Despite not attaining the massive success of pop counterparts like The Beatles, British pop band The Zombies have made an indelible mark upon pop music in their own right. Best known for their 1969 hit Time of the Season, the group is currently on tour promoting their latest studio effort, Breathe Out Breathe In.
The Zombies’ vocalist Colin Blunstone spoke with Here Magazine last week, prior to the group’s upcoming Canadian dates which get underway in Montreal on February 28.
Did the fact that the band’s fame continued to grow after the group’s split in the late 60’s take you by surprise?
You know, the mystique around the band might have grown because we weren’t playing. Obviously the band wasn’t being promoted or marketed so one can only assume that it was word of mouth helping to carry the group all those years.
Despite Time of the Season eventually becoming a sizeable hit, the full-length album it came from (Odessey and Oracle) never became a huge seller in its own right.
It was very odd. Time of the Season was a Number One hit but at best, Odessey and Oracle never made it past the Number 98 position on the album charts. It was very unusual to have a Number One or Number Two single and not have the record be a hit.
The way that Odessey and Oracle has endured and influenced others has been most impressive though. Is it at all humbling?
It is an absolute honour to hear musicians and your peers say that the record might have influenced or inspired them. There is no higher compliment, really. The great thing about the Zombies has been the way that everything has evolved so naturally. There is nothing contrived about the group and I think that shines through the music. All we wanted to do was write, record and perform the best music that we were capable of making. We were never thinking about charts, sales or success.
Do you anticipate making more new music down the road where Breathe Out Breathe In was so well received?
I definitely feel there will be another record coming down the line. In fact, Rod was singing me a new song over the phone earlier today. That’s always an encouraging sign. [laughs]
Article published in the February 21, 2013 edition of Here Magazine