Snow Patrol‘s ex-bassist Paul Wilson has opened up about his departure from the band, explaining that his “priorities shifted so much”
Earlier this month, the band’s frontman, Gary Lightbody, announced in a post on Instagram that both Wilson and drummer Jonny Quinn had “decided to leave Snow Patrol”.
He said he was “heartbroken” over the news, but told fans that the group would be continuing as a three-piece – comprising himself, Johnny McDaid and Nathan Connolly – before confirming that a new album is coming “next year”.
Things took a turn when Quinn’s wife, Mariane, left comments online that alleged that Quinn had been “fucked by you know who”.
Snow Patrol’s Jonny Quinn, Tom Simpson, Nathan Connolly, Gary Lightbody, Paul Wilson – posed, studio, group shot Credit: Mick Hutson/GETTY
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Wilson shared that he has not heard from anyone in Snow Patrol and was happy to be able to talk about the situation as he felt like his narrative was lost and overshadowed.
“After being in this band for 20 years, and then all of a sudden there’s this salacious gossip. It’s like, ugh. This has completely ruined my moment of leaving and doing my own thing,” he said.
He continued: “I don’t really know what went down, but I’m guessing there were creative differences in the studio; I can’t imagine it was anything too crazy,” and added “I don’t have any ill feelings towards the guys.”
Wilson’s decision to exit the band was solely due to him wanting to work on his new music project, Above As Below. After deciding that he wanted to make heavier music and realising that his heart was no longer in Snow Patrol, Wilson decided to leave.
“It’s quite a tough decision to walk away from a huge entity like Snow Patrol,” he said. “But my priorities shifted so much.”
Paul Wilson of Snow Patrol performs during the third day of Lollapalooza Buenos Aires 2019 at Hipodromo de San Isidro on March 31, 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Credit: Santiago Bluguermann/Getty
Wilson’s new music project Above As Below is the complete opposite of what he had been doing with Snow Patrol. The former bassist used his love of metal as an inspiration while creating his own music.
“I’ve done Bon Iver-style stuff, and I thought, ‘This isn’t good enough,’” he says. “It’s not authentic. And I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I love metal mostly.’ My old before, Terra Diablo, was a metal band, and I played lead guitar in Nate Mendel from Foo Fighters’ band, Lieutenant. But heavier music is what I’ve listened to,” he told Rolling Stone.
In other Snow Patrol news, the band’s seventh and most recent studio album, ‘Wildness’, came out in 2018. Earlier this year, guitarist Nathan Connolly launched a solo career and released his first record ‘The Strange Order Of Things’.
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