A 00s rock band has scored their first UK number one album in nearly two decades.
Snow Patrol have knocked David Gilmour’s album Luck and Strange off the top spot with their offering The Forest Is The Path.
It is the trio’s first number one album in 18 years since 2006’s Eyes Open, which featured the hit songs Chasing Cars and You’re All I Have.
The band could barely believe their return as chartoppers, telling Official Charts: ‘We are absolutely over the moon, it’s our first Number 1 album in 18 years and we’re overjoyed!
‘Thank you so much to everybody who bought it and streamed it, and everybody that helped us make it, and everybody that’s helped us over these last 30 years.’
The Forest Is The Path’s position means all of the Just Say Yes group’s eight albums have reached the top three.
2003 LP Final Straw, 2008’s A Hundred Million Sunns and 2009 compilation Up To Now, 2011’s Fallen Empires and 2019’s Reworked all peaked at number three, while 2018’s Wildness hit number two.
In the number two spot in the UK album charts is Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet followed by new entry, London Grammar’s fourth album The Greatest Love.
Rounding off the top five are Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shade in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Last year, Snow Patrol underwent a line-up change when frontman Gary Lightbody announced that drummer Jonny Quinn and bassist Paul Wilson decided to quit the band.
The group is now formed of original members Gary, Nathan Connolly and John McDaid.
In an Instagram post, signed gL.X, Lightbody wrote: “Hi everyone, sorry to be the bearer of such sad news but both Jonny Quinn and Paul Wilson have decided to leave Snow Patrol.
‘We are heartbroken they have decided to leave us but we wish them nothing but happiness, success, joy, compassion and everything they want in all their future endeavours.’
Snow Patrol originally started in the early 90s but saw huge success in 2006 with the hit album Eyes Open, featuring Chasing Cars.
Despite never reaching number one in the charts, the track remains the UK’s 26th most downloaded song of all time and was named the most-played song of the 21st century so far.
The Forest Is The Path is Snow Patrol’s first album in six years – and was described in a statement as a body of music ‘rooted in reflection, introspection and interrogation’.
Gary also explained some inspiration comes from being a decade on from the end of a relationship and still feeling the fading love he had in the background.
Snow Patrol also announced a reunion tour starting next year. They are set to play eight shows as part of their arena run, including The O2 in London on February 15, 2025.
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