"Snow Patrol's claim to fame came via the ABC drama series Grey's Anatomy, which featured this rock band's single ""Chasing Cars.""Originally from Northern Ireland, the boys of Snow Patrol--Gary Lightbody on vocals and guitar and Mark McClelland on bass and keyboards--first met while studying in Dundee, Scotland. In 1994, they formed Shrug and began playing at local gigs and university pubs before changing their name to Polar Bear. After performing as a duo for about three years, the group added Jonny Quinn (drums, percussion) and Nathan Connolly (guitar) and changed their name again, this time to Snow Patrol. The group signed to the UK's Jeepster label in 1998 and released their debut album, Songs for Polar Bears, that year. The record saw a fair amount of success in the UK and attracted all levels of indie-rock listeners who found that the boys performed extremely well live. Their sophomore effort, When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up, was released in April 2001. After founding member McClelland decided to pursue other interests, he was replaced by Paul Wilson (bass guitar), while the group's long time tour player Tom Simpson (keyboards) easily rounded out the group.Originally an indie-rock group, Snow Patrol signed to Polydor Records and saw serious mainstream success with their singles ""Run,"" ""Chasing Cars"" and ""Signal Fire."" ""Signal Fire"" appeared on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack and earned the boys both critical and commercial acclaim for their indie-sound but commercial attire. As their third album was in production, the boys saught producer Chris Lord-Alge to help in the release of the Final Straw album, which appeared in the US in 2004. Later the boys opened for U2's Vertigo Tour of Euope in 2005 and released their fourth album, Eyes Open, in 2006. The album was their biggest success yet, going gold in the US as the first UK rock act in 13 years to peak the Top 5 Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart."
