Snow Patrol - Gary Lightbody Appreciation Thread #3: B/C "My songwriting is very simplistic, what we do is melody and honesty."

Pure.Magic · 01-02-2011, 12:36 PM

Welcome to the 3rd Gary Lightbody Appreciation Thread!

Information about him

History

After attending Campbell College, he moved to Dundee, Scotland in 1994 to attend Dundee University. It is here that he formed Polar Bear with fellow student Mark McClelland, also from Belfast. Initially Richard Colburn of Belle & Sebastian featured on drums. Lightbody then asked Jonny Quinn to move over from Belfast to take over on drums. Facing legal action from an American band of the same name, the boys changed their name to Snow Patrol, the affectionate nickname a friend had dubbed them.

Snow Patrol

Lightbody formed the band with classmate Mark McClelland in 1994. 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 The Levellers, Ash and Travis, before signing to Polydor offshoot Fiction. Their first album on Fiction, Final Straw, saw Lightbody working with producer Garret "Jacknife" Lee, who went on to produce U2. After the success of Final Straw, the band headed back into the studio to record the next album for Fiction, Eyes Open which was again produced by Lee. Their first single for A Hundred Million Suns is "Take Back The City". "A Hundred Million Suns" was released on October 28, 2008.

Side Projects and Collaborations

Lightbody formed the Scottish supergroup The Reindeer Section, made up of 47 musicians from 20 different bands, in 2000. They released two albums: Y'All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! in 2001 and Son of Evil Reindeer in 2002.

In 2005 he was included in another musical collective, The Cake Sale, formed by Brian Crosby to raise funds and awareness for Ireland's Make Trade Fair campaign. He partnered with Lisa Hannigan to perform "Some Surprise", a song written by Bell X1's Paul Noonan. The song reached #5 on Irish charts as a radio–single release.

His most recent side project is Listen... Tanks!, a Napoleonic rock-band collaboration with Garret "Jacknife" Lee. One-time bandmate Iain Archer has been approached to contribute.

In addition to work on Snow Patrol and side-project material, Lightbody has also lent his voice to the band Mogwai (one track on Rock Action).

Gary Lightbody has also contributed vocals to The Freelance Hellraisers Waiting for Clearance debut album 2006 as well as UK producer Kidda's debut album Going Up, scheduled for release Spring 2008. He has also produced a song "Just Say Yes" for Nicole Scherzinger's debut solo album Her Name Is Nicole set for a release on February 26, 2008.

Gary Lightbody is currently on the board of directors of the Oh Yeah Belfast Music Centre (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.

Wikipedia

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***madness*** · 01-02-2011, 02:11 PM

TFTNT.

happy mom · 01-03-2011, 12:06 AM

Awww, so good to see a new Gary appreciation thread!

Thanks so much for starting it, V.

I looove the title - such a great Gary quote!

Pure.Magic · 01-03-2011, 10:28 AM

YW guys.

I'm glad you like it, Szilvia! I adore this quote, I loved how he talked about AHMS.

The last thread was started in 2008, it was superb to open a new one!

happy mom · 01-05-2011, 12:21 AM

That quote is so Gary, it's awesome.

So exciting to get this one going!

New 'discussion' threads are a big deal.

Aaaaand we get to swoon over all the pics in the OP, all over again.

Pure.Magic · 01-07-2011, 11:15 AM

IKR. New game threads don't excite me as much.

I adore all the pics in the OP.

I hadn't seen this one. He looks drunk.

***madness*** · 01-07-2011, 12:27 PM

he looks asleep

Pure.Magic · 01-07-2011, 12:46 PM

I know, he looks dozy. Kinda like you do at school and I, at work.

***madness*** · 01-07-2011, 01:14 PM

can't disagree with that.

Pure.Magic · 01-07-2011, 02:52 PM

ikr. dont worry, Gary, we understand.

***madness*** · 01-07-2011, 03:24 PM

yeah, we know it can be a bitch sometimes.

happy mom · 01-09-2011, 12:08 AM

Aww

, poor Gary looks in rough shape in that pic...but he's still stylin' with what looks like a glass of Guinness in his hand.

***madness*** · 01-10-2011, 11:17 AM

^ikr?

Pure.Magic · 01-11-2011, 12:47 PM

I think the guinness explains the state he is in.

happy mom · 01-12-2011, 02:42 PM

Still standing and holding the cup straight.

Back to what Gary does best...


Fan Forum > Archived Music Artists > Snow Patrol > Gary Lightbody Appreciation Thread #3: B/C "My songwriting is very simplistic, what we do is melody and honesty."