Gary Lightbody has hit back at claims by Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire that Snow Patrol are "the most boring band in Britain".
Lightbody told The Daily Record: "To be the most hated, you have to be the most loved, too. Nicky Wire has earned the right to say whatever he wants, he's a rock God, so more power to him. we only seem dull on the surface. Jonny fights fires. Tom toils shirt lesson construction sites, Paul is in the Navy Reserve. Nathan is a volunteer policeman and I explore my Cherokee ancestry. We're like the Village People, only slightly less gay. So insult us all you want. Nothing will offend me. It's all been said. And you can't give us more than two middle fingers. ... In our heads, the music we make is vital and passionate".
In summary, Snow Patrol are dull on the surface, slightly gay, and only passionate in their own heads. Not my words, the words of Gary Lightbody.