Shrug were a three-piece
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 from
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
formed by students
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and Michael Morrison in September 1994 while in their first year at the
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...
.
History
Shrug formed following a couple of casual Friday night jam sessions in McClelland's girlfriend's room in Belmont Halls of Residence, the band decided to take things more seriously and began regular practices at "Stage 2000" rehearsal studios next to Dundee railway station.
Their live debut took place within a matter of weeks at
Dundee University Students' Association
Dundee University Students' Association (DUSA) is the students' association, legal representative and students' union for matriculated students of the University of Dundee. It is known locally as 'The Union'.
Membership of the body is automat ...
(DUSA), attracting a considerable crowd and receiving very positive reviews. The following is an excerpt from "MacDougal", the DUSA newsletter (Christmas 1994 edition):
The band continued rehearsals during their Christmas break at Morrison's family home 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 ...
. Using equipment borrowed from The Dominoes (Morrison's father Bill Morrison's band), Shrug gained more live experience playing at local venues such as The Duke of York, The Front Page, Robinsons and The Bear in Holywood.
On their return to
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
they promptly recorded their first self funded demo, "The Yogurt vs Yoghurt Debate", recouping some of the costs through sales to fellow students and sending copies out to an array of record labels across the country. Approximately 250 of these tapes were put together at the time, with cover artwork designed by Colin Maguire and an inner insert added by the band.
Shrug continued to play gigs in and around Dundee and Belfast during 1995, and they came to the attention of
Jeepster records in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. They signed a five-year management contract with Jeepster who then set about trying to get record company interest from some of the major labels. Also signed to Jeepster around this time was "Rhode Island", a Scottish act who would soon change their name to "
Belle and Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...
".
With help from Jeepster, Shrug recorded two further demo tapes in 1995 and 1996, including an early version of what would become Snow Patrol's first single release, "
Starfighter Pilot". Unlike the previous tape, however, these were not sold but instead were distributed to record companies such as
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
and
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
. In addition, they began to play more high-profile gigs across Scotland and Northern Ireland. The band played a few gigs with another Northern Irish band, "Disraeli Gears", and Lightbody befriended their front man Paul Archer, his brother
Iain Archer
Iain Archer is a writer, producer and solo artist from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – ''Final Straw'' by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominated ...
and 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 ...
.
Transition to Snow Patrol
Around November 1996, as record company interest continued to grow, the band changed their name to Polar Bear to avoid potential legal complications with an American band that had claimed the name Shrug.
A month later, Morrison suffered a breakdown.
Richard Colburn
Richard Colburn (born 25 July 1970) is the drummer of the Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian. Before he joined Belle & Sebastian, he used to sell pies on match days outside Celtic Park and studied Music Business at Stow College. Appears as: ...
from Belle and Sebastian filled in on drums until Jonny Quinn upped sticks, moving from Belfast to take Morrison's place in the band in Dundee. The band's first commercial release, "
Starfighter Pilot" followed a few months later, and by 1998 they would be known as
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, ...
.
Recordings
The Yogurt Vs. Yoghurt Debate (1995)
Untitled demo 1 (1995)
Untitled demo 2 (1996)
Band members
*
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 ...
–
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
*
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 ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
*
Michael Morrison –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrug
Alternative rock groups from Northern Ireland
British musical trios
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
Snow Patrol