INTERVIEW PART II: Colin Blunstone on The Zombies and their legacy

Colin Blunstone’s voice is an iconic staple of radios across the world. His crisp, almost dreamlike vocals have given life to some of the greatest hits from The Zombies, the British Invasion band that’s still touring some 51 years after their first rehearsal. Whether it’s “She’s Not There” or “Time of the Season” or “Tell Her No,” Blunstone is able to paint vivid pictures with his unmatched voice.

The Zombies, much like their namesake, refuse to walk away. They have gained a legion of dedicated fans and continue to play dates around the world. Currently, Rod Argent and Blunstone, the two founding members, are gearing up for an American tour with the latest incarnation of the band, which includes Jim Rodford, Tom Toomey and Steve Rodford. They will make stops in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.

Recently, Hollywood Soapbox interviewed Blunstone about his half century of work with The Zombies, his solo career, the legendary album Odessey and Oracle, and what fans can expect on the upcoming tour. Questions and answers have been slightly edited. Here’s Part II of our interview (click here for Part I).

Have you ever had thoughts of retirement?

Well, I think it will continue on because we do this because we love doing it. It’s plain and simple. This is what we’ve always wanted to do. It’s true of everyone. And I’ve heard the guys say on numerous occasions, they’ll just say, ‘We are so lucky to be able to do what we love doing at this time in our lives.’ And we’re just really enjoying ourselves, and I think we will keep playing for as long as we possibly can.

Can you talk about your friendship with Rod Argent?

We’re like brothers really. We met when we were 15. We went through all our teenage years together in a very pressured environment, certainly our later teenage years when we were on the road. And then at the end of The Zombies, Rod was involved in producing many of my albums. So we worked together constantly, and I think we know one another very well. And, of course, that helps incredibly when recording and playing live.

We almost know what one another is thinking. I think that’s a huge benefit really. And Rod has always said that when he writes songs, subconsciously he’s always writing with my voice in mind. And I feel that when we come to first rehearse a new song. It usually feels very natural to me to sing it. Even though some of Rod’s songs are quite complicated, it just feels natural to me.

In many ways, I learned to sing in my early years, I know I did study with a singing coach in my later years, but in my early years, I learned to sing professionally to Rod’s songs. And Rod learned to write from my voice. So we’re kind of, like it or not, we’re really entwined, firstly because of our history and our personal relationship and secondly artistically he thinks of me when he’s writing, and I think of his songs when I’m performing.

Coming to the United States to tour, do you notice differences between American and British audiences?

It is amazing how different territories know different songs better. We have to really try and research which songs have been hits. In America, the biggest hits were “Time of the Season,” “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No”. There are some others, because we play some Argent hits as well, and some other things. But when we go to the Far East, people will know those songs, but there are other ones that are bigger.

That always intrigues me, how in different countries totally different songs will be the highlights of the show. And you have to play with the show to take that into account. I think that in America … I do think backstage and everything to do with the show is run on a very professional level. There are some countries we play in, and sometimes Britain is one of them I’m afraid, it’s not quite as sophisticated as one would hope. You just have to get on with it. It’s always a bit of a wing and a prayer.

How was the ceremony last year commemorating the first meeting of The Zombies at The Blacksmith’s Arms pub?

They unveiled a blue plaque in the wall to commemorate that very first meeting. We were 15 years old, and it always makes me laugh, because we met outside the pub, because we were too young to go into the pub. So we just met on the pavement outside the pub. And that’s where they had a little ceremony. There were 300-400 people there, and it was a wonderful day. The sun shone just enough time for us to unveil the plaque, and then there was free food and drinks for everyone. It was a great celebration of a 50-year adventure.

Going back 50 years, were you meeting for your first rehearsal?

Yeah, that was exactly it. I think really Rod had got the idea that he wanted to form a band, and he got that idea from his cousin, who is called Jim Rodsmith. Ironically he’s in The Zombies now, Jim. But Jim is a little bit older than Rod, and he was in the big local band in St. Albans. They were called The Bluetones, and Rod went to see them. And at the time he thought he only liked classical music, and when he saw The Bluetones, he just loved it. And he said, ‘I’m going to get a band of my own.’

He recruited a couple of guys from his school, and just by chance, he recruited another guy who lived near him. He didn’t go to school with him; he lived near him. Now that guy went to my school. So it was so much chance how I got involved in this. At my school, we sat in alphabetical order. And this guy’s name was Arnold, and I sat behind him. We went by surnames, and my name obviously was Blunstone. If we hadn’t been in alphabetical order, he might have asked someone else. But he said, ‘Look, a friend of mine is putting a band together. Do you want to come along?’ And that’s how I got my invitation to join what became The Zombies.

It was just chance, absolute chance. And I didn’t know the others. I just knew this guy, who sat in front of me at school, all those years ago. And I turned up outside The Blacksmith’s Arms, that’s what the pub is called, 51 years ago.

I played a lot of rugby, and it’s a little bit like American football. And I had broken my nose and I had two very black eyes. When I turned up, they were all hoping that I wasn’t there to join the band, because I looked horrific. We could have named the band The Zombies then, because that’s what I looked like. So that was their first impression of me when we turned up for that first meeting. I had strapping all across my face and two black eyes and a broken nose. And that’s how I went to the first rehearsal. (laughs) I think they were quite frightened of me actually for the first few hours, which I rather enjoyed. But it didn’t last very long.

You jammed for a bit before going public?

To be absolutely honest, we were 15 years old. We were at school. We could only rehearse at the weekends. It took, I reckon, the best part of a year before we played a concert. But we rehearsed most weekends, and you know you have to start from scratch.

We had no equipment. Jim Rodsmith, who was Rod’s cousin in this local band, on that first rehearsal, he let us use their amplification and their drums. But then after that, of course, we had to start saving. We started right from the beginning. We had no amplifiers. We had no drums. We had nothing. So it took us a good year to get ourselves started. And then gradually we built up a local following.

Then we won a big rock competition, and we were offered a recording contract. So this was ’64. … We were offered a recording contract, and it was just mentioned very casually before we went into the studio that maybe somebody might like to try and write something for this first session. And Rod wrote “She’s Not There,” and I think we all knew it was a very special song. And we recorded four tracks in one evening at Decca Studios, and one of them was “She’s Not There”.

You must pinch yourself that you were asked to be there at 15 years old.

It’s quite bizarre, isn’t it? At the time, you don’t realize how important these decisions are. That somebody should just turn around in a classroom and say, ‘Do you want to be in a band?’ And from that, I’ve been working in the music business for 51 years. Really strange.

Were you called The Zombies right away?

To start with we didn’t have a name. But we went through a couple of names. To be honest, we were stuck for a name. We couldn’t think. I know that we were, for a very short time, we were called The Mustangs. And then we realized there were loads of other bands called The Mustangs. Then we took the name of a film, The Sundowners. Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr, I think. And that didn’t stick.

Then one of the guys just came up with the name The Zombies. And it was very unusual, because at that time there wasn’t this great catalog of zombie films and zombie magazines. I don’t think we were quite sure what a zombie was, but everyone in the band thought it sounded very unusual. And it stuck.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• The Zombies tour begins July 27 and continues throughout the summer. Click here for more information.