The Zombies Totally Explained

Everything about The Zombies totally explained

ť For the undead creature of Vodou lore, see zombie. For other meanings, see Zombie (disambiguation).

The Zombies, formed in 1961 in St Albans, were an English rock band. Led by Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals, the band scored US hits in the mid- and late-1960s with "She's Not There", "Tell Her No," and "Time of the Season." Their 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, comprising twelve songs by the group's principal songwriters, Argent and Chris White, is now considered one of the best of its time and is ranked 80 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Line-up

Rod Argent - born Rodney Terence Argent, 14 June 1945, in St Albans, Hertfordshire - (organ, vocals and songwriting)
Paul Atkinson - born Paul Ashley Warren Atkinson, 19 March 1946 in Cuffley, Hertfordshire, died 1 April 2004 in Santa Monica, CA - (guitar, vocals)
Colin Blunstone - born Colin Edward Michael Blunstone, 24 June 1945, in Hatfield, Hertfordshire - (lead vocals)
Chris White - born Christopher Taylor White, 7 March 1943, in Barnet, Hertfordshire - (bass, vocals and songwriting)
Hugh Grundy - born Hugh Birch Grundy, 6 March 1945, in Winchester, Hampshire - (drums)

History - the 1960s

The group formed in 1961 in St Albans, England, and gained their initial reputation playing the Old Verulamians Rugby Club in that town. The group was formed whilst the members were at school. Some sources state that Argent, Atkinson and Grundy were at St Albans School, while Blunstone and White were students at St Albans Boys' Grammar School (since renamed Verulam School). Other sources claim they were all at St Albans Boys' Grammar School; however, this isn't correct. After winning a beat-group competition sponsored by the London Evening News, the Zombies signed to Decca and recorded their first hit, "She's Not There" (Argent's second song, written specifically for this session), which was released in mid-1964 and peaked at number 12 in the UK, where it was their only UK Top 40 hit. This minor-key, jazz-tinged number, distinguished by its musicianship and Blunstone's breathy vocal, was unlike anything previously heard in British rock and would become a bona fide classic. It was first aired in the United States in early August 1964 on New York City rock station WINS by Stan Z. Burns, who debuted the song on his daily noontime "Hot Spot" segment during which new songs were played. The tune began to catch on in early fall and eventually climbed to #2.
   Like many other British Invasion groups, the Zombies were sent to America to tour behind their new hit single. One of their most memorable early U.S. gigs were Murray the K's Christmas shows at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre, where the band played seven performances a day. Hugh Grundy later recalled also contributing to the sets by the Shangri-Las...not as a musician, but by revving a motorcycle brought backstage as a sound effect for their performance of "Leader of the Pack".
   In early 1965, Rod Argent's "Tell Her No" became another big seller in the United States (where it was a hit a second time, in 1983 for American pop vocalist Juice Newton), but had failed to make the Top 40 in the band's native UK. Although subsequent recordings such as "I Love You" (which became a hit for People! in 1968), "Indication", "Whenever You're Ready", and "Is This the Dream" were of uniformly high quality, none achieved the success of the previous two singles.
   In 1967, the Zombies signed to CBS Records for one final LP, only the second of their career and the first one produced as a single unit. Their previous LP, Begin Here (1965), was a collection of early singles, half a dozen original songs combined with several R&B covers. The resulting album, Odessey and Oracle, was one of the very first to utilize a Mellotron keyboard, as the band's budget didn't allow for the hiring of session musicians. The band discovered too late that "odyssey" had been misspelled by the cover designers and were reportedly deeply embarrassed.
   By the time Odessey and Oracle was released in April 1968, the band had broken up. The album sold little, and was only released in the U.S. because musician Al Kooper vouched for it. An album track called "Time of the Season", again written by Argent, was released as a single and eventually (1969) it became a huge nationwide hit (Billboard #3) after a radio DJ discovered it and put it on heavy rotation. Since the group declined to perform, various concocted groups tried to capitalize on the success and falsely toured under the band's name. Another such group toured in 1988, going so far as to trademark the group's name (since the band had let the mark lapse) and recruit a member named Ronald Hugh Grundy, who was passed off as being an original member, although he played bass rather than drums.

