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See Instagram photos and videos from Gary Lightbody (@garysnowpatrol)
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Hi all, here’s the latest donations from us. Trussell Trust and Foodstock are both amazing food banks. Women’s Aid Foyle is doing incredible work in the Derry/Londonderry area. Action Mental Health’s children and young people’s counselling service is a vital resource for the young people of NI and does unbelievable work but it is very underfunded and cannot meet demand. And Drake Music (we have donated to before) make music accessible to everyone and is one of the most inspiring charities we have ever had the pleasure of working with. And with everything going on in the world Doctors Without Borders is more important than ever.
Peace and love. gL.x
@trusselluk
@foodstockcharity
@drakemusicni
@action_mental_health
@foylewomensaid
@doctorswithoutborders
15 Jun 2026
Ten years clean and sober today.
I don’t normally post on my ‘sober day’, but given it’s been a decade…
Love to everyone on the same path, and to anyone thinking about getting on that road good luck to you. It can be a bumpy ride (to say the least) at first so make sure you have support. Whether that’s good friends, or a more conventional approach like AA, it’s always better to have folks nearby.
I was (am) lucky. Without dear friends and my brothers in SP I simply would not be here on this planet now. They literally carried me and held me through the darkest of days.
I still remember my last hangover. It feels like an anvil doused in petrol then set ablaze and left in the centre of me like some angry monument to a previous life. If I think of drinking (and that thought is rare these days) my mind shows me that burning statue in all its (in)glory, and any notion of having a drink evaporates. An internal eternal flame of remembrance set there to keep me right. And I'm grateful for it.
If you are in the dark place I was in 2016 I feel for you, deeply. I hope you find your way. But also I hope you allow people into your heart to help you. That was the hardest thing for me. Admitting I had a problem and letting folks in. To many folks I know on the island of Ireland there’s no such thing as an alcoholic, I mean, we’re all just born four pints short, right? So that’s something you’ve to try to wrap your head around before you can even start to talk about it. But it’s ok. It’s truly ok.
Heck, maybe you can drink and get on fine. ‘Moderation’ I believe they call it. But that never made any sense to me. For me it was the old Dean Martin line: “I drink to forget I drink”. There was no such thing as ‘one beer’. Whatami, a quitter? But if you can have a glass or two of wine and toss the re-corked bottle back in the fridge then god bless you! You’re a better one than I.
So I had to stop, wholesale. And it was the best decision I ever made.
Love, light, compassion and kindness to you all.
gL.x
04 Jun 2026
My wee book is out in the USA now.
Thank you so much to everyone that has bought it, or listened to it. It means the world to me.
Another thing that has blown me away is how kind the ACTUAL authors I have encountered have been to me. I did think I might be treated with at least a modicum of (justifiable) suspicion by the literary world. Some lanky singer decides to write a book!?! But every author I have met or spoken to has been so kind and encouraging to me. I’ve had authors I admire massively tell me that they liked the book and if I need anything to let them know. Not that I didn’t think the literary world was full of lovely people, it’s just that I am a stranger in this land and a mere dilettante to boot, so I was maybe braced for a bit of skepticism. But the generosity and support has been overwhelming. And I have such deep gratitude for it.
And don’t worry, I’m not gonna start calling myself an author. I wrote a book. That’s all. I know where I stand in all this. But the kindness is greatly appreciated.
Peace and love. gL.x
12 Sep 2025
Don’t Give In by @snowpatrol performed by Foy Vance and Gary Lightbody 🎻 -FVHQ
01 Jul 2025
So… the book ended up on the Sunday Times Best Seller list last weekend!! My mind is blown!
Thank you so much to everyone that bought it. I am beyond grateful.
And thank you for the messages from you all about your own grief and the ways in which you have experienced it. I am humbled and honoured that you have shared those stories either in person at the book events or on line. I hope the book helped in some small way (or at least didn’t make it worse!)
Thank you all so much!
Peace everywhere and love always.
gL.x
26 Mar 2025
A wee reading from my new book. gL.x
#theforestisthepath
21 Mar 2025
I have a book out today. Its title is the same as the album title, The Forest Is The Path. You can find it in bookstores and on the SP website and on Audible (read by me).
This is me on Bangor Pier (mentioned in the book) today.
The book is about both the making of the record (and its themes) and the passing of my father, Jack, in December of 2019.
The two things sound distinct from each other but they are actually intrinsically linked.
But just to say, you don’t need to read the book to understand the album, this is not homework.
I’ve never done anything like this before so it’s very new to me. But I’m glad to have written it and to have spent that time thinking deeply about my dad and about SP and my brothers Johnny and Nathan.
