The Blizzards
The Blizzards |
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The Blizzards are an Irish indie band from Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland formed in 2003. They have released two albums, A Public Display of Affection in 2006 and The Domino Effect in 2008.
Members
The band consists of:
- Niall Breslin (lead vocals & guitar)
- Justin Ryan (lead guitar)
- Dec Murphy (drums)
- Anthony Doran (bass)
- Aidan Lynch (keyboards and acoustic guitar)
Career
The Blizzards' indepedently-released debut single "First Girl to Leave Town" went to No. 11 in the Irish charts in 2005. In July of that year, the band performed at the Oxegen festival.[1] The following year the band signed a recording contract with Universal Music Ireland with the band's second single "Trouble" reaching No. 6 in the Irish Singles Chart in spring 2006. The single stayed in the Top 40 for four weeks. Follow-up singles "Miss Fantasia Preaches" and "War of Words" were released in August and October 2006 respectively. The Blizzards returned to Oxegen in July 2006, moving up the billing to perform on the NME stage.[2]
The band's debut album, A Public Display of Affection, was released in November 2006 and debuted at no. 4 in the Irish Albums Chart.[3] Although critical responses to the album were generally positive, [4][5] the album remained in the Top 50 for only three weeks. However, the band's growing popularity saw the album re-enter the charts early in 2007. A Public Display of Affection reached No. 21 in the Irish Albums Chart[6] and remained in the Top 50 for eighteen weeks from January to June of 2007. Two further singles, "Fantasy" and "On the Right Track" were released in 2007 before a Main Stage appearance on the Sunday of Oxegen.
In late June 2008, the band confirmed via their official website that work on their second album had been completed. [7] Produced once again by Michael Beinhorn, The Domino Effect was released on the 12th September, with a single entitled "Trust Me I'm A Doctor" released in July. [8] The single, alongside other new and old material as well as a cover of Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold", was performed during their July 13 hour-long set on the Main Stage of Oxegen 2008. A string of Irish dates have been announced for September and October that take in Naas, Waterford, Carlow, Bundoran, Castlebar, Portlaoise, Cork, Limerick, Drogheda, Dublin and Galway.
Awards
On February 15, 2008, The Blizzards won in the "Best Live Performance" category for their Oxegen 2007 performance at the Meteor Awards in Dublin.
Live Dates
- Indie-pendence Festival in Mitchelstown Co. Cork, Republic of Ireland on August 3rd
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart position |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | A Public Display of Affection | 4 |
| 2008 | The Domino Effect |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart position[9] |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "First Girl to Leave Town" | 11 |
| 2006 | "Trouble" | 6 |
| 2006 | "Miss Fantasia Preaches" | 9 |
| 2006 | "War of Words" | 25 |
| 2007 | "Fantasy" | 16 |
| 2007 | "On the Right Track" |
- |
| 2008 | "Trust Me I'm A Doctor" |
2 |
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References
- ^ [1] Official Oxegen 2005 line-up
- ^ [2] Oxegen 2006 Line-up @ http://www.rte.ie
- ^ [3] Retrieved from http://www.chart-track.com (week 44, 2006)
- ^ [4] http://www.entertainment.ie
- ^ [5] http://www.sputnikmusic.com
- ^ [6] http://www.irma.ie
- ^ MySpace.com - The Blizzards - Mullingar, IE - Pop / Ska / Punk - www.myspace.com/theblizzards
- ^ ""The Blizzards head out on massive nationwide tour…"". Hot Press. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ [7] http://www.irishcharts.ie