Snow Patrol
| Snow Patrol | |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Status | Active |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Music genre(s) | Indie, Rock |
| Members | Gary Lightbody (1994) Paul Wilson (2005) Jonny Quinn (1997) Nathan Connolly (2002) Tom Simpson (2005) Mark McClelland (1994 - 2005) |
Snow Patrol are a British indie rock band formed by students in 1994 in Dundee.
Band history
Dundee university students Gary Lightbody and Mark McClelland, from Bangor and Belfast respectively, formed Shrug in 1994 and started gigging in the local area.
The following year they renamed the band Polarbear, though this was to be temporary due to the fact that a member of the band Jane's Addiction had previously formed a group with that same name. Due to a friend's insistence in calling the band 'Snow Patrol', they ultimately decided to adopt that name.
As Polarbear, the band released an EP called "Starfighter Pilot" with record label Electric Honey in 1997. They released their first album, as Snow Patrol, with Jeepster the following year, calling it Songs for Polarbears. As with their first release, the singles released from the album, and the album itself, met with limited success, not breaching the Top 100 in the United Kingdom.
At this point they started gaining some television exposure and in 2001 released When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up, which again, though closer to the mark, failed to break into the Top 100.
Breakthrough
Mainstream success came after the band signed with Polydor, on the release of their third album, Final Straw, at the end of 2003. The album made No.3 in the UK album charts and No.1 in the equivalent chart in the Republic of Ireland, also breaking the Top 100 in the United States.
Spitting Games initially reached No.54 in the UK singles chart in 2003. Following a re-release of the album at the beginning of the following year, Run managed No.5 in the UK charts, bringing Snow Patrol their first Top 10 hit. Chocolate peaked at No.24 and the re-released Spitting Games reached No.23. The final single from the album peaked at No.39.
Exposure
Mark McClelland was to leave the band in March of 2005 and Snow Patrol was the support act for U2 on their Vertigo Tour in 2005 with Paul Wilson as a replacement for McClelland.
Chasing Cars was used as the theme song to popular U.S. television show Grey's Anatomy, resulting in mass exposure to the U.S. market.