SNOW PATROL
July 17, 2012 - 8:30 pm

Watch out Lebanon, a snowstorm is heading your way this summer! After playing the biggest European festivals, one of the world’s most successful rock bands, Snow Patrol, will be in Byblos on July 17 for a mind-blowing night. They’re behind some of the last decade’s defining singles (“Run”, “Just Say Yes”, “Chasing Cars”…) and have just returned with a new album that includes, so far, 2 of this year’s hottest songs (“Called Out In The Dark”, “In The End”). This concert will be nothing short than epic!

THE BAND

Originally named Shrug, and then Polarbear, Snow Patrol formed in late 1994 when two students at the University of Dundee, Gary Lightbody and Mark McClelland, met and became friends. Playing gigs at the university and in pubs around Dundee and Glasgow, it took the release of the Starfighter Pilot EP (released as Polarbear) in 1997 before they began to attract attention. Unfortunately it wasn’t the kind of attention they were looking for: an American band called Polar Bear, led by the former bassist of Jane’s Addiction, Eric Avery, got in touch, and Polarbear changed their name to Snow Patrol.

Snow Patrol then released the single “Little Hide”, followed by “One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed”, both on Jeepster Records. Their first two full-lengths followed, 1998’s Songs for Polarbears and then When it’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up in 2001.

Their audience was modestly growing but Jeepster dropped the band from its roster, prompting Lightbody to blow off steam by forming the Reindeer Section, a Scottish supergroup featuring members of Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian.

In 2003 Snow Patrol had their first major-label release on Polydor. Produced by Garrett ‘Jacknife’ Lee, Final Straw became the band’s breakthrough hit, eventually selling more than four million copies worldwide. Shedding some of their indie rough edges in favor of a more epic and melancholic sound, the album spawned the chart hits “Run”, “Spitting Games”, and “Chocolate”.

2006’s follow-up album, Eyes Open, was a huge commercial success, ultimately achieving multi-platinum status in numerous countries around the world, partly thanks to the hit singles “Chasing Cars”, “Open Your Eyes”, “Hands Open”, and “You’re All I Have”.

With over 100,000 radio plays in the UK, 2m downloads in the US, and the accolade of ‘Best Song of All Time’ from the listeners of Virgin Radio, “Chasing Cars” spent an incredible 104 weeks on the UK Top 75. It also had the rare distinction of closing the BBC’s long running TV chart show Top Of The Pops in July 2006. The effect was phenomenal, leading to Eyes Open selling 4.7m copies worldwide.

One year later, with a successful run through North America under their belt, Eyes Open was certified gold in the United States. It later rose to platinum status, becoming Snow Patrol‘s most successful release in America. Snow Patrol also became the first U.K. rock act in 13 years to break into the Top Five of the Billboard singles charts.

2008’s A Hundred Million Suns featured the single “Take Back the City.” The band joined U2 on the road once again, this time playing stadiums in Europe and America during the summer of 2009. Rather than record another album after the tour, however, they chose to release Up to Now, a comprehensive compilation spanning Snow Patrol‘s 15-year history.

The band is currently based in Bangor, Northern Ireland, where most of the band members are from. The current lineup consists of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, vocals), Paul Wilson (bass), Tom Simpson (keyboards) and Jonny Quinn (drums).

Snow Patrol’s albums have been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, Grammys and MTV Europe Music Awards, with Final Straw landing them an Ivor Novello Award in 2005. By anyone’s standards, it’s been a pretty good century so far. Their latest album, 2011’s Fallen Empires redefines them a band big on experimental ideas as well as stadium-sized anthems. Adding distorted, electro guitar riffs, club-friendly drums and epic choruses to Lightbody’s heart-bruised lyricism, they’ve grown sonically whilst still retaining the essence of their appeal.
Their latest tour has been a huge success and they’ve been playing sold-out venues and headlining festivals around the world promoting this album. Their concert in Byblos will allow their fans from Lebanon and the region to finally experience an epic rock show!