have been seven studio albums by Snow Patrol so far. Debut 'Songs for Polarbears' was released in 1998, the album title being a nod to their previous band name, of course. The record has been certified Gold in the UK.

Snow Patrol's follow-up, 'When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up', came out in 2001 and also received a Gold certification, and the band's third album 'Final Straw' in 2003 was their breakthrough, peaking at Number 3 and receiving 6x Platinum certification in the UK. It spawned singles 'Run' and 'Chocolate'.

Fourth album 'Eyes Open' in 2006 hit the top spot in the charts and has been certified 8x Platinum, containing songs 'You're All I Have', 'Chasing Cars', 'Set the Fire to the Third Bar', 'Open Your Eyes' and 'You Could Be Happy', which was also featured in a Gavin & Stacey episode.

Snow Patrol's fifth album, 'A Hundred Million Suns', was released in 2008 and peaked at Number 2, receiving a Platinum certification. It had songs 'Take Back the City' and 'Crack the Shutters' on it.

The sixth studio album was 'Fallen Empires', released in 2011 and containing 'Called Out in the Dark'. It peaked at Number 3 and was certified Platinum in the UK. The band took a break before putting out seventh album 'Wildness' in 2018, which peaked at Number 2 and was certified Gold. They also released 'Reworked' in 2019, which - as you can probably guess - contained several of their biggest hits that the band had reworked.

Are Snow Patrol still together?

They sure are! The band took a break after the release of 'Fallen Empires' as Gary was suffering from writer's block, later revealing that it made him feel "useless" and adding, "There's a lot of depression that is attached to it as well, because you feel like, 'Maybe the only gift I have has deserted me,' and you're kind of inconsolable really."

Thankfully, he was able to overcome it with the advice of other musicians, who told him to keep writing - "even if it's jibberish".

WATCH: Snow Patrol Live & Stripped Back at Porchester Hall

Snow Patrol new music

Snow Patrol have recently hinted that they are working on new music, and in an Instagram post discussing their rescheduled tour dates, they wrote within their caption: 'tours will come with a new album which we are working on'.

Although there are no more details as of yet, we're sure their eighth album will be worth the wait.

When did Snow Patrol play Glastonbury?

Snow Patrol played The Other Stage in 2004, and were slated to perform in 2019. Unfortunately, they were forced to pull out of the gig after a serious injury left Johnny McDaid in need of immediate surgery on his neck. The band also cancelled upcoming tour dates, and Nathan Connolly was also recovering from nerve damage.

The band released a statement on the matter, 'After consulting with some top neurosurgeons they are all in agreement that the only course of action is immediate surgery. To replace Johnny would take at least two people … we feel it’s not appropriate to continue with shows at this stage.

'It isn’t just their guitars and pianos that would be missed. Their backing vocals are essential to our sound, and their energy and spirits are colossal and are irreplaceable forces.'

Who from Snow Patrol was in Game of Thrones?

It was Gary! He had a small cameo in Episode 3 of Season 3, 'Walk of Punishment'.

What is Snow Patrol's latest song?

The band's newest song was 'Reaching Out To You', which was written and recorded during lockdown in 2020. The song featured on the band's EP 'The Fireside Sessions', which is made up of five songs written with fans during Instagram live streams.

Did Snow Patrol tour in 2020?

Like many others, tour plans were hindered in 2020 by the Coronavirus pandemic. The band finished off their 'Reworked' Tour in the UK in 2019, having visited Cardiff, Plymouth, Oxford, Llandudno, Nottingham, London, Ipswich, Leicester, Brighton Centre, Manchester and Edinburgh. They had to cancel and reschedule some of the dates on this tour due to illness.

The band have had to reschedule their North America and Canada tour dates for 2021, taking to their Instagram to apologise to fans and reveal the new dates.

Scroll through to see some of our favourite live moments from Snow Patrol:

WATCH: Interview with Snow Patrol at NOS Alive Festival 2018

You can hear Snow Patrol's biggest hits on the Absolute Radio playlist. Listen to Absolute Radio now.

Nor read:

Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody announces virtual covers gig

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• Snow Patrol
• gary lightbody
• jonny quinn
• nathan connolly
• Paul Wilson
• Johnny McDaid