Gary Lightbody OBE | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Gareth John Lightbody [1] |
Born | Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland | 15 June 1976
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1994–present |
Gareth John Lightbody [1] OBE (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The Reindeer Section and Tired Pony.
Gareth John Lightbody was born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, to Lynne (née Wray) and Jack Lightbody. [2] Jack Lightbody has been an independent business owner and has roots in Rosemount, Derry. [3] Gary Lightbody has one sister, Sarah. He attended Rathmore Primary School, Rockport School and Campbell College, where he was first introduced to the writings of Seamus Heaney which inspired him to write his own poetry and songs. [4] [5]
In 1994, Lightbody left home for Scotland to study English literature at the University of Dundee, where he was a keen hockey player, often being dragged from his bed on a Saturday morning to play matches. [6] [7]
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.[ citation needed ] 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. [8] [9] Today, Lightbody owns a small place in Glasgow and says he will never leave the country behind, though he resides in Belfast. He feels an attachment to the place, as it gave him his first taste of success. [10]
In the early days, Lightbody used to drink very heavily, and in his words, was "irrational, erratic, neurotic". [11] 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 bandmates for the turnaround. [12] 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. [13] He has a baritone vocal range. [14] [15]
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. [16] [17] [18]
Lightbody later co-wrote "What Are You Waiting For" on the album Strangest Things, with Anu Pillai for Freeform Five. [16] [19] "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.
Lightbody has filled in for DJ Zane Lowe on his BBC radio show on one occasion during the 2007 takeovers. He was subsequently voted the best fill-in DJ amongst them by the listeners. [20] He has compiled two DJ mix albums, one in The Trip series: The Trip: Created by Snow Patrol , and another with bandmate Tom Simpson, called Late Night Tales: Snow Patrol on the Late Night Tales series.
In addition to his work with Snow Patrol and DJing, Lightbody has contributed to other projects and works. He made a cameo appearance in the Game of Thrones episode, "Walk of Punishment", playing a Bolton soldier who begins singing, "The Bear and the Maiden Fair".
Lightbody writes for various music magazines and newspapers like Q magazine [21] and previously wrote for The Irish Times music section as guest-editor. As an impassioned music fan and DJ, he recommends in his 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. [22]
In 2011, he wrote as an essayist for The Huffington Post .
As a songwriter/bandleader, Lightbody 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. [23] The group released Y'All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! in 2001 and Son of Evil Reindeer in 2002.
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. [34]
As a boy, he dreamed of becoming "the biggest rock star on the planet" like Bono, but he was never "cool". [13]
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".[ citation needed ] His songwriting style is mostly simple and basic, and he acknowledges that, saying he "[never] 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. [35] 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. [36] 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. [35]
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 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 like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles. Lightbody realises this and cites performances of their songs on reality TV shows as an example. [13]
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.[ citation needed ]
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. [37] 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. [38]
Lightbody is a supporter of Manchester United and has been known to support both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland national football teams. [39] [40] This is supported by the song "Lifening", in which he sings the lyrics "Ireland in the World Cup, either North or South". [41]
He is a fan of the X-Men, particularly Wolverine, and owns a stack of comics. He bought several comics as a child 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". [42]
Despite having written several romantic songs, Lightbody has been reported as having had trouble talking to women. [43] 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 has been hopelessly in love. [13]
Lightbody quit drinking alcohol in 2016 before recording the album Wildness. [44]
Lightbody has been involved in numerous causes, mostly related to music and football. He is 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 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. [45]
In July 2019, Lightbody set up the Lightbody Foundation to support charities across Northern Ireland and the rest of the world. In May 2020, he donated £50,000 to support musicians in Northern Ireland struggling in the aftermath of the coronavirus. [46] Two months later, the foundation donated around $90,000 to nine different charities in America.
Lightbody has worked with the aid organisation Save the Children in Uganda, an experience on which he has written in New Statesman . [47] He has also been involved in raising awareness of depression, a condition that he himself has struggled with. [48] [49]
Title | Year | Album |
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"The Last Time" (Taylor Swift featuring Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol) | 2012 | Red |
"The Last Time (Taylor's Version)" (Taylor Swift featuring Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol) | 2021 | Red (Taylor's Version) |
In July 2012, Lightbody received an Honorary Doctorate in Letters from the University of Ulster at a ceremony in the Millennium Forum, Derry. [3] See also Snow Patrol Awards.
Lightbody was honoured in November 2018 at the Northern Ireland Music Prize with an award for outstanding contribution to music.
