In the same week that Eyes Open was nominated for the Choice Music Prize, Gary Lightbody debuted his Listen…Tanks side-project on BBC Radio One when he deputised on air for Zane Lowe.
Gary Lightbody is one of the musical guests that will be in attendance at this year's Fate Awards, which recognise achievement in the Northern Ireland entertainmant industry.
Snow Patrol‘s Gary Lightbody waxes eloquent about burnout, creativity, exotic fowl, and why David Healy should be made First Citizen Of The Republic And Overlord Of The Universe.
Things are on the up and up for Snow Patrol whose long-overdue commercial success means they’re now getting matey with pop divas, soap stars and footballers. Gary Lightbody tells Stuart Clark how it all went right.
Jon Astley, the UK producer whose credits include Debbie Harry, Eric Clapton and The Who, has put together a monster 31-track compilation for the Tuesday’s Child charity.
The great and the good of Irish music (plus a couple of blow-ins) come together to support the Make Trade Fair campaign, and the music isn’t bad at all. Written by Paul Noonan and with vocals by Gary Lightbody and Lisa Hannigan, it’s not difficult to guess the musical direction – but happily ‘Some Surprise’ is a fine record in its own right. Fair play to the lot of them.
Belfast, then Glasgow and NEXT STOP – the cover of the Radio Times?
Stuart Clark joins fast-rising Snow Patrol on Scottish manoeuvres. PICS: IAN McMURRAY
Music fans who came to the open day of the Oh Yeah music centre in Belfast were treated to a host of special performances, including an acoustic set from Gary Lightbody.
“It’s the toughest thing we’ve ever had to do, it’s broken our fucking hearts.” While the recent sacking of founder member Mark McClelland has taken its toll on Gary Lightbody, the Snow Patrol mainman remains upbeat about their not-at-all-difficult fourth album, supporting U2 and their own stadium headliner in Killarney. Interview by Colin Carberry. Photography by Bradley Quinn
After 12 months which saw the group go from the indie B-division to rock’s premier league, Snow Patrol have had a more dramatic 2004 than most. In an in-depth interview, Gary Lightbody discusses a life-changing year, the Irish and British music scenes, friendships, relationships and where the band go to next.
Snow Patrol‘s Gary Lightbody may be the thinking woman’s indie sexpot, but with their new album Eyes Open going supernova all over the shop, the poor fella has no time to capitalise on his status, given that the only people he sees on a regular basis are his band and crewmates. With whom, he assures us, “penetrative sex is out of the question.” Also on the agenda: break-ups, infidelity, the Northern body politic, U2 and, of course, underpants.
Champagne corks were popped last week as Snow Patrol joined that elite group of bands who’ve simultaneously topped the charts in Ireland and the UK. It’s all a far cry from the days when their fame was confined to the University of Dundee Students Union bar. Gary Lightbody takes time out from wowing the masses in Dublin and Belfast to tell Stuart Clark about their twisty and turny route to the top.
Gary Lightbody, Mark Geary, Rick O’Shea, The Frames, Jape, Mario Rosenstock, The Redneck Manifesto and the Eyebrowy crew slug it out for the title of The Simpsons’ most obsessive Irish fan.
On the eve of the release of Snow Patrol's epic fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, Hot Press finds out how singer Gary Lightbody gets inspiration for his songs.
Duetting pairs Lisa Hannigan (pictured) and Gary Lightbody as well as Sinead O'Connor and Republic Of Loose, are set to perform live together at the forthcoming Meteor Irish Music Awards.
Fresh from picking up an Ivor Novello award with Gary Lightbody and co., ex-Patrol man Iain Archer is hoping for similar good fortune with the re-release of his 2004 effort Flood The Tanks.
When It's All Over We Still Have To Clear Up .. so say Gary Lightbody and co. with Snow Patrol's last album (which Hot Press heralded as a minor classic.)
Tim Wheeler from Ash, Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol and Radio 1’s Colin Murray are among the active supporters of a project to establish a dedicated music centre for Belfast.
Arms outstretched, swanky lighting awarding him a most pleasing rock star silhouette, it’s safe to say that right now, in a venue where he witnessed some of his own favourite gigs, Gary Lightbody is having a pretty good day at the office.
