Brit legends The Zombies – announce a brand new studio album and UK tour
It’s been a highly productive past 18 months or so for influential musical icons The Zombies. Led by founder members Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, The Zombies have completed a raft of shows across the US, made their second celebrated appearance at SXSW festival, seen their enduring classic ‘Time of The Season’ sampled by Eminem (‘Rhyme Or Reason’), received a nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and completed a brand new studio album, produced by Chris Potter (The Verve, Urban Hymns), which follows their acclaimed last album release, 2011’s ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In’. Not only that but the band rocked new music showcase The Great Escape in Brighton this year and created something really special with their live performance at this year’s Glastonbury.
Originally formed in St. Albans back in 1961 with Rod Argent on piano and Colin Blunstone on vocals, the band soon found worldwide fame with a run of brilliant singles in the mid-60s such as ‘Tell Her No’ and ‘She’s Not There’. In 1968, they released their masterpiece album ‘Odessey And Oracle’, which later became admired as one of the finest-crafted LPs in musical history, producing the number 1 hit ‘Time Of The Season’. The band’s influence can never be overstated. From Nick Cave to Marshall Mathers, Paul Weller to Beck, the Foo Fighters to Fleet Foxes, musicians today still admire their sonic template, a masterclass in songwriting, arrangement, musicianship and production.
Despite originally disbanding in 1967 (the band officially reformed in 2004), The Zombies have always found their music in demand from subsequent generations. Their songs have been used in numerous films, television series and global advertising campaigns. From the hugely popular Mad Men through to last year’s Chanel campaign for Coco Mademoiselle, featuring Kiera Knightley, their music is quite simply timeless.
The band revealed the title of their new album live on BBC Breakfast as an exclusive on 29th July, with the UK premiere of the album track ‘Chasing The Past’ on 6 Music Radcliffe & Marconi show later that day, resulting in a wonderfully positive social media frenzy from fans tweeting and emailing links to the show.
‘Still Got That Hunger’ has all the elements of an enduring rock opera, sitting as comfortably in the present day as it would have in the swinging decades of Aquarius. Opening the show with ‘Moving On’, Colin flexes his undeniably impressive vocal range before moving into ‘Chasing The Past’, a perfectly crafted piece of art, that leaves no doubt as to the band’s superb musicianship. A real showstopper comes up next with “Edge Of The Rainbow’, followed by the uptempo 1970’s Americana track ‘New York’, before dropping down to some blues and jazz-fuelled melodies with a re-make of their 1965 single ‘I Want You Back Again’ and a joyous choral reminisce, blended with classic rock guitar riffs on ‘And We Were Young Again’. Rod’s on form on keys in ‘Maybe Tomorrow’, a cheeky, charismatic number, followed by the Blunstone-penned‘Now I Know I’ll Never Get Over You’, a radio-friendly classic that’s destined to be on everyone’s playlists. The quiet piano/voice duet ‘Little One’ comes next, before the final epic, euphoric concerto ‘Beyond The Borderline’ to complete this timeless musical journey.
The artwork for the new album has been created by Terry Quirk, the original artist of their iconic album ‘Odessey and Oracle’, hailed by Rolling Stone Magazine and NME earlier this year as one of the greatest albums of all time.
The Zombies will shortly begin a month-long US tour incorporating their live debut of‘Still Got That Hunger’, and will be returning to the UK (supported by Josh Flowers & The Wild) for further dates later this year.
The Zombies are:
Vocals – Colin Blunstone
Keyboards/ Vocals – Rod Argent
Bass guitar – Jim Rodford
Guitar – Tom Toomey
Drums – Steve Rodford
UK TOUR DATES
November 10th 2015 London
December 1st 2015 Brighton
December 2nd 2015 Cardiff
December 3rd 2015 Bristol
December 4th 2015 Birmingham Library, The Institute
December 5th 2015 Norwich
December 7th 2015 Leeds
December 8th 2015 Glasgow
December 9th 2015 Manchester Manchester Club Academy
December 10th 2015 Liverpool Arts Club
December 12th 2015 Newcastle Upon Tyne Riverside