Released 28 June 1999 (UK) Genre Indie rock | Format CD, 12" Vinyl Length 3:40 | |
B-side "Raze the City"
"Riot, Please" Recorded 1997 at Chamber Studios, Edinburgh | ||
"Starfighter Pilot" was the fourth single released by Snow Patrol, and the second track on their debut album Songs for Polarbears. The lyrics were written by Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Lightbody and the other two members of Snow Patrol at the time, Mark McClelland and Jonny Quinn.
Contents
Background
"Starfighter Pilot" was originally released under Snow Patrol's former name Polarbear in 1997. The song was described by The Times as "a wonky indie number that is refreshingly rough around the edges". Irish Central called it a "dirty glam masterpiece". Drummer Jonny Quinn remembers it to be the first Snow Patrol song he listened to on the radio, back in 1998 in a cafe in Ireland. He found the experience "chilling".
Lightbody hated the song, and has said that it "burns [his] soul to play it, it has the worst fucking lyrics ever." During the Reworked Tour of November–December 2009, the band started playing the song again. Lightbody said that the song had lost all meaning to them, and playing it felt as if the band was at a "loss for anything important to say". However, he has stated that he has started to like the song again.
Track listing
- "Starfighter Pilot (Radio Mix)" - 3:40
- "Raze the City" - 4:21
- "Riot, Please" - 2:52
- "Starfighter Pilot (The Bad Belle Mix)" - 4:29
- "Starfighter Pilot (Cut La Roc Mix)" - 3:59
- "Starfighter Pilot (Steve Hitchcock Mix)" - 3:09
Release and reception
The single was released on 28 June 1999 in two versions. The first version was backed with 2 new songs as b-sides. These songs would later be re-released as bonus tracks on the 2006 re-release of Songs for Polarbears.
The second version contained 3 remixes of the song: "The Bad Belle Mix", "Cut La Roc Mix", and "Steve Hitchcock Mix". The "Bad Belle Mix" was remixed by the band's longtime friend Richard Colburn, who previously had played drums on their first release, the EP Starfighter Pilot. DJ Cut La Roc and Steve Hitchcock remixed the other two tracks. Lightbody would go on to collaborate with Cut la Roc on a song "Fallen" in 2001, which would later be released as a single.
The single sold poorly, and only peaked at 161 on the UK singles chart. However, it remains a firm favourite of older fans and was included on the band's 2009 compilation Up to Now.