Lightbody was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to music and to charity in Northern Ireland. [50]
Lightbody was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Ards and North Down on 30 August 2022. [51] [52] [53]
Year | Publication | Entity | Rank |
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2005 | Scotland on Sunday | The Eligibles [54] [55] [56] | 4 |
2006 | 1 | ||
2007 | Top 10 | ||
2006 | Daily Record | 100 Hottest Scots [57] | 5 |
2007 | 9 | ||
2009 | Social and Personal | Sexiest Irishmen [58] | 96 |
Q | Artists of the Century [59] [60] | * | |
2019 | PPL | Most played song on UK Radio (Chasing Cars) | * |
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, and Johnny McDaid ; Lightbody is the band's sole remaining original member.
Final Straw is the third studio album and major-label debut by Northern Ireland rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland. In the 14 months following its release, a total of 5 singles were drawn from it. It is the first album to feature lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and the last to feature bassist Mark McClelland.
Songs for Polarbears is the debut studio album by the Scottish-Northern Irish indie rock group Snow Patrol, released on 31 August 1998 in the UK and 12 October in the US.
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up is the second album by the Scottish-Northern Irish indie rock band Snow Patrol, released on 24 April 2001 in the UK and 5 March in the US.
"Chocolate" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Final Straw (2003). The music for the track was written by all four members of the band, while the lyrics are by lead vocalist Gary Lightbody.
"Set the Fire to the Third Bar" is a song from Snow Patrol's fourth album, Eyes Open, featuring Martha Wainwright on vocals. The song was released as a single on 13 November 2006.
Nathan Connolly is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol.
Tom Simpson is a Scottish DJ and musician, best known as the former keyboardist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Having been with Snow Patrol as a touring member since 1996, he became a permanent member in 2005, before leaving in August 2013.
Jonathan Graham Quinn is a Northern Irish musician, best known as the former 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 up until he left the band in 2023. He is married to industrial designer Mariane Quinn.
"Starfighter Pilot" is the fourth single released by Snow Patrol, and the second track on their debut album Songs for Polarbears. The lyrics were written by Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Lightbody and the other two members of Snow Patrol at the time, Mark McClelland and Jonny Quinn. The song reached number 161 on the UK Singles Chart.
A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by Scottish-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 of Europe and in the US on 28 October.
"Take Back the City" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the lead single from the album on different dates in October 2008, depending on the region. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song has positive lyrics, and is about Lightbody's love for Belfast. The song has been officially remixed once, by Lillica Libertine, and it appeared as a B-side to the single.
"Crack the Shutters" is a song from Northern Irish/Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the follow-up single to "Take Back the City" on different dates in December 2008 depending on the region, and was the second single taken from the album. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song was described by lyricist Lightbody as the purest love song he'd ever written. The single was received generally positively by music critics, the lyrics and vocals being praised in particular.
John McDaid is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the band Snow Patrol and has written songs with artists including Ed Sheeran, P!nk, and Robbie Williams.
"If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It" is a song by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It is the opening track on their fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, and was released as its third single on 8 March 2009. The music was composed by Snow Patrol, with frontman Gary Lightbody writing the lyrics. The song is a departure from Lightbody's frequent attempts at diagnosing his less positive personal issues, which often focus on his romantic breakups, and instead celebrates a newfound love outside human relationships.
"The Planets Bend Between Us" (or "The Planets Bend Between Us (For You)") is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the follow-up single to "If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It" on 24 May 2009. It was the fourth single taken from the album. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song is about Lightbody's beach house in Belfast. The single featured a re-working of the album version and was released as a digital download only. It was later included on the band's 2009 compilation album Up to Now.
"Just Say Yes" is a song by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol, released as the single to follow "The Planets Bend Between Us" in October–November 2009, depending on the region. The song, produced by Jacknife Lee, is one of the three new songs, and the lead single from the compilation Up to Now. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. "Just Say Yes" has its origins as a song written for pop singer Gwen Stefani, who rejected it. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls was then given permission by Lightbody to record it for her solo debut album, which was later shelved.
"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" is a song from Snow Patrol's second album When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up. A re-recorded version featuring only vocalist Gary Lightbody's singing and guitar was released on the bands' 2009 compilation album Up to Now, and was later released digitally as the second single from the album.
Fallen Empires is the sixth studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish rock band Snow Patrol. The album was released on 11 November 2011. The album became the first to feature future member Johnny McDaid, who was credited as guest musician and songwriter in the album liner notes, and would officially join the band following the tour. It is also the last album to feature keyboardist Tom Simpson, who left the band in 2013. American singer Lissie provided additional vocals for six songs on the album.
Wildness is the seventh studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish rock band Snow Patrol. The album was released on 25 May 2018. It is their first album with Johnny McDaid as a full member of the band, after his involvement as a guest musician and songwriter on Fallen Empires and participation in its tour. It was also the last Snow Patrol album with longtime members Paul Wilson and Jonny Quinn, who both left the band in September 2023.