The Blizzards

Early career

The band's independently-released debut single "First Girl to Leave Town" went to number 11 in the Irish Singles Chart in 2005. In July of that year, the band performed at Oxegen 2005. The following year the band signed a recording contract with Universal Music Ireland with the band's second single "Trouble" reaching number six in the Irish Singles Chart in spring 2006. The single stayed in the top forty for four weeks. Follow-up singles "Miss Fantasia Preaches" and "War of Words" were released in August and October 2006 respectively. In July the following year, The Blizzards performed at Oxegen 2006, moving up on the billing to perform on the NME stage on this occasion.

A Public Display of Affection

A Public Display of Affection, the debut album of The Blizzards, was released in November 2006. It was produced by US producer Michael Beinhorn, who has previously worked with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Korn, Soundgarden and Marilyn Manson, and debuted at number four in the Irish Albums Chart. Although critical responses to the album were generally positive, the album remained in the top fifty for only three weeks. However, the band's growing popularity saw the album re-enter the charts in early 2007. A Public Display of Affection reached number 21 in the Irish Albums Chart and remained in the top fifty for 18 weeks from January to June 2007. Two further singles, "Fantasy" and "On the Right Track" were released in 2007 before a Main Stage appearance at Oxegen 2007.

Domino Effect

In late June 2008, the band confirmed via their official website that work on their second album had been completed. Produced once again by Michael Beinhorn, Domino Effect was released on 12 September, with a single entitled "Trust Me, I'm A Doctor" released in July. The single, alongside other new and old material as well as a cover of Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold", was performed during their 13 July hour-long set on the Main Stage of Oxegen 2008 in front of an estimated 50,000 people. When 10,000 people turned up to watch The Blizzards headline the free Indie-pendence festival in August 2008, the organiser realised that the festival needed to expand the following year. A string of Irish dates was then announced for September and October 2008, taking in Naas, Waterford, Carlow, Bundoran, Castlebar, Portlaoise, Cork, Limerick, Drogheda, Dublin and Galway. They were selected by the organisers of Hard Working Class Heroes alongside acts such as Giveamanakick and Heathers to play the CMJ Festival in New York in October 2008.

The Blizzards released their second album, Domino Effect on 15 September 2008 to mostly positive reviews, with entertainment.ie stating the album "does a concrete job in guiding the sextet through their new-found maturity". The album peaked at number two on the Irish Albums Chart, losing out to Metallica's Death Magnetic. The lead single from the album, "Trust Me, I'm A Doctor" was released on 29 August 2008, going straight to the top of the download charts and debuting at number two on the Irish Singles Chart, again just being beaten to the top spot, this time by the Katy Perry single "I Kissed a Girl". "Trust Me, I'm A Doctor" remained in the top ten for four weeks before dropping down to number 13 on 10 October. The second single from the band's second album was "The Reason". The video for the album's third single, "Postcards", premiered on the website of the Irish Independent in February 2009. The song was performed live on Tubridy Tonight on 28 February and on The Cafe on 13 March. The band have also recently covered "Up" by pop group The Saturdays. On 15 March 2009, they performed at Nelson's Column as part of the Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in London. The Blizzards performed at the 2009 Meteor Awards at the RDS, Dublin on 17 March 2009 where they won the meteor for best live performance. The band performed an online gig on 27 May 2009. They did Slane Concert in June. Their appearance at Oxegen 2009 in July saw them "confident, tight and facing a packed arena". They were also announced as a support act of AC/DC at short notice after Thin Lizzy cancelled when their drummer Tommy Aldridge broke his collarbone in a cycling accident.

In the summer of 2009, the band did a regional UK tour and released their first UK single, "Buy It Sell It". In August 2009, it was announced that The Blizzards had achieved a UK record deal with Island Records. Their "Trust Me, I'm A Doctor" single will be released there on 28 September 2009. Their Domino Effect album will be released there on 12 October 2009. Their single "And Another Thing...", written in conjunction with Eoin Colfer's And Another Thing... novel from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, will also be released in the United Kingdom.

The Blizzards took part in the Arthur's Day events in Dublin on 24 September 2009. They played the Olympia Theatre, Dublin on 12 December 2009, their biggest headline show to date. The show had sold out several months in advance. In January 2010, The Blizzards went on hiatus.

The Blizzards's single "Buy It Sell It" featured in episode 116: "What Are You Doin' in My Life?" of the hit US series Cougar Town, airing 3 March 2010.

Return from hiatus

In late 2015, The Blizzards announced via their Twitter account that they were returning to the studio as a full band to make new music.

On May 18, 2016, the band premiered their single, "Drop Down The Anchor", on Today FM's Dermot and Dave show. The song was produced by Philip Magee and recorded in Camden Recording Studios in Dublin. The single was officially released on June 30, 2016.

In late June 2016, The Blizzards returned to live shows with a short Scottish tour. On July 1, they played their first Irish show in six years at Whelan's Live which sold out in days. The group played various Irish festivals including Indiependence and Electric Picnic.

Their latest single, "Perfect On Paper" premiered on September 7 on Today FM and was released on October 7, 2016.

The Blizzards made their return to the Olympia Theatre on November 19, 2016.

Style

The Blizzards are a self-described pop band and although critics often refer to them as very bad examples of indie-pop, lead singer Niall Breslin, said that "I don't think Indie exists any more. I just think Indie is gone. Everyone who gets played on daytime radio is a pop band. Indie was around for Oasis. Indie was around for Blur. There's none of them bands left." When writing their second album, lead singer Niall Breslin said "We were told by a few people that the first album didn't reflect the energy of the live shows, so that's what we were aiming for this time around,". After the album's completion he stated "We couldn't be happier with the end result – it's exactly what we were aiming for."

Awards

The Blizzards are multiple Meteor Award nominees and winners.

They received the award for Best Irish Live Performance at the 2009 Meteor Awards. They were nominated in the category of Best Irish Pop Act at the 2010 Meteor Awards.