History - later years

After The Zombies, Rod Argent formed a band called Argent, with Chris White as a non-performing songwriter. Colin Blunstone eventually launched a solo career after brief careers outside the music biz including one stint in the burglary claims section of an insurance company. Both Argent and White continued to provide him with new songs.
   In 1991 Blunstone, Grundy and White briefly reunited as The Zombies with guitarist Sebastian Santa Maria and recorded the album New World.
   On November 25, 1997, all five Zombies reunited at the Jazz Cafe in London's Camden Town as part of a solo show by Blunstone, to perform "She's Not There" and "Time of the Season".
   Blunstone and Argent reunited for an album and tour together in 2001 under the Blunstone & Argent monicker and continued playing live shows together into 2004 when they began going out under The Zombies name again. The new line up included Rod's cousin Jim Rodford (formerly of The Kinks and Argent), his son Steve Rodford on drums and Keith Airey (brother of Don Airey) on guitar.
   An album of new material released in 2004, As Far as I Can See..., received mixed reviews. A 120-track compilation of the original band's work, Zombie Heaven, was much better regarded. Guitarist Paul Atkinson died in Santa Monica, California, on April 1, 2004. Having retired as a performer, he was an A&R man for many years.
   In 2005 Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of The Zombies released a DVD and 2-CD album (Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre), which received excellent reviews in the Times, Mojo, The Sun and other publications.
   In 2006 Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone carried on touring as The Zombies.
   Their U.S. tour of 2007 garnered stellar reviews. "The Zombies, still led by original keyboard wizard Rod Argent and featuring the smoked-silk vocals of Colin Blunstone, is the finest British-invasion-era band still touring that doesn't have Mick Jagger as a frontman"- The Washington Times.
   To mark the 40th anniversary of Odessey & Oracle the four surviving original members of The Zombies participated in a three-night series of concerts at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire Theatre between 7th and 9th March 2008. For the opening set Blunstone and Argent, with their current touring group, played a selection of other Zombies songs, two Argent songs, and some of Blunstone's solo material, for which a string quintet joined them on stage. For the second set, introduced by Al Kooper, The Zombies, with Keith Airey handling the guitar parts of the late Paul Atkinson, played the album in its entirety, and to reproduce the many overdubs on the album, they were joined by a horn section, additional vocalists and percussion, including Jim and Steve Rodford and Darian Sahanaja on memotron. They closed the set by performing Tell Her No and She's Not There.
    Rod and Colin's respective sites have advertised that the 8th March concert was recorded for a CD and/or DVD release later in 2008.

Film & Advertising

In 1965 "Bunny Lake is Missing", feature film - directed by Otto Preminger
   Songs on the soundtrack:
"Just Out of Reach" Written by Colin Blunstone Performed by The Zombies Played on the television in the pub and later on the radio
   "Nothing's Changed" Written by Chris White Performed by The Zombies Played on the television in the pub
   "Remember You" Written by Chris White Performed by The Zombies Played on the television in the pub
   In 1991 Time of the Season appeared in the movie Awakenings. This Will be Our Year, was featured in a 2006 Nike advertisement dedicated to Tiger Woods's late father.
   Use of the Begin Here album track The Way I Feel Inside in the soundtrack to the 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou has spurred on another generation to seek out and revive their music.
   Many of their songs are used in the 2004 film Dear Wendy.
   A remix of She's Not There can be heard in Kill Bill Volume 2 as The Bride enters Bill's home. Time of the Season was used by Bulmers/Magners cider in their March 2007 spring television advertisement campaign (http://www.bulmers.ie/the-ads/) in the UK (as Magners) and Republic of Ireland (as Bulmers).

Quotation

"Over the course of the ensuing decades, [TheZombies'] final album...Odessey and Oracle - a beautifully arranged, harmony drenched pristine pop paean to memory, the changing seasons, the passage of time and lost love - slowly began to be recognised as one of the greatest albums of the 1960s." New York Times, 1998

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

The Zombies (Featuring "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No") (U.S.) (1965) #39 U.S.

