The members of Snow Patrol are celebrating 25 years together. From providing the unofficial theme song to Grey's Anatomy to its 2006 album Eyes Open being certified eight-times platinum according to BPI, the Northern Ireland rock band has found success many times over. Now, after a seven-year hiatus, the bond between band members has never been stronger.
"I think we've been through everything you could possibly get thrown at you in a band," lead singer Gary Lightbody says. "Bands split up usually over personal differences. They'll call them musical differences, but they're usually personal ones. And I think if it's a friendship first then you're golden."
Many songs on the band's latest album, Wildness, touch on the necessary bond of strong relationships. "Don't Give In" was inspired by one of Lightbody's friends who was struggling with depression and, in turn, Lightbody says writing the song helped him get through his own tough times. "Soon" tackles the topic of Lightbody's ailing father. Much of the lyrics on Wildness reflect things that the members have been meaning to say over the years and that level of honesty has resonated with their fans.
"They respond to honesty," Lightbody says. "They responded to this album with probably with more intensity than they have to any other record."
While on tour for Wildness, three members of the band — Lightbody, guitarist Nathan Connolly and pianist and guitarist Johnny McDaid — visited NPR's Studios in Washington D.C. for an interview and to perform.