A Hundred Million Suns

A Hundred Million Suns is the fifth album by Snow Patrol. The album was written by Snow Patrol and was produced by longtime producer Jacknife Lee, who has previously produced albums for Bloc Party, R.E.M., and U2. The songs were recorded through the summer of 2008 in Hansa Studios in Berlin and Grouse Lodge Studios in Ireland. The album was released in Ireland on 24 October 2008, on 25 October in Australia, on 27 October in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe and in the US on 28 October.

The album title was revealed by drummer Jonny Quinn in an interview to The Belfast Telegraph, and was initially reported as “One Hundred Million Suns”. Lightbody later confirmed the title as “A Hundred Million Suns” on the band’s official website, and noted that the newspaper had gone on to print the title despite the band’s wish to reveal it themselves.

A Hundred Million Suns was made available in three different formats, standard CD, LP Vinyl, digital download. There was also a deluxe version including a specially produced DVD directed by James Russell and full color book

The first single taken from the album, “Take Back the City” premiered on Zane Lowe’s show on BBC Radio 1 on 1 September at 7:20 pm. The title of the album was revealed on 1 August and the final track listing for the album was officially revealed on Snow Patrol’s website on 29 August. In early October, almost a month before the release of the album, exclusive listening parties were organized and fans were invited on a first come, first served basis. Three days before the album was officially released, the band’s website put up the whole album for online playback. A section featuring Gary Lightbody and his thoughts on the new songs was also put up. The album artwork was designed by Farrow Design. The use of handwriting on the album and single sleeves was the band’s idea.

Snow Patrol also teamed up with Apple Inc. and became the first band to have an interactive application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The free digital application enabled users to access extra content like lyrics, behind-the-scenes images and exclusive album related artwork.