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Penguin Press Release: Full Release Follows

On 12th October 2009, the 30th anniversary of the first publication of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by the late, great Douglas Adams, Penguin Books publish the sixth book in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, And Another Thing . . . by bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer.

To celebrate publication Ireland’s multi-platinum selling band The Blizzards have recorded a single inspired by Eoin’s book to be released in October ‘09.

Author Eoin Colfer says, ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has always had a musical element, from Joby Talbot’s iconic score for the Hitchhiker’s film to the many bands who have been inspired by the books – Radiohead and Coldplay to name a few. Douglas Adams even jammed with Pink Floyd. I wanted to keep this musical affiliation going so Penguin put out feelers to see if any contemporary acts were Hitchhiker’s fans. Quite a few were apparently, but when the list came back I read no further than the first name which was The Blizzards, one of Ireland’s biggest bands who share a sound engineer with my brother and whose album has five stars on my iphone. Within nano-seconds it seemed Niall Breslin, The Blizzard’s singer/songwriter, and I were around a table being all esoteric about lyrics and stuff. Niall played me the demo for And Another Thing… which was brilliant and now I get to say in a half bored voice – “Oh yah, Niall Breslin, from like The Blizzards just laid down his new Hitchhiker track for me which is named after my book”. The song And Another Thing… is going to be amazing and I am delighted to be associated with it.’

Niall Breslin, lead vocalist for The Blizzards, says, ‘To be involved with the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy phenomenon is such an honour for us as a band. We have been massive fans for years and are delighted the Hitchhikers tradition is being continued by such an amazingly creative writer like Eoin Colfer. The quirkiness and oddities so prevalent in Hitchhikers and Eoin’s style, have a symmetry with The Blizzards’ sound. When I finally hunted Eoin down to get the lowdown on what actually happens in the book, our parallel universes connected on an artistic level and we even drafted him in to play percussion on a spaceage china tea set.’

About the Blizzards:

Landing on our shores with a platinum selling album, two Meteor Awards for Best Live Act and an ‘Irelands Sexiest Male’ nod to Bresy (lead vocalist) under their belts, The Blizzards are ready to take the UK by storm. Their album ‘Domino Effect’ is irresistibly catchy, guitar ridden pop music at its best; produced in LA by the remarkable Michael Beinhorn, who is renowned for his work with Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Courtney Love, to name a few. His influence on tracks such as ‘Fantasy’, a frantic, riff heavy explosion of a track and ‘Trouble’, a pounding, rhythmic anthem in the making, is obvious. The band also show their softer side with the heart-wrenching ‘Postcards’, a moving ode to lost love. With Weezer, Fountains of Wayne and The Cars all cited as influences, The Blizzards are becoming ones to watch in the UK. With just one single released so far, the “Irish Weezer” have already attracted attention from MTV, Spotify and Dermot O’Leary to name a few. Their recent performance on the main stage at Oxegen Festival to 60,000 people has garnered much acclaim along with their supports slots with AC/DC and Oasis. The Blizzards release their new single, ‘Trust Me I’m A Doctor’ through Island Records on the 28th September 2009. It precedes the release of their debut UK album ‘Domino Effect’ which will feature the single ‘And Another Thing…’ on 12th October. www.myspace.com/theblizzards

About Eoin Colfer:

Eoin (pronounced Owen) Colfer has introduced a new generation of readers to the absurdities of life, the universe and everything through his bestselling Artemis Fowl series, in which a teen criminal mastermind wreaks havoc in this world, the next and any others that might happen to be nearby. Total UK sales of Artemis Fowl titles now exceed a staggering 4.5 million copies in the UK and Ireland and over 18 million worldwide. His work is published in 44 countries. The Sunday Times has said, ‘Colfer has the ability to make you laugh twice over; first in sheer subversive joy at the inventiveness of the writing, and again at the energy of the humour.’ Eoin has been a fan of Hitchhiker since his schooldays and said, ‘Being given the chance to write this book is like suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice. For years I have been finishing this incredible story in my head and now I have the opportunity to do it in the real world. It is a gift from the gods. So, thank you Thor and Odin.’ Eoin lives with his wife and two children in Wexford, Ireland.

About The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy started life as a radio series in 1978 and subsequently became five best-selling novels written by the late Douglas Adams, the first being published in paperback by Pan Books on 12th October 1979. It was an instant hit, reaching number one in the bestseller charts two weeks after publication and went on to be translated into over 35 languages. Bigger than Dr Who, Star Trek, Battle Star Galactica and Monty Python, by 2000 it had sold over 14 million copies worldwide. It was also remade as a Bafta-winning TV series, dramatized for the West End stage and made in to a film starring Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, John Malkowich and many more. It combines science fiction with comedy and inspired a whole new genre of Science Fiction humour, Red Dwarf being just one example. Hitchhiker’s has become a part of the cultural Zeitgeist with phrases such as ‘life, don’t talk to me about life’ and ‘life, the universe and everything’ a part of our common vernacular. Actor and writer, Sanjeev Baskhar, recently noted on Desert Island Discs that he was a huge fan of Hitchhiker’s hence the reason for giving his hit TV chat show the name The Kumars at No. 42. The No.42 being, according to Adams, the answer to all the questions of the universe. Douglas was always unhappy with the bleak ending of the fifth book, Mostly Harmless, and always intended to write a sixth book before his untimely death in 2001.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Part 6 of 3 And Another Thing . . .
by Eoin Colfer is published by Michael Joseph (an imprint of Penguin Books) 12th October 09 in hardback priced £18.99

The single And Another Thing… by The Blizzards is released through Island Records in October 2009, preceded by their album ‘Domino Effect’ released on 12th Oct 2009.

For further information contact:
Adele Minchin, Penguin Books
Tel: 020 7010 3072
email adele.minchin@uk.penguingroup.com

Katya Shipster
Tel: 020 7010 3273
email Katya.shipster@uk.penguingroup.com

Sarah Pearson
Wasted Youth PR
Tel: 020 7493 5873
email sarah@wastedyouthpr.com

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