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 phase ran for two years. He later gave up drinking and now does it "for fun" and credits his bandmates for the turnaround. The song "Disaster Button" ("A Hundred Million Suns") deals with this topic. Though a musician, he cannot read music and has said that he "guesses" his way through chords. He has a baritone vocal range. When at the University of Dundee, Lightbody met Nick DeCosemo, a fellow student, and the two became friends. DeCosemo also moved in Lightbody's Springfield apartment when he moved out of his parents' house. Nick had formed a club night called The Spaceship