Frontman Gary Lightbody reveals he'd often cry himself to sleep in hotel rooms hours after performing.
- May 30, 2018
AceShowbiz - Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody turned to alcohol to help him battle depression, because he was "a happy drunk".
The "Chasing Cars" singer has opened up about his battle with the blues in the new issue of homeless newspaper The Big Issue, revealing he'd often cry himself to sleep in hotel rooms hours after performing for thousands of adoring fans.
"I have a depressive personality that has no relationship with reality," he tells the outlet. "I could be having the best time on the surface and yet my depression goes, 'You're still a c**t. Don't forget that. I'm dragging you down into the ink and the dirt and the darkness'.
"I could be playing to 15,000 people and three hours later be in a hotel room, crying on the floor. That's happened a bunch of times.
"I started drinking with a gusto that a professional boxer might train for a prize fight. There was a hell of a lot of fun. Until it wasn't. I'd get to 2am sitting on my own, have a cry, and then a glass of something. I didn't have any relationships and I wasn't having sex either. I was very hermetic. Around 2015/2016 I was drinking every day and also I was hating it."
The singer has since turned to therapy to face his depression head-on: "I've learned that, rather than running from it... you have to turn and face it and look it in the eye and say, 'I'm not afraid of you anymore'."
Lightbody and his bandmates have teamed up with The Big Issue to release an exclusive vinyl single of the band's new track, "Soon", which features on their first album in seven years.
