THE ANSWER: '412 Days Of Rock 'N' Roll' DVD/CD Package Due Next Month

THE ANSWER, the award-winning Irish rockers whose emotive music and fearsome live reputation have won them a dedicated international following, will release their first DVD/CD package on May 23 via Spinefarm Records, with whom the band have now signed a worldwide deal.

Titled "412 Days Of Rock 'N' Roll", this two-disc set contains a host of special features, including an hour-long documentary detailing the band's 118 shows as special guests to AC/DC on their "Black Ice" world tour — a tour (2008/2009) that took in over three million fans in 30 different countries.

As the title implies, this extensive run of shows — in stadiums ranging from ten to 90,000 — saw THE ANSWER on the road for a full 412 days, a non-stop period of activity taking in as many headline shows as they could play, two nights at New York's famous Madison Square Garden, TV appearances including the "David Letterman" show, radio sessions and press interviews as could be reasonably fitted in…

Says THE ANSWER frontman Cormac Neeson: "In the course of that year, we got to see the world, whether it was cruising the length and breadth of America and Canada, racing through border controls between Belgrade and Athens in order to make the gig on time, or squeezing in a whistle stop tour of Japan whilst on our Easter break. The sights, the sounds and the people we encountered along the way blew our minds! We truly had to throw caution to the wind and let ourselves be thrown up and spun around by the joyous momentum of it all…"

"412 Days Of Rock 'N' Roll" also features all of the band's promo clips (nine in all — including the clip for new single "Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw"),footage of selected live tracks, both from the "Black Ice" shows in Houston and Dallas and from a sold-out homecoming headliner at the Ulster Hall In Belfast, plus the audio versions of the aforementioned songs; and as a way of bringing things bang up to date, the package — a luxury format boasting band sleeve-notes, previously unseen behind-the-scenes photos plus a 24-page booklet — is rounded off with the video for new single "Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw" (a rousing version of the ROSE TATTOO classic) plus the previously unreleased demo recording "Fooled Me".

The "Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw" video skillfully mixes highlights from the "412 Days…" documentary with footage from the original ROSE TATTOO clip (1978),and TATTOO frontman Angry Anderson has recently spoken out about this new rendition of his band's signature song. "It's sacred ground for us," he reflects, "but hearing THE ANSWER play it brought a lump to my throat… not only a killer version but they make it their own… well done, lads, you do us proud!"

In support of Record Store Day on April 16, "Rock 'N' Roll Outlaw" and "Fooled Me" will be available as a limited-edition seven-inch-only single on Spinefarm, and the band will be visiting record stores in Belfast and Dublin, both to sign copies of the seven-inch and to play short acoustic sets; the four have confirmed an appearance at Head Records in Belfast in the morning with the acoustic set at 1 p.m., then they'll be stopping off at Tower Records in Dublin in the late afternoon and playing again at 6 p.m.

The following month, on Wednesday, May 18, THE ANSWER will play a special one-off show at the Borderline in London; a launch event for the "412 Days…" package, this will also see the Downpatrick rockers — now 10 years in the saddle — showcasing new songs from their forthcoming third studio album, produced by the Grammy-nominated Chris "Frenchie" Smith (THE DATSUNS, YOUNG HEART ATTACK) and currently being mixed by Chris Sheldon (FOO FIGHTERS, FEEDER). An autumn release is being planned, preceded by festival appearances in the summer.

"We've got a lot of plans," concludes Neeson, "and we can't wait to get back on the road. We've got 17 brand new songs ready to go and we're fuckin' loving it! Rehearsals are so exciting, piecing together different set lists with the old and the new material. When it properly kicks off, that'll be us on the road for the next two years!"