Snow Patrol have joined forces with Kylie Minogue for hypnotic new single ‘These Alarms’, and revealed the set times for their huge gig at Crystal Palace Park, taking place later this week.
The bittersweet new single sees the indie rock giants team up with the pop icon for the first time – having initially recorded the song without her in 2024, and putting it on hold until they could secure a collaboration.
Led by pulsating synths and haunting vocal melodies, the track kicks in with both Minogue and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody’s entwined voices. “It’s all at once/ And everything in between/ It’s not what we want/ But it’s just something that/ We need in our lives right now”, they sing, building towards the euphoric, anthemic chorus.
The song was first written by Lightbody two years ago under the working title ‘Kylie’ and set to be released on Snow Patrol’s chart-topping album ‘The Forest Is The Path’, until the band decided to put it on hold while they sought out a duet with the pop star.
“As a huge Kylie fan I originally wrote ‘These Alarms’ with her in mind. I played it to Johnny [McDaid] and Nathan [Connolly] and they loved it,” the singer explained. “But when we finished the song we quickly realised something huge was missing from it. We all knew it was Kylie’s voice that was the missing piece.”
After sending it to Minogue, and keeping “many fingers and toes crossed” that she would like it, they later got the seal of approval from the ‘Padam Padam’ singer, who agreed to the collaboration.
“Kylie recorded her wonderful voice on it and finally the song felt complete,” Lightbody continued. “From the minute she recorded her vocals we knew, to properly honour Kylie and the song, it needed to have a life on its own and not be buried somewhere on an album, but live in its own universe.
“The song had its own very unique genesis, journey and destination. We could not be more delighted to be releasing a song with Kylie, the queen of pop herself, out into the world.”
Minogue shared her love of the song too, as well as her curiosity to check it out after hearing that the band were so eager to have her feature on it.
“The story behind this song was irresistible… Hearing there was a demo called ‘Kylie’ that had been living in the Snow Patrol archives was a complete surprise and, naturally, I was
curious to hear it,” she shared.
“Gary is such a brilliant songwriter, so to be invited into the band’s world is a total honour.”
Check out the single above, and visit here to pre-order a limited-edition 7” physical vinyl, which ships on August 21.
As well as releasing the new single, Snow Parol are also set to play a run of UK live shows this summer, which includes a huge show at London’s Crystal Palace Park this Friday (July 3).
Support on the night will come from Nieve Ella, The Amazons, Amy MacDonald and Editors, and Snow Patrol have today (Wednesday July 1) confirmed the stage times for the gig.
Nieve Ella will open the show at 3pm BST, before The Amazons take to the stage at 4pm. From there, Amy MacDonald will begin her set at 5:15pm, before Editors start performing at 6:30pm.
Snow Patrol are expected to be on stage from 8:20pm, and you can find remaining tickets and more information here.
The set times for Snow Patrol at London’s Crystal Palace Park are:
Nieve Ella – 3pm
The Amazons – 4pm
Amy MacDonald – 5:15pm
Editors – 6:30pm
Snow Patrol – 8:20pm
After the set at Crystal Palace Park, Snow Patrol will perform at Ludlow Castle on July 16, Edinburgh Castle on July 18, and Splendour Festival in Nottingham on July 19.
Snow Patrol’s last album, ‘The Forest Is The Path’ was their eighth LP and their first in six years. It featured production from Fraser T Smith and writing credits from Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen.