Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol is a Scottish/Northern Irish alternative rock band formed in 1994 at the University of Dundee, initially by Gary Lightbody, Michael Morrison, and Mark McClelland under the name Shrug, before settling on the Snow Patrol name in 1997. The band spent years releasing music independently before signing to a major label, and their breakthrough came with 2003's Final Straw, which propelled them to national prominence in the UK.

Their 2006 follow-up, Eyes Open, cemented their mainstream success, driven by the massive hit single «Chasing Cars», which reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the most-played songs on UK radio in the 21st century. The band's sound is defined by atmospheric guitar textures, anthemic builds, and Lightbody's emotionally direct, often melancholic songwriting, placing them alongside bands like Coldplay and Keane in the mid-2000s wave of British stadium-oriented alternative rock.

Beyond «Chasing Cars», the band built a catalog of widely recognized songs including «Run», «Open Your Eyes», and «Set the Fire to the Third Bar». Their music blends rock instrumentation with pop accessibility and occasional R&B-tinged production, and their singles have remained staples of film, television, and radio for two decades.