Gary Lightbody at the Tay Hotel. Along with Lightbody, friends Roy Kerr, Tom Simpson, and Anu Pillai also used to DJ there. They mixed up various styles of music as house, rock, and hip hop. They gained a loyal following and socialised together for about two years. Lightbody later co-wrote "What Are You Waiting For" on the album "Strangest Things", with Anu Pillai for Freeform Five. "What Are You Waiting For" was written before Snow Patrol released "Final Straw", during a time when Lightbody was staying over at the band's place for a few days. Pillai had to literally drag a hungover
Gary Lightbody songs with such themes, he eventually abandoned his efforts as he found all of them awkward. Lightbody has said that all of the songs from the first two albums; "Songs for Polarbears" and "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up" were written from personal experience. His lyrics often criticise himself or are self-deprecatory. He has cited "Chocolate" as an example, which he wrote after cheating on his girlfriend. He also considers writing a sort of "therapy" for himself. Lightbody's songwriting has earned him much praise. In October 2009, he revealed that a certain "public figure", whom he