The Zombies

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Bill Price, and in this Rock and Roll Flashback episode I will focus on one of the bands from the British Invasion. Although their career during the late 1960's diminished, some band members continued to record and perform under a new name. Eventually they reformed under their original name and resumed performing. This is the story of The Zombies, the rise in popularity, breakup, and the band eventually reuniting, on Rock and Roll Flashback.

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Transcript

In this Rock and Roll Flashback episode, I will focus on one of the bands from the British Invasion. Although their career during the late 1960's diminished, some band members continued to record and perform under a new name. Eventually they reformed under their original name and resumed performing. This is the story of The Zombies, the rise in popularity, breakup, and the band eventually reuniting, on Rock and Roll Flashback.

The Zombies were formed in 1961 in St. Albans, England. The band was led by vocalist and keyboard player Rod Argent, and by lead vocalist Colin Blunstone. The first three members of the band were Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy. Rod was interested in forming a band and asked his cousin Jim Rodford to join the band as the bass player. Jim declined the invitation since he was already in a local band called The Bluetones, but was willing to help Rod. Eventually the band’s lineup was completed when Colin Blunstone and Paul Arnold joined the group.

Initially the band went by the name The Mustangs, however they soon discovered that the name was already used by an other band.   Paul Arnold suggested the name The Zombies, since he thought no one else would use it. However, after renaming the band, he left the group, in order to become a physician. After his departure, Chris White joined the band as the replacement.

In May of 1964, The Zombies participated in a beat group competition and won a cash prize. This led to the band signing a recording contract with Decca and recording their first hit single “She’s Not There”, which was released in mid 1964. The single climbed to the #12 position in the UK, and was their only UK top 40 hit. In the US, it began climbing the chart and eventually reached the #2 position in December. The single sold more than one million copies and earned a gold certification from the RIAA.

Here is The Zombies first hit from 1964 “She’s Not There”.

During the British Invasion, The Zombies toured in the US and appeared on Murray the K’s Christmas show. On January 1965 they appeared on NBC’s first episode of Hullabaloo, performing  “She’s Not There” and their next single “Tell Her No”, which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March. Interestingly, in the UK “Tell Her No” failed to become a Top 40 hit, peaking at just 42. Unfortunately, the next seven single releases failed to achieve the success of the two previous hits. In 1965, The Zombies single ‘When You’re Ready” with the b-side “I Love You”, was released in the UK and US. The single failed to chart in the UK and only managed to reach one hundred and ten in the US. Interestingly in 1969,  “I Love You” became a hit for the US band called People.

 Here is The Zombies’ second hit from 1964 “Tell Her No”.

Between 1965 and 1966 The Zombies continued recording, however by 1967, they were becoming frustrated by their lack of success.  The band left Decca and signed with CBS records. Under the new label they recorded the album titled “Odyssey and Oracle”, which was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and released in April. At that time, their demand for live shows was declining and after a final live performance in mid December 1967, The Zombies disbanded.  Ironically, their final album was released in the UK, several months after the band’s breakup, but sold poorly. “Odyssey and Oracle” was only released in the US because musician Al Kooper convinced Columbia Records to release the album. One of the tracks, “Time of the Season” was released as a US single, again at the urging of Kooper. After a period of time, it eventually became a nationwide hit in the US, reaching the #3 position on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the US Cashbox chart. Surprisingly, it didn’t even make it into the UK chart.

In 1969 Argent and White started working together and collaborated on new material that was planned for a new band. Then CBS Records asked them to record another Zombies album. Several new songs were recorded and combined with some old Decca tracks. The album was supposed to be released in 1969, however, it was never released.  Instead only a couple tracks were issued as singles. In 1973 two compilation albums were released that included some of the compositions. In 1969 Argent, Ballard, Rodford, and Henrit started working together with a new band named Argent. In 1972, the band had a #5 hit in the UK and US, titled “Hold Your Head Up”. In a future podacst, I will review the history of Argent.

For a brief period of time in 1989, Blunstone, White, Grundy, and Sebastian Santa Maria reunited as The Zombies. Together they recorded the album “The Return of The Zombies”. The album was released in the UK and in a few European countries. In 1999, 

Argent and Blunstone reunited and in 2001 moved to the US. The new lineup added Keith Airey, Jim Rodford, and Steve Rodford, his son.  In January 2004, Paul Atkinson received the President’s Merit Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. The Zombies reunited and performed at the event.  The following year Paul passed away in April.

In 2006, Argent toured with Ringo Starr, performing with the All Starr Band. Between 2012 and 2023 The Zombies performed at various venues, most notably in September 2021, for a live stream from Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios.  In October 2019, they were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after being nominated for induction in 2013, 2016, and 2017. In the later part of 2023, The Zombies appeared at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Michigan.

Here is The Zombies third US hit from 1968,  “Time of the Season”.

This has been a look back at one of the bands that were part of British Invasion from the mid 1960's, The Zombies.  And until next time, I’m you host Bill Price.