Mark McClelland | |
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![]() Mark McClelland in Arizona, 2004, during the Final Straw Tour | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Mark Peter McClelland |
Born | Downpatrick, Northern Ireland | 30 March 1976
Genres | Indie rock, alternative rock, power pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Bass, keyboards |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | Electric Honey, Jeepster, Polydor |
Mark Peter McClelland [1] (born 30 March 1976) [2] is a Northern Irish musician known best as the former bass guitarist of the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album Final Straw . He is now the bassist for alternative act Little Doses.
Mark McClelland was born on 30 March 1976, and attended Sullivan Upper School as a youngster. [3] In 1994, he started attending the University of Dundee to study Financial economics. [3] During his first year, he founded the band Shrug with Michael Morrison and Gary Lightbody. Morrison left the band in 1995 and with new drummer Jonny Quinn, they became Polar Bear and eventually Snow Patrol. On 9 July 1998, McClelland graduated with first class honours and was one of the only three students to graduate in the course that year. [3] Additionally, he was the only student to graduate in first class for that course that year. [4] A few weeks later, Snow Patrol released their first studio album Songs for Polarbears (a reference to previous band name Polarbear) [3] under Jeepster. In 2001, the band released their second studio album When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up . During this time, McClelland was also a member of The Reindeer Section, a Scottish ensemble started by bandmate Lightbody. He also featured on Iain Archer's album Flood The Tanks and Cut La Roc's eponymous debut album, playing the song "Post Punk Progression" with Snow Patrol.
McClelland left the band in 2005 after the success of their 2003 album Final Straw , allegedly over creative differences. Speaking to Scotland's The Daily Record at the time, McClelland claimed he was sacked as Lightbody "wanted more control and less interference", adding that Snow Patrol would effectively be a solo project now. [5] The NME later reported that the dispute centred on songwriting credits for Final Straw, with McClelland feeling his contribution had not been given sufficient acknowledgement, even though he is credited for the music on all 12 tracks on the album. [6] [7]
McClelland has gone on to create Little Doses, along with girlfriend (now wife), [8] singer Kirsten Ross and drummer Michael Branagh of Degrassi. [9] The band is unsigned.
On 10 September 2007, the BBC news site reported that McClelland has issued a writ at the High Court in London seeking 25% of Snow Patrol's earnings since he left the band in March 2005. [10]
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish-Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. The band consists 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.
Starfighter Pilot is the debut EP from Snow Patrol, on the Electric Honey label, released on 15 June 1997. The EP was released under the name Polarbear, the band's second name after Shrug. The name Polarbear was later changed to Snow Patrol because the band had discovered the existence of another group with that name.
Eyes Open is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. Produced by Jacknife Lee, 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 Recording Studios, both in London.
"Run" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol from their third studio album, Final Straw (2003). It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2004 as the second single from the album. The song was conceived in 2000 by frontman Gary Lightbody after an accident he had during a bender. "Run" is described as a Britpop power ballad. It received critical acclaim, and was compared to Coldplay's "Yellow".
Gareth John Lightbody is an Irish musician from Northern Ireland. 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.
Paul "Pablo" Wilson is a Scottish musician, who is best known as the former bass guitarist for British alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He previously played guitar in Glasgow band Terra Diablo during 2000–2005. Wilson plays left-handed and generally uses a black Rickenbacker for concerts. He is a multi-instrumentalist trained in piano.
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.
Listen... Tanks! is an avant-garde music group, consisting of Gary Lightbody and producer Jacknife Lee, who has produced the last three albums for Snow Patrol, among others. The group's music is very different from Snow Patrol and has been termed "weird" by Lightbody. The group will visit Lee's home in January 2010 to record an album, after they finish working on another project Tired Pony.
"Starfighter Pilot" was 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.
The discography of Snow Patrol, an alternative rock band, consists of seven studio albums, thirty-two singles, eight extended plays, three compilation albums and one live DVD. Snow Patrol was formed in 1994 by Gary Lightbody, Michael Morrison and Mark McClelland under the name Shrug. They released an extended play (EP) titled The Yogurt vs. Yogurt Debate. Morrison left in 1995, and the band changed their name to Polarbear. Under this name they released their other EP, Starfighter Pilot, on the Electric Honey label. Drummer Jonny Quinn joined in 1997 and the band signed to Jeepster Records the same year. They then underwent their final name change to Snow Patrol. The band's first two studio albums: Songs for Polarbears and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up were released in 1998 and 2001 respectively, but failed to do well commercially. Subsequently, the band was dropped by the label.
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.
The Final Straw Tour was a concert tour by Scottish/Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was launched in support of the group's 2003 album Final Straw. The band visited numerous venues internationally from 2003 through 2005. The tour is the collective name of many smaller tours and festivals Snow Patrol has played in support of their album. The tour commenced on 13 July 2003, spanned 13 legs and saw the band play over 200 shows, visiting four continents in the process.
Little Doses are a Scottish alternative rock band from Edinburgh, Scotland, who were formed in 2006. The band comprises lead vocalist Kirsten Ross, Mark McClelland on bass guitar, Michael Branagh on drums and backing vocals, Chris Alderson and Mike Skinner on guitar. They released their debut album, Rock Riot Soul on McClelland's Black Ditto Recordings label in March 2012.
Tired Pony was an indie folk supergroup consisting of Gary Lightbody, Richard Colburn, Iain Archer, Jacknife Lee, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Tom Smith and Troy Stewart. Lightbody formed the group out of his appreciation for country music, and has during the early planning phase described the group's music once as "country-tinged" but explained later that in the end the album's development turned out much more Americana than country during the whole creative process in the studio. The group visited Portland, Oregon in January 2010 to record this debut album, which was produced by member Lee; The Place We Ran From was released on 12 July 2010. Tired Pony began recording their second album The Ghost of the Mountain on 19 February 2013, which was released on 19 August 2013.
Bradley Quinn is a commercial photographer based in Holywood, Northern Ireland. He is the principal photographer of Northern Irish band Snow Patrol He is younger brother to Jonny Quinn, the drummer for Snow Patrol. He started his own business, Bradley Quinn Photography in 2005. He does commercial, advertising and music photography, and uses the Sony alpha camera systems
"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.