The Zombies were formed in 1963 and today, lead vocalist Colin Blunstone and keyboard artist Rod Argent remain at the forefront of the five-man band that’s returning to Manila – after 39 years – to perform in a four-day series of concerts.
Blunstone and Argent will be joined on stage by former Kinks bass guitarist Jim Rodford, lead guitarist Keith Airey, and drummer Steve Rodford on Feb. 10 at the Hard Rock Café in Glorietta Makati, Feb. 11 at the Manila Hotel, Feb. 13 at the Araneta Coliseum, and Feb. 14 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Popular DZRJ disc jockey and serious record collector Steve O’Neal is promoting the Zombies’ return. He swears they’re as good, if not better, than they were when they took She’s Not There and Time of the Season to number one in the US Cashbox ratings four decades ago. The haunting lyrics of She’s Not There, a minor-key choral pop classic featuring Blunstone’s velvety vocals and Argent’s keyboard wizardry, are immortalized in music stations that continue to play the song the world over. In 1993, the hit single received a BMI award for a million US airplays and four years later, took another award for two million airplays.
"Oh, no one told me about her, the way she lied, oh, no one told me about her, the way she cried, but it’s too late to say you’re sorry, how would I know, why should I care, please don’t bother trying to find her, she’s not there." Those were the first few lines of the song that propelled the Zombies to fame in 1964.
Time of the Season was another big seller for the Zombies. It topped the US Cashbox list in 1969 and stayed on the charts for 13 months. In all, the single sold over two million copies and has been cited as one of only 32 British hits ever to generate at least four million US airplays. The song characterized the purity of Blunstone’s breathy vocals and Argent’s inventive piano and organ that became the trademark of the Zombies tunes.
The two number-one hits are the anchors of the Zombies’ set list for the Manila tour. Others in the program include The Way I Feel Inside, I Love You, Going Out of My Head, I Remember When I Loved Her, Misty Roses, Old and Wise, I Don’t Believe in Miracles, Tell Her No, Summertime, and Indication.
O’Neal says Blunstone promises an unforgettable show.
"They’ve been rehearsing long hours in the studios," adds O’Neal. "The set list isn’t final and Colin is planning to include songs like Miles Away, How We Were Before, Leave Me Be, and Nothin’s Changed in an acoustic medley. They remember playing to large crowds at the Araneta before, and they don’t want to disappoint their Filipino fans."
In 1967, the Zombies performed 10 sellout shows at the Big Dome and four more in Manila nightspots (The Plaza Restaurant, the Nile Club and the El Dorado Club) as they left a lasting impression on Filipino fans for their beautiful harmony, originality and hard-driving beat.
In Claes Johansen’s book The Zombies: Hung Up On A Dream, Blunstone recalled his Manila experience. "We got to the Araneta Coliseum, which holds over 30,000 people," he said. "The first show, I think we played to 28,000 on a Friday night. Then, we played a matinee to 15,000, and then Saturday night, it was about 32,000 people."
Johansen wrote: "The trip to the Philippines… has become one of the big stories of the legend of the Zombies, calling for the band to retell their experiences endlessly with much smiling and irony. The Philippines was an exotic place. All in all, it seemed like a summer holiday with everything paid for and a salary on top. The band’s assumption was that they would be playing the occasional gig in the foyer of a hotel.
"However, what they didn’t realize was that they had some four or five records in the Philippine top 10 and were immensely popular there. They arrived at three in the morning, yet to their complete surprise, found the airport packed with fans yelling and screaming and generally going crazy. All the way to the hotel, their car was surrounded by fans on bicycles, on motorcycles and in cars."
The success of the 1967 tour opened the Zombies’ eyes to the maneuverings of their British manager Tito Burns, who negotiated a lopsided contract to earn for himself most of what should have gone into the band’s bank account. When the Zombies returned to London from Manila, they terminated Burns’ services.
With Burns out of the picture, the Beatles’ John Lennon and the Manchester group Hollies offered to take over the Zombies’ management. Blunstone and Argent, however, decided to proceed on their own.
The Zombies recorded their second album "Odessey and Oracle" in 1967 then disbanded. There were efforts to revive the group and a US promoter even offered a $20,000 purse for a one-night show in 1969. But the Zombies went their separate ways. Time of the Season, a track from the album, became a "posthumous" hit in 1969 and "Odessey and Oracle" went on to be cited by Mojo magazine as one of the best 100 albums of all time and was ranked No. 80 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 greatest albums.
In 1993, the Zombies reunited to record the album "New World" then disappeared only to resurface five years later as Blunstone and Argent decided to relive the band’s glory days by appearing in concerts and recording new material. They brought the Zombies back to life with two recent albums "Out of the Shadows" and "As Far As I Can See."
Although known as the Zombies’ voice, Blunstone has shone brightly as a solo artist, too. He has a long list of albums, namely "One Year," "Ennismore," "Planes," "Journey," "Never Even Thought," "Late Nights at Soho," "Echo Bridge," and "The Light Inside," and also recorded songs for Keats, the Alan Parsons Project and Mike Batt.
A few years ago, my wife Menchu and I watched Blunstone in concert at the Café Royal in London’s Piccadilly Circus. His voice was as spectacular as ever. Actor and singer David Soul was in the audience, as Blunstone, widely acknowledged as one of the finest singers England has ever produced, was repeatedly applauded on stage.
At the end of the show, Blunstone mingled with the crowd, signed autographs, and posed for pictures. We managed to speak with him and when he found out we were from the Philippines, he immediately said he’ll never forget his trip to Manila in 1967. Blunstone said he lives with wife Suzie and their daughter about 15 miles from London.
The Zombies are staying at the Manila Hotel. They’re coming with road manager Paul Meredith and sound engineer Dirk Buijsman.
A TV interview with Blunstone and Argent has been scheduled on Cito Beltran’s Straight Talk Thursday and the group will perform two songs in a special appearance on Eat Bulaga Friday.
The Elderly Brothers will be the Zombies’ front act at the Hard Rock Café, Ramon Jacinto at the Manila Hotel, and the MOBB at the Araneta Coliseum.
Indeed, the Zombies sound is timeless. A publicity sheet said the popularity of the Zombies music, in keeping with their name, shows no sign of dying. "Their unsurpassed oeuvre continues to influence musicians around the world, whether they’re original fans of the stature of Tom Petty or Pat Metheny or relative youngsters like REM, Beck, Pavement and Paul Weller," the sheet said. "And contemporary cutting-edge American and British acts like Fountains of Wayne, Spoon, Badly Drawn Boy, Belle & Sebastian and Super Furry Animals are just the latest in a long line of musicians to pay homage to the Zombies."
For sure, the Zombies will rock Manila like it’s never been rocked before in their four-day concert tour.