Johnny McDaid is an Irish singer, songwriter, musician, former member of Vega 4 and current musician and songwriter of Snow Patrol.
Early years
Irish composer Johnny McDaid learned his craft the traditional way: playing music in front of an audience and seeing which songs were better received. I have played in various bands since childhood. McDade moved to London at the age of 17. Chose music over college.
He recalls: "I started writing music when I was playing covers on the streets of London. Sometimes between popular songs I could play something of my own and get an immediate reaction. I could feel if the audience liked what I was writing. It was an honest school."
Career
After a few years in London, Johnny founded the band Vega 4. After signing a contract and achieving success in the States, the management of the record company changed and sent the band into free swimming. Vega 4 took an unexpected break from work, and McDaid recorded a joint hit with Paul van Dyk - the song Time Of Our Lives. Unable to work on freshmaterial for Vega 4, and fired up by the opportunity to write for others, Johnny decided to hone his craft as a songwriter.
McDaid says: "I went on tour in America. I spent months making music with everyone who agreed to work with me. Hip-hop writers, country musicians, guys, girls, bands, producers - everyone who was ready to write with me. The idea was to soak up the essence of songwriting and be open to all kinds of possibilities. In collaboration with different people, I gained a lot of experience and found a real energy to work."
On the way to an American adventure, McDaid was intercepted by Johnny Quinn, drummer for the band Snow Patrol, and McDaid became the first to be signed to Polar Patrol Publishing. He subsequently joined the group and became an important member of their line-up. For Snow Patrol, Johnny often co-writes with the band's vocalist Gary Lightbody.
After joining the band, Johnny continued to hone his songwriting skills with bands such as Example, Foy Vance, Rudimental, Kodaline. Johnny also collaborated with popular musician Ed Sheeran on his hit album X, for which he received a Grammy nomination in 2015.
Johnny McDaid talks about his work: "What I'm trying to do is understand what the artist I'm working with wants to talk about… in order to get to the heart of things, to show vulnerability, to know his true Thoughts: Working with a musician is like an ecosystem for me: everything changes and grows in the energy that spreads everywhere.songs are alchemy. To create something new, you use your experience, your life, love, pain, wounds, pleasures, joys, the knowledge of those people you have met before, and, ultimately, your nature. That's how songs are born."
Private life
In late 2013, Johnny began dating the Friends star. On June 26, 2014, Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid announced their engagement, but already in December 2015, the musician broke off the engagement. Now the lovers have reconciled and are planning a joint future again.
The musician has a tattoo on his left arm that says in Irish: "Nuair is gá dom filleadh abhaile, is tú mo ré alt eolais", which means "When I need to go home, you are my guiding light".