And speaking of those two absolute legends, I would not have been able to do this without them. Their encouragement and enthusiasm throughout was incredible. I’m so massively grateful to them both for everything they do and everything they are. Being in this band with them is the greatest honour and joy of my life. Thank you brothers.
And to anyone that might want to read this book, thank you. The making of the album with @frasertsmith was the most wonderful time. And my dad was a very funny and charming fellow and I hope that comes across. Sure there is sadness in it, but I think there is joy too… and maybe even a few laughs.
Peace and love.
gL.x
13 Mar 2025
Well… I wrote a book.
A short one.
It is coming out on March 13th, published by the lovely people at Harper Collins.
The book has the same name as the album because it is a companion piece to it.
It (in part) tells the story of the making of the album, and the themes of the record (time, home, love, etc)…
But more than half of the book is about the passing of my father, Jack.
These sections of the book are the story of four days in my life: the day he died; the day after; the funeral; and a day almost one year later.
And it was one year later when the album, The Forest Is The Path, began as I wrote the first song for it, which was ‘These Lies’, having written nothing since he passed away.
So the two stories connect together. A death becoming a kind of birth. Not to give away the ending or anything.
Yes it’s a story about grief and the passing of a parent but it’s also a story of life and music and laughter too. My dad was a very funny man and if the book (should you decide to read it) makes you at all sad at times, I very much hope it also makes you laugh in places too.
It is my journey from the numbness of grief back to the joy of making music with my brothers, Johnny and Nathan, again.
There will also be a deluxe version of The Forest Is The Path album released on the same day as the book with six new songs that the three of us are so excited about. More details about that early next week.
Peace and love.
gL.x
23 Jan 2025
Happy Christmas everyone.
These fantastic Northern Irish charities are each getting £10,000 from us this year:
@foodstockcharity, @trusselluk and @fareshareni (stuff a bus) are all helping to feed people that are struggling this Christmas.
@drakemusicni is one of our favourite music charities. Bringing access to music, sometimes literally inventing instruments, for people of all abilities and different abilities. Michelle McCormack, who runs Drake, is a force of nature and one of my all time heroes.
@age_ni bring support, connection and companionship to older people especially at this time of year.
Hope you all have a wonderful festive season and a very happy new year.
Peace and love. gL.x
24 Dec 2024
The new @sisterghostofficial album ‘Beyond The Water’ is out today!
It’s such a great record and we’re so proud to release it on our wee label @thirdbarbelfast.
Check it out in the link in the bio.
It’s an absolute belter of an album! gL.x
31 Oct 2024
Myself and @davymatchett are so excited to announce two amazing albums we are releasing on our wee record label @thirdbarbelfast this year.
(link in bio, to preorder or listen to a few songs)
First up is The Garden by @david_c_clements, released on September 20th (this Friday).
This is an extraordinary album full to the brim with mighty songs and all sung by one of the finest voices in Northern Irish music today. Songs recorded (and some co-written) with three of the best Irish producers of all time: @jacknifelee (U2, REM), @iainarcher (James Bay, Jake Bugg) and @keeneym (Foy Vance, SOAK).
And then, released on the 31st of October, is Beyond The Water by @sisterghostofficial.
I remember when Shannon sent the early demos of this record to Davy and I and how insanely excited we were by the songs. Some of my favourite Irish rock songs of the last ten years are on here: Dark Matter and Drain You being two of my absolute favourites. Produced by the legend that is @bradwood_producifer, in his studio in LA.
I hope you enjoy these wonderful albums by two brilliant artists as much as I do.
Peace and love. gL.x
16 Sep 2024
Our new album The Forest Is The Path is out today.
I have a lot to say about it, but instead of that right now (give you a chance to hear it first eh? Ha) I’ll just say that I’m so proud of it and I can’t wait for folks to hear it. Thanks so much to those of you that have bought it and listened and commented already. We’re so grateful. And humbled.
I painted a piece of art for every song on the album. Here they all are.
Massive thanks to @frasertsmith for your vision, calmness, kindness, excellence and genius.
To everyone that helped us get here thank you. You are legion, and we are so grateful.
And to my brothers Johnny and Nathan I love you more than I can ever put into words. And I’m so happy to be on this journey with you both.
To all of you thank you. And we’ll see you on the road! Excited to tour next year and start to fit some of these new ones into the set list. (And yes more dates are soon to added in lots of places around the world).
Peace and love! gL.x
#theforestisthepath
📷 @bradleyquinnphotos
13 Sep 2024
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