Breaking news or what: after Saturday's spectacular support performance at Marlay Park, Dublin, the Republic Of Loose will do the honours for Snow Patrol again on the Isle Of Man.
Snow Patrol (complete with the *as revealed in the latest issue of Hot Press* new bassist Paul Wilson 2nd from right) are the latest act to join Oxfam's Make Trade Fair Campaign.
Snow Patrol and Ash are just some of the North’s rock ambassadors who have given their backing to the Oh Yeah Music Centre, a state-of-the-art multi-media development which will put Belfast on the international musical map.
As the sun sets over Dublin Castle, Snow Patrol kick off the first outdoor festival of 2006 with intent. But the early, heady pace set by Final Straw favourites 'Wow' and 'Chocolate' is soon interrupted by the new material from Eyes Open.
Tanya Sweeney catches up with Ireland’s hardest partying rockers Snow Patrol to discuss on-the-road hi-jinks, the band’s hallowed status in the Scottish and Irish music scenes, and also bears witness to that long-awaited footie showdown with Thomastown under 15s.
If you’ve been giving your local record retailer an earbending because they don’t have the eponymous Cake Sale album in stock, you need to apologise because its release has been put back a week to November 3.
Snow Patrol have announced that they’ll be wearing blue ribbons at their Belfast Botanic Gardens gig on August 23 as a tribute to missing Bangor woman Lisa Dorrian.
Clearly subscribers to the “strike while the iron is hot” school of album promotion, no sooner has the Patrol’s breakthrough hit ‘Run’ exited the British top ten than the Northern rockers are rush-releasing the follow-up single.
The first collection of Lightbody cast-offs, last year's Y'All Get Scared Now Ya Hear!, may have hinted at the magic within, but that was a mere monochrome sketch compared to the glorious three dimensional technicolour of its new sibling
Grand Pocket Orchestra and Joe Echo will be making the trip to Charleville Castle, Co. Offaly, courtesy of the Hot Press 'Your Band At Castlepalooza' competition.
Currently ensconced in a recording studio in the wilds of Magherafelt, Edwin McFee sits down with General Fiasco to talk about ambition, Snow Patrol and the fickle finger of fate.
Currently ensconced in a recording studio in the wilds of Magherafelt, Edwin McFee sits down with General Fiasco to talk about ambition, Snow Patrol and the fickle finger of fate.
Snow Patrol kicked off their whistle-stop Take Back The Cities tour with their first live gig in over a year yesterday with a sold out lunchtime show in Dublin's Gate Theatre.
The Cake Sale does for Irish musicians what The Reindeer Section did for Scotland’s: i.e. it makes a group of disparate songwriters and performers sound like the most talented and cohesive band in the world ever.
...because the new Reindeer Section album is en route, arriving June 14th and featuring peeps from The Vaselines, Belle and Sebastian and Mogwai among others. Our sources say it's just brilliant, too
The college circuit is an important stepping stone in rock music around the world. While the potential remains unfulfilled in Ireland, there’s a new breed of Ents Officer who are aiming higher.
If you’d imagine a collective formed from members of Snow Patrol, Arab Strap, Astrid, Mogwai, Mull Historical Society, Belle & Sebastian and others would produce some sort of unholy racket then – on the evidence of Y’All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! – you’d be somewhat off the mark.
A galaxy of Irish stars led by members of BellX1, Snow Patrol and Damien Rice have announced their support for a charity album, under the guise of the band The Cake Sale.
Iain Archer has been unveiled as one of the star participants in the Guitarist And The Mac event that’s taking place in Dublin’s Temple Bar Music Centre on February 27.
Never mind figgy puddings and partridges in pear trees, there’s some serious seasonal business to be done as the annual HP-7 summit gathers in the crucible of cultural discourse that is The Central Hotel’s Library Bar.
From the profound and the insightful to the weird, funny and just plain daft, Paul Nolan rounds up what the famous and infamous had to say for themselves in 2004...
As predicted, Snow Patrol emerged the big winners at the Meteor Music Awards, which took place at The Point in Dublin last night. Click for photos from the night
Okay, it's not me or any of the other 1300 Ambassador ticket-holders who've been all over the charts like a rash recently, but that doesn't stop Snow Patrol's top 5 breakthrough feeling like a personal victory.
