LIFE LEFT IN OLD ZOMBIES
THE Zombies are marking 60 years of influential musicmaking with a new tour.
The Zombies formed in St Albans in 1961 with Rod Argent (keys and vocals), Colin Blunstone (lead vocals), Chris White (bass), Paul Atkinson (guitar) and Hugh Grundy (drums).
Their first single, She’s Not There, rocketed to the top of the charts in 1964 on both sides of the Atlantic.
This made them only the second UK band, following The Beatles, to score a number one hit in America, infiltrating the airwaves with sophisticated melodies, breathy vocals, choral back-up harmonies and jazzy keyboard riffs.
The original line-up disbanded just prior to achieving their greatest success – the worldwide chart-topping single Time of the Season, from their swansong album Odessey and Oracle.
In 2019 the original line-up was inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
To this day, new bands have cited The Zombies’ work as pop touchstones, and the band continues to be embraced by new generations of fans.
Colin went on to have an acclaimed solo career, while Rod rocked arenas in the 1970s with his eponymous band Argent.
But at the start of the new millennium, the pair resurrected The Zombies, leading to several critically-acclaimed new albums and worldwide tours.
Colin said: “Sadly, we haven’t toured the UK as much. We have a bigger profile in America and therefore play bigger venues over there and they cater more for rock bands.
“Also, there is more appreciation of ‘classic’ bands in the US; in Britain there is more interest in new bands.”
“Having said that, our last UK tour was a huge success. We had no idea how we’d be received and there was a huge cross-section of ages at the shows.”
The Zombies are at Town Hall, Birmingham, on May 28.