Begin Here (UK) (1965)

Odessey and Oracle (1968) #95 U.S.

As Far As I Can See... (2004)

Live albums

Live at the BBC (Repertoire REP4790, 29 Tracks, 2003)

Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London (2005)

Collaborations & contributions

Bunny Lake Is Missing - An Original Soundtrack Recording (1965) (contributed tracks)

New World (1991) (featuring Blunstone, White, Grundy, and Sebastian Santa Maria. Rod Argent appears on "Time of the Season" remake.)

Compilations

(A 28 song compilation from 1965-1968) (1972)

Zombie Heaven (1997) (4 CD comprehensive compilation with rarities and live recordings)

The Singles As and Bs (2005)

The Ultimate Zombies - Original Hits (2007)

Into the Afterlife (2007) (compilation of post Odessey and Oracle recordings)

Singles

U.K.

Release date	Title	Chart positions
Release date	Title	U.S.	CAN
August 1964	"She's Not There"/"You Make Me Feel Good"	#12	#2	#2
November 1964	"Leave Me Be"/"Woman" (not issued in US)	—	—	—
December 1964	"Tell Her No"/"What More Can I Do?" (UK) /"Leave Me Be" (not issued in UK)	#42	#6	#6
March 1965	"She's Coming Home"/"I Must Move"	—	#58	#21
June 1965	"I Want You Back Again"/"Remember When I Loved Her" (US only)	—	#95	—
August 1965	"Whenever You're Ready"/"I Love You"	—	#110	—
September 1965	"Just Out Of Reach"/"Remember You"	—	#113	—
February 1966	"Is This The Dream"?"Don't Go Away"	—	—	—
June 1966	"Indication"/"How We Were Before"	—	—	—
September 1966	"Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself"/"The Way I Feel Inside"	—	—	—
November 1966	"Goin' Out Of My Head"/"She Does Everything For Me"	—	—	—
November 1967	"Care Of Cell 44"/"Beechwood Park"	—	—	—
June 1968	"Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)"/"This Will Be Our Year" (US only)	—	—	—
November 1968	"Time of the Season"/"I'll Call You Mine" (UK & US) /"Friends Of Mine" (US 2nd issue)	—	#3	#1
May 1969	"Imagine The Swan"/"Conversations Of Floral Street"	—	#109	#59

Covers

Dave Matthews Band began occasionally performing "Time of the Season" on their 2005 Summer tour, & subsequently released a live version on their Weekend on the Rocks CD & DVD later that year. It continues to be a Dave Matthews Band crowd favorite.

Both "Time of the Season" and "She's Not There", were covered on American Idol by Blake Lewis and Chris Sligh respectively on the sixth season British Invasion episode.

In Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 2, the song "About Her" is a remake of "She's Not There" by Malcolm McLaren.

Santana recorded a version of "She's Not There" and released it as a single and on their Moonflower album in 1977

The Necro song "Who's Ya Daddy" samples "Time of the Season."

OK Go covered "This Will Be Our Year" it appeared on the Future Soundtrack for America compilation (2004) and the John Tucker Must Die soundtrack (2006).

Jon Brion has covered multiple Zombies songs live, including "Time of the Season" and "This Will Be Our Year."

Boston based Indie-pop duo Action Camp closed out their rare Live at Howlers EP with "The Way I Feel Inside". They have also performed an electronic arrangement of "Time of the Season" on occasion.

The late Elliott Smith performed a cover of "Care of Cell 44."

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered "Care of Cell 44" on Under the Covers, Vol. 1

The Tough Alliance recorded a cover of the song "Hung up on a Dream", released as the b-side of their single "First Class Riot" in 2007.

Anthony Green performed "This Will Be Our Year" on his acoustic tour with Days Away.

The Canadian indie rock trio Immaculate Machine has been known to cover "Time of the Season" live

Various bands from the Pacific Northwest, including the Young Fresh Fellows and The Posies, contributed versions of Zombies songs to a 1994 tribute album, The World Of The Zombies.

The Beautiful South re-recorded "This Will Be Our Year" on their cover album Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs.

Gym Class Heroes has covered "Time of the Season" on their Campus Tour in 2008.Further Information

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