Pitchfork: Snow Patrol Lose Bassist Prior to U.S. Tour

Snow Patrol Lose Bassist Prior to U.S. Tour

Snow Patrol are continuing to work on a follow-up to 2004's breakthrough Final Straw, but will evidently be doing so without the services of bassist and founding member Mark McClelland. According to reports on NME.com, the band asked McClelland to leave, citing "unexpected pressures" which had "taken their toll on working relationships within the band."

In a statement on the band's website, Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody wrote, "...over the last 18 months, touring has taken its toll on the rest of the band's relationship with [McClelland]. This is the hardest decision we have ever had to make, and believe us when we say we didn't make it lightly. It got to the stage that things couldn't go on as they were, so we felt there was no other course of action but this."

However, McClelland immediately responded to the Daily Record, stating that he was blind-sided by his bandmates' decision. "I didn't see it coming because there was no real indication of these pressures they were talking about," he said. "I went down for a meeting to discuss what I thought was about when we were going to start rehearsing and writing for the new album and they just sprung it on me."

McClelland and Lightbody started Snow Patrol in 1994 while the two were attending Dundee University in Scotland. Ten years later, 2004 proved to be their breakout year, as the success of Final Straw basically made them superstars in the UK. In the wake of that success, McClelland says he felt like Lightbody wanted to seize creative control of the group. "I think Gary [Lightbody] wanted more control and less interference," he also told the Record. "It's a solo effort now because he'll be the only one really contributing to the band."

Snow Patrol are slated to start a North American tour next month, and all signs indicate the split won't affect things in that department. Here are the dates:

04-23 Woodlands, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
04-25 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room and Ballroom
04-30 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
05-03 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom/Lola's
05-06 Vancouver, British Columbia - Vogue Theatre
05-10 Winnipeg, Manitoba - West End Cultural Centre
05-12 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
05-19 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret LaTulipe
05-21 Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom
05-24 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-27 Orlando, FL - House of Blues
05-29 Saint Petersburg, FL - The State Theatre
05-31 New Orleans, LA - House of Blues