Nathan Connolly (born 20 January 1981) is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

Early life

Connolly, who was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, sang for a gospel church choir at Glenmachan, Church of God, Belfast when he was 16, and the experience, he says, is what inspired him to be a musician. He is a former pupil of

Grosvenor Grammar School Grosvenor Grammar School (formerly Grosvenor High School) is an 11–18 co-educational controlled grammar school and sixth form in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. History Grosvenor Grammar School was founded in 1945 as Grosvenor Hi ...

Career

Prior to joining Snow Patrol, Connolly was a member of a band called File Under Easy Listening (or F.U.E.L), who were managed by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Colin Murray Colin Murray (born Luke Wright on 10 March 1977) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter. In 2010, he became host of BBC Television's ''Match of the Day 2'' on BBC Two, while still anchoring shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, including '' 5 ...

. The band consisted of Connolly, vocalist Aaron Ditty, Dave Magee and Peter Comfort. Unfortunately, it did not last long; the single "Closure/Dryform" was F.U.E.L.'s first and only release. While working at the record store

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

, Connolly was introduced to the band

. He reluctantly agreed to join, despite the fact that the band had no record deal at the time. He jokingly recalls his mother thinking he "was being kidnapped by rock stars." Connolly became a permanent member of the band near the end of 2002. His recruitment played a large role in shaping the band's new sound. With Connolly as a composer of the band's new material, Snow Patrol garnered a new record deal and released ''

Final Straw ''Final Straw'' is the third studio album and major-label debut by Scottish-Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the ...

'' in 2003. The album proved to be the band's breakthrough and helped introduce them to a wide audience. In late 2006, he talked about plans to record a solo album, which he said would be "melodic and tuneful". In 2013, Connolly formed his own side project called Little Matador. More recently Connolly played with Feeder live at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...

on 12 June 2016. On 17 March 2023, he released “Fires”, with guest star

Simon Neil Simon Alexander Neil (born 31 August 1979) is a Scottish vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for his work in the bands Biffy Clyro and Marmaduke Dukeand also new band with Mike Vennart, Empire state bastard. Career Biffy Clyro ...

on vocals, as the lead single from his debut solo album “The Strange Order of Things”. The album was released on 21 April 2023.

Personal life

Connolly lives in

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

, London, near former bandmate

Jonny Quinn Jonathan Graham Quinn (born 26 February 1972) is a Northern Irish musician, best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drumm ...

Equipment

Guitars

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

Custom – Tobacco 1979 * Gibson Les Paul Custom – Ebony (appears in the video for Take Back the City) *

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...

Custom – Sunburst 1974 * Fender Telecaster Custom – Blonde 1977 *

Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsc ...

Countryman – Brown 1962 * Gretsch Duo Jet – Black *

Fender Jaguar The Fender Jaguar is an electric guitar by Fender Musical Instruments characterized by an offset-waist body, a relatively unusual switching system with two separate circuits for lead and rhythm, and a short-scale 24" neck. Owing some roots to th ...

– Sunburst 1965 * Fender Telecaster Custom – Black '72 reissue * Fender Telecaster Nashville – Sunburst *

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

Acoustic * Rickenbacker 360 – Jetglo * Hutchins Memphis – Black He uses Jim Dunlop Tortex .60mm picks

Amps

* Diamond Amplification Spitfire I Head with Spitfire 4x12 Cabinet *

Vox AC30 The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox. It was introduced in 1958 to meet the growing demand for louder amplifiers. Characterised by its "jangly" high-end sound it has become widely recognized by British musicians and others, su ...

(Used at Mandela Hall SG#3) *

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

JCM800 2203 Jubilees * Marshall 3315 Transistor (Used on Final Straw Tours) * Fender Twin Reverb (Also Used on Final Straw Tours)

Effects

Connolly uses a setup that is primarily rack based. His rack consists of the following: *

TC Electronic TC Electronic (sometimes stylized as t.c. electronic) is a Danish audio equipment company that designs and imports guitar effects, bass amplification, computer audio interfaces, audio plug-in software, live sound equalisers, studio and post-pro ...

D Two (for delay) *TC Electronic G Major (for modulation, pitch shifting and compression) *TC Electronic M One XL (for reverb and layered delay sounds) *Voodoo Labs GCX Audio Switcher He uses various pedals for his overdrive and boost sounds. They change from time to time, but his consistent setup includes the following: * Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer * MXR/ Dunlop Micro Amp (for boost) *

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

Super Overdrive *Boss Blues Driver He uses a Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro controller to bring up presets for each of the band's songs, and has the ability to add/remove different pedals and changes in sound. He also uses a function in the TC Electronic G Major that allows him to switch the channels on his Marshall Jubilee amp heads for his heaviest sounds. Connolly has a small pedalboard containing his ground control for the rack and various Boss pedals including a TU-2, PS-5, DD3, and RC-2.

References

External links

Snow Patrol's Nathan Connolly: 'Guitar Is Just Another Tool To Create A Song'

PopGurls Interview: Nathan Connolly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Nathan Rock guitarists from Northern Ireland Snow Patrol members Musicians from Belfast 1981 births Living people Ivor Novello Award winners People educated at Grosvenor Grammar School Male guitarists from Northern Ireland 20th-century guitarists from Northern Ireland 21st-century guitarists from Northern Ireland 20th-century male musicians from Northern Ireland 21st-century male musicians from Northern Ireland