Paul "Pablo" Wilson (born 20 October 1978) is a Scottish musician, who is best known as the bass guitarist for Scottish-Northern Irish

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 mainstream or commerci ...

band Snow Patrol. He previously played guitar in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

band

Terra Diablo Terra Diablo is a Scottish rock band signed to Nocturnal Records. The band was formed when singers and guitarists Ian Fairclough and Davey McAuley met while working at the same record store. They have been managed by Jez Hindmarsh, drummer for ...

from 2000–2005. In March 2005, he replaced bassist

Mark McClelland Mark Peter McClelland (born 30 March 1976) is a Northern Irish musician known best as the former bass guitarist of the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album ''Final Straw''. He is now the ...

in Snow Patrol and switched instruments to bass. Wilson has been friends with the band years before he joined them and even Terra Diablo, and had contributed guitar and keyboards as an unofficial live member. He plays left-handed and generally uses a black

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a rang ...

on-stage. He is a multi-instrumentalist and is trained in piano.

Career

Wilson, was born and grew up in

Kinlochleven Kinlochleven () ( gd, Ceann Loch Lìobhann) is a village located in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe. The village ...

and attended the Kinlochleven High School. He always wanted to be a musician and has said that it is the only thing "he's ever done". He has said that if he couldn't be a musician, he would have worked as a music producer or teach children how to be in a band. Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist, and can play instruments such as piano, guitar, bass, drums and banjo. He went to music school to learn the piano, and in his own words, can "play most things unless they have to be blown into". He has been friends with members of Snow Patrol since 1995, during their "wilderness years". In 2000, he joined Glasgow band

as guitarist. Whenever Terra Diablo supported Snow Patrol on tours, Wilson joined Snow Patrol on-stage as an unofficial member, contributing guitar and keyboards. He once joked that he agreed to tour with Snow Patrol only the condition that Terra Diablo could tour with them. Wilson left Terra Diablo in mid-February 2005, the reasons for which were not made public. On 16 March 2005, Snow Patrol bassist

was fired from the band. Vocalist

Gary Lightbody Gareth John Lightbody (born 15 June 1976) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The ...

asked Wilson to replace him. He accepted, and switched to the bass guitar when he joined the band. He played his first show as permanent member in

Dingle Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...

on 1 April 2005. In October 2006, during the Eyes Open Tour, he injured his left arm and shoulder. Though wanting to continue, the band thought better and six concerts were subsequently cancelled. Apart from his work with Snow Patrol, Wilson also guested on

Film School A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training ar ...

's 2007 album '' Hideout''. Appears as: "Paul Wilson took time out from his usual bass duties with Snow Patrol to guest on Film School's new album, Hideout."

Musical style

His favourite instrument is the guitar, which he played for nineteen years, before switching to bass. He found the transition difficult, as he felt that one could "get away with more" playing the guitar. He finds the bass a difficult and challenging instrument to play and "express" oneself. But he enjoys playing it and likes the potential of the instrument: "By changing one note, you can make the whole thing sound a lot better". Apart from writing bass-lines for the band, Wilson occasionally contributes guitar and piano parts. He writes bass-lines based on the song's rhythm and at times teams up with drummer

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 ...

to come up with a basic

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

or simple

chord changes In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

. He plays the bass left-handed, and prefers using a pick. On-stage, he generally uses a black

4000 bass.

Personal life

As a child, Wilson was a huge fan of Star Wars, and owned toys of all characters. He has the name of his previous band "Terra Diablo" tattooed on the inside of his left arm.

Musical equipment

;Bass guitars *

4000 (Black) *Rickenbacker 4003 * Fender Jazz Bass ;Amplifiers *

Ampeg SVT The Ampeg SVT is a bass guitar amplifier designed by Bill Hughes and Roger Cox for Ampeg and introduced in 1969. The SVT is a stand-alone amplifier or "head" as opposed to a "combo" unit comprising amp and speaker(s) in one cabinet, and was capab ...

–2PRO, SVT–4PRO *

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

AD200 *Ampeg SVT–810E (Bass cabinet) ;Effects *Big Muff (distortion pedal, 2×) * Line 6 Bass POD XT Pro

Discography

;with Terra Diablo *2001 – "The Way Things Are and How They're Meant to Be" *2002 – "The Smoke" *2004 – "Satellites" *2004 – "Swings & Roundabouts" *2004 – ''Terra Diablo'' ;with Snow Patrol *2006 – '' Eyes Open'' *2008 – '' A Hundred Million Suns'' *2009 – ''

Up to Now ''Up to Now'' is the first compilation album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen-year music career, including tracks from The Reindeer Section, a side-project/ supergroup involving musi ...

'' *2011 – '' Fallen Empires'' *2018 – ''

Wildness Wildness, in its literal sense, is the quality of being Wildlife, wild or Domestication, untamed. Beyond this, it has been defined as a quality produced in nature, as that which emerges from a forest, and as a level of achievement in nature. M ...

'' ;Notes *A: When credited.

References

External links

Profile
at

Ampeg Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...

.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Paul 1978 births Living people Scottish multi-instrumentalists British rock bass guitarists Scottish bass guitarists Snow Patrol members Scottish keyboardists 21st-century bass guitarists