When a gang of Ireland’s finest musicians, media stars and political types gathered in the Central Hotel for pre-Christmas drinks, there were fun and games aplenty. reporting: Stephen Bailey, Stuart Clark and Roisin Dwyer. Photos: Mick Quinn and Graham Keogh. Costumes: courtesy of The Dublin Costume Company.
Her split with Damien Rice caused headlines around the music world. Now Lisa Hannigan is taking her first steps as a solo artist with a wonderfully ethereal debut album, Sea Sew. She talks to hot press about the end of her partnership with Rice, her hopes for the future and the influence of romantic entanglements on her powerfully feminine songwriting.
They blasted into the public consciousness at the end of 2005, when 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' became the year's biggest breakthrough No.1. Since then it's been an extraordinary rollercoaster ride for the Arctic Monkeys, with bass player trouble, celebrity fans, EastEnders appearances and a row with fellow newcomers The Feeling to show for their efforts. Oh, and then there's the small matter of shifting nearly two million copies of their debut album...
They’ll never win any prizes for speaking the Queen’s English but, with a number one album under their belts, mop-topped Dundee rockers The View aren’t too bothered.
A flyover near the old Harland & Wolff shipyard was the starting point for a remarkable three months that has seen Franz Ferdinand challenging U2 and Coldplay for the title of ‘Biggest Band In The World'. Daredevil photographic exploits completed, Hot Press jumped on their tour bus and got the lowdown on Snoop, Bono, Kanye West, Natasha Bedingfield and nights of debauchery with the Scissor Sisters.
Half the Scottish indie glitterati (if not more) to play on the Reindeer Section's latest - and several new heavenly bodies become visible in the Bright Star Recordings constellation
It was inflight double entendres all round as Bell X1 donned cabin crew attire for a special Hot Press photoshoot. When not showing an unhealthy interest in women’s clothes and fancy Raybans, they talked about their chart-topping new album Blue Lights On The Runway, their imminent breakthrough in the US and freezing their arses off on The Late Show with Dave Letterman
From A to Z, Paul Nolan and Ronan Fitzgerald introduce all the runners and riders for Punchestown – throwing in a baker’s dozen of acts who are not to be missed* along the way
Full profiles on Faithless, Antony & The Johnsons, Slayer, The Who, Bell X1, Status Quo, The Flaming Lips, 50 Cent, Madness, Christy Moore, Elton John and Lionel Richie.
Do not be deceived. The bombastic call-to-arms of the title is magnificently misleading in the same cheeky spirit of Mogwai's 'Blur Are Shite' t-shirts.
It goes without saying that at this stage SNOW PATROL are an incredibly polished live act, with the likes of ‘Spitting Games’ and ‘Chocolate’ electrifying the venue early on.
Gorge yourself on a selection of exclusive (and in some cases never-before-seen) hotpress.com video interviews from Witnness past, as well as some of the artists gracing the stage at Witnness 2003
Speaking exclusively to Hot Press, Nathan Connolly has assured fans that solo projects for both himself and frontman Gary Lightbody are only tentative at present.
It s the last song of the night. It s the final gig of the year one that has witnessed bizarre accidents, frustrations, some classic moments and the growing consensus that Snow Patrol is an increasingly fierce act.
The Reindeer Section return with not-difficult-at-all second album; Del 9 get The Frames animated; Kevin Shields produces Primal Scream; and The Sabbath means no work and all play
Having made friends and influenced all sorts of people in recent months (including the likes of Gary Lightbody, Bob Dylan and Shane McGowan), the Republic of Loose have just announced an Irish mini-tour.
Gary Lightbody and co return to Witnness primed for some serious rock action. And when you've got such bona fide indie-disco classics as 'Starfighter Pilot' lurking in your repertoire, a landslide result is almost inevitable. Archive interview, 2000: We talk to the band
The opening night of a U2 tour can be fraught with peril. But in the Camp Nou in Barcelona tonight they exorcised the demons of previous tours and started on a winning note. Report: Olaf Tyaransen
30,000 people, loads of A-list stars, four stages on Fairyhouse Racecourse. Yes, we're talking about WITNNESS. KIM PORCELLI reviews the biggest festival of the summer.
