FirstWord GARY LIGHTBODY
With a Glasgow date at the end of the month, a best of compilation in the shops and a string of dates behind them supporting U2, it’s no wonder Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody now requires a stunt double. Here he talks tape, sausages and broken cameras
First record you ever bought Michael Jackson – Thriller. On tape. Last time you were chatted up Ha. Doesn’t happen very often. Honestly don’t know. Actually, have I been?
First movie you ever went on a date to Reservoir Dogs
Last extravagant purchase you made I purchased a stunt double. For all the stunts I do. First crush Karen Frazer in P2 at Rathmore primary school in Bangor, County Down. I shared my sam spuds with her and she asked me if I loved her. I said ‘I’ll tell you after PE’. After much thought and exercise I said I did.
Last book you read The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt. Incredible it was too. First great piece of advice you were given Fire burny.
Last time someone criticised your work Ha. You’re kidding right? Every day if you hunt for it. About five years ago I gave up worrying about what’s said about us.
Last time you cried Probably at the short animated film version of Oliver Jeffers’ book Lost and Found. I urge everybody to see it, young or old. It’s spectacular. Last great meal you cooked You’d have to ask the person who I cooked it for, but I do OK in the kitchen. I make a pretty good stab at most things with varying results.
First thing you do when you’ve got time off work Go home and see my wee niece. First thing you’d do if you ran the country Everybody take the day off to regroup. National free spa day. We’re all stressed for a lot of reasons right now and a spa won’t solve any of it, but for a few hours, wouldn’t it be nice?
Last time you were star struck We’ve done 20 dates of the U2 360° tour this summer and I still get star struck around U2. Not sure I’ll ever not think it’s mad to be talking to Bono as I grew up on U2. Last time you exploited your position to get something Asked Bella Union for J Tillman’s new record Year in the Kingdom and they
WeLike The things making our world just that little bit better
sent me it, bless ‘em. Fine as hell it is an’ all. When the day comes I’ll let you know.
First three words your friends would use to describe you Insufferable drunken ass.
Last meal on earth – what would it be? Bangers and mash.
First concert you ever attended Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Rollins Band, 1991, Ulster Hall, Belfast. Ears rang for three days. It was awesome. First song you’ll sing at karaoke ‘Living on a Prayer’ by the great Jovi.
Last time you made an impulse buy and regretted it Some years back I bought a camera in Portland and that night, having taken approximately zero pictures, I jumped in the hotel pool fully clothed with it in my pocket. Idiot you say? Yup. First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning I should know better by now.
Last thing you think of before you go to sleep Every single thing ever, ever, ever, ever. Resulting in no sleep at all.
First time you realised you were famous ■ Snow Patrol play Glasgow’s Clyde Auditorium on Mon 30 Nov.
■ November – not the easiest month to get through. The excitement of the fireworks fades pretty early on and then what are you left with? High winds, higher heating bills and shops cynically trying to inveigle you
into early Christmas shopping. Actually, various busy List-ers have found a solution to the
AW09 blues: a productive month long internet campaign. Our Juliet is battling to make it to 50,000 words as part of NaNoWriMo (that’s National Novel Writing Month: keep track of her progress at tinyurl.com/yd883pz). Meanwhile, if you’ve spotted an intimidating and ever-expanding mass of human hair billowing out across the Royal Mile area of Edinburgh, don’t worry. Somewhere underneath are our Film and Clubs editors – they’re both spending the month growing moustaches to raise money for prostate cancer research as part of the Movember (geddit?) campaign. Find their Mospaces (geddit, again?) here: tinyurl.com /yjmpbuw
2 THE LIST 19 Nov–3 Dec 2009