Snow Patrol have unveiled former Terra Diablo man Paul Wilson as their new bassist.

“He’s a multi-instrumentalist and will be a magnificent addition to the band and he’s already been heavily involved in the new songs,” says Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol’s temporary Kerry HQ.

“Paul’s first gig will be [tonight, April 1] in Dingle where we’ve been living and working for the past two months. It’s to raise money for some local charities – the people have been great to us down here and we wanted to have a big party with them all as a send off, and the tickets all sold out in a blink. It’ll also give us a wee chance to play live with Paul before the US tour in April and May.”

As for the follow up to Final Straw, Lightbody adds: “The album’s coming on a treat and we’re all writing our asses off.”

Needless to say, the hotpress.com Lear was immediately dispatched to Farranfore with Chris Donovan filing this report minutes after Snow Patrol had rocked the 1,000-capacity Hill Grove to within an inch of its foundations.

“They played two shows – an all ages one at five which was totally mental, and an over-18s one at ten that Gary did a bit of deejaying after. If Paul Wilson was nervous it didn’t show as him and his new bandmates ran through a 19-song set that included three new numbers – ‘It’s Beginning To Get To Me’, ‘Your Halo’ and ‘Chasing Cars’ which their tour manager only half-jokingly referred to as ‘the next ‘Run’.’

"Gary had to tell the kids at the early show not to nick his plectrums until after they’d stopped playing. It was all very laid-back, with the band spending an-hour-an-half signing autographs before the venue was cleared for the second gig.

“The mood in the camp is both positive and relaxed. The follow-up to Final Straw is more or less written, although there’s no firm date on when they’re going into the studio so it mightn’t be out until early 2005. They’ve got a month in the States and then doing their U2 supports, which they’re really excited about. I know their long-term fans might be disappointed that Mark’s gone, but Paul Wilson is an excellent replacement and a known quantity given that his old band supported Snow Patrol last year.”

Together with his recruitment, it’s also been confirmed that after seven years of hired hand-om, Tom Simpson is now a full member of Snow Patrol.