Co-Founder, Keyboardist, Vocalist – Rod Argent

The Zombies played the Belly Up Tavern on Sunday, on their “Life is a Merry Go Round” tour, bringing their vibrant brand of mod rock to Solana Beach.

Not knowing much about the band, I didn’t know what to expect.  Looking at the happy crowd assembling in front of the stage offered no more insight, as they were so diverse – it was an over-21 concert, but the audience was mixed with young kids and baby boomers.  Other than the band’s three hit singles in the 1960s, which I loved, I had often wondered what had happened to the group. Where had they disappeared to? As I was soon to find out, they had NOT disappeared, they were still making music, and they were just as exciting as they had been back in the day. Their history is a long and interesting one.

Hailing from St. Albans, Hertfordshire, the original band members were Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson, Hugh Grundy, Colin Blunstone, and Chris White.  They won a beat group competition and signed with Decca Records.  Soon after, in 1964, they recorded their first smash hit, “She’s Not There,” which rose to No. 2 in the US, followed by “Tell Her No,” which topped at No. 6.  The Zombies were the second British band to have a hit on the US charts, the first being the Beatles.

After their initial success, they went on tour and played an exhausting round of concerts, sometimes appearing several times in one day.  Their first album was released in 1965 and was titled “Begin Here.”  The Zombies continued to write and record songs, but none received the recognition of their first two hits.

By 1967 The Zombies had moved on and signed with Columbia Records. Recording their album Odessey and Oracle at EMI’s Abbey Road studios, Columbia passed on it.  Musician and producer Al Kooper pushed for the label to release it because he knew this group’s potential. When the label finally released O&O, it took a while, but “Time of the Season” became a hit.  By that time, however, The Zombies were officially disbanded, each member moving on to pursue other endeavors.  The record company asked them to tour, but they declined.

Co-Founder, Vocalist-Colin Blunstone

Rod Argent went on to form his successful band, Argent, and scored with hits such as “Hold Your Head Up” and “God Gave Rock ’n’ Roll To You.”

Colin Blunstone joined the progressive rock band, The Alan Parsons Project, and also had success as a solo artist.  He can be heard on many of Parsons’ hit songs.

In 1997 the original band members reunited at The Jazz Club in London and played together live again.  Argent and Blunstone began touring together as The Zombies.   In 2015 they released the album, “Still Got That Hunger,” which featured “Edge of the Rainbow,” and “Moving On.”

On March 29, 2019, The Zombies were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Interestingly, the ceremony was exactly 50 years to the day that “Time of the Season” was no. 3 on the US Billboard Chart and no. 1 on the US Cashbox Top 100 Chart. Their fellow inductees were Radiohead, The Cure, Stevie Nicks, Def Leppard, Roxy Music and Janet Jackson. This had been The Zombies’ fourth nomination and was long overdue.

Today the touring members of the band are Rod Argent, keyboards; Colin Blunstone, Lead Vocals; Steve Rodford, drums; Tom Toomey, guitarist; and Soren Koch on bass guitar. Each of The Zombies are versatile performers: drummer extraordinaire Steve Rodford, guitarist Tom Toomey is a world-renowned session guitarist and player, and Soren Koch, a phenomenal bass player.

Back to the concert: As the band took the stage, they began with a rousing rendition of “Moving On,” and Blunstone’s strong vocals amazed me.  He introduced the next song as one of The Zombies’ B Side offerings, “I Want You Back Again.”  Although never a hit for The Zombies, the song had been covered as part of Tom Petty’s live performances.  Blunstone spoke fondly of Petty.

The Zombies

“Edge of the Rainbow” was next, a soulful, plaintive song from their “Still Got That Hunger” album.

Original member Chris White wrote the next song, “I Love You,” which, in the 60s, had been an A Side but, oddly, failed to receive recognition for the band.  Two years after The Zombies’ release, the song became a hit when it was recorded by a band called “People!”  The song reached number 15 on the charts. Blunstone joked to the audience that he was only introducing songs that became hits for other people!

“Different Game,” a new soon-to-be-released song, was next, followed by “You Could Be My Love.”

Of course, we had all been waiting to hear one of our favorite hits, “Tell Her No.”  We all sang along to the chorus, “Tell Her NO, NO, NO, NO!”  Argent’s jazzy piano playing was featured in this British beat song, which had been a hit, rising to No. 6 on the US charts.

The bluesy, melancholy Smokey Robinson/Sam Cooke medley, “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me/Bring it on Home to Me,” was next.  The crowd swayed to the melody as we listened, captivated by the dreamy music, lost in memories.

Co-Founder, Vocalist-Colin Blunstone

Colin Blunstone then sang a song from his days with the Alan Parsons Project, “Old and Wise.”  The Project was a British progressive rock band that had a number of hit songs in the 1980s. After that hauntingly beautiful song, the band did a few mod pop offerings: “Care of Cell 44,” This Will Be Our Year,” A Rose for Emily,” “I Want Her, She Wants Me.”  These songs feature Argent’s keyboard artistry along with the band’s solid harmonies.

The next tune was instantly recognizable, as the intro played, the bass riff, three notes then the “AH,” fading away.  This was the song that gave us the phrase, “Who’s Your Daddy?” and was a call and response song, again showcasing Argent’s brilliant keyboard skills.  “Time of the Season” still enchants; it is a testament to my more youthful days, reminding me of walking barefoot in the sand, wearing my bellbottoms, during the Summer of Love.

The tour’s namesake song was next, an upbeat tune, “Merry Go Round,” then “Runaway.”  I was pleasantly surprised when Rod Argent introduced the next tune as one from his group Argent’s catalog, “Hold Your Head Up,” and told us that the lyrics had often been misquoted.  “It’s ‘Hold Your Head Up, Woman,’ not ‘Hold Your Head Up, Whoa’.” I had always thought it was, “Whoa!” The band absolutely shone on this song, with Argent displaying his brilliant improvisational keyboard skills, even adding a few classical notes during his solo.

“She’s Not There,” a crowd favorite, had us all singing and dancing along, then the final song, “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You,” an anthem of sorts, filled the room, after which the band took their final bows.

When the stage was clear, Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent returned to sing a simple, melancholy duet, “The Way I Feel Inside.” It was a heartwarming moment for me, as I watched The Zombies’ love affair with us, their fans.

This iconic British band put on a great show; they clearly love performing live and they love their fans.  They proved that Rock ‘n’ Roll has no age limitations, and it IS all about the music. Thank you, Zombies, for reminding us.

Musician, Actor, Director- Robert Schwartzman frontman for Rooney band

I could not cover this concert without mentioning the opening act, Rooney.  A young, energetic band from Los Angeles, they got the crowd moving with their cheeky, alternative indie rock and were the perfect band to introduce The Zombies.  Their music was fun and energizing, and they told the crowd how much they have enjoyed touring with The Zombies. A bit of trivia: Leader Robert Schwartzman put this band together with his high school friends and named it after the principal in Ferris Buehler’s Day Off, Ed Rooney.

BackStage360 would like to thank Belly Up and The Zombies for graciously allowing us access. It’s all about the MUSIC.

Co-Founder, Keyboardist, Vocalist- Rod Argent

Cammazz / BackStage360