Earlier in September, Snow Patrol announced the departure of their longtime rhythm section, bassist Paul Wilson and drummer Jonny Quinn. While both members got effusive tribute posts penned by frontman Gary Lightbody, Quinn’s wife, Mariane, hinted in a comment that the split might not have been amicable: “It’s been a f*****. F***** by you know who.”
As for who exactly “you know who” is, that remains a mystery. In his first post-Snow Patrol interview, Wilson tells Rolling Stone that he’s “not heard from [the Quinns] or anyone in the band.”
“But I’m glad to talk about this because I feel like my narrative has been completely lost,” Wilson says. “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.”
“I don’t really know what went down,” Wilson adds of the alleged drama. “But I’m guessing there were creative differences in the studio; I can’t imagine it was anything too crazy.”
Wilson also shares that he doesn’t “have any ill feelings towards the guys” and realized he wanted to leave Snow Patrol when the band regrouped for their first tour following the COVID-19 lockdown.
“It’s quite a tough decision to walk away from a huge entity like Snow Patrol,” he says. “But my priorities shifted so much.”
Wilson’s now focused on his new project, the metal-influenced Above as Below. Snow Patrol, meanwhile, intends to continue with remaining members Lightbody, guitarist Nathan Connolly and multiple-instrumentalist Johnny McDaid.
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