Legendary UK Rockers The Zombies have had a huge 18 months with a raft of US performances, including SXSW; their classic song, ‘Time Of The Season’ sampled by Eminem, a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a brand new studion album, ‘Still Got That Hunger’. This follows their brilliant 2011 release, ‘Breathe Out, Breathe In’. In addition to all that, they’ve had a fantastic showcase at The Great Escape in Brighton this year, and a live performance at Glastonbury.
Formed in St Albans in 1966, The Zombies’ lineup still featues original members Rod Argent, on piano, and Colin Blunstone on vocals. Also in the band are Jim and Steve Rodford, on Bass and Drums respectively, and Tom Toomey on Guitar. Their 1968 album, ‘Odyssey and Oracle’, has since been admired as one of the finest-crafted LPs in musical history, influencing artists as wide ranging as Nick Cave, Eminem, Paul Weller, Beck, the Foo Fighters and Fleet Foxes.
The Zombies have found their music used in numerous films, television series and global advertising campaigns: from Mad Men, to last year’s Chanel campaign, featuring Keira Knightly. Put simply, their music is timeles.
The Zombies revealed the title of their new album live on BBC Breakfast on 29 July, with the UK premier of the album track, ‘Chasing the Past’ on the 6 Music Radcliffe and Marconi programme later that day. This resulted in a positive social media frenzy of fans sharing links to the show – again illustrating their contining popularity.
‘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.
For more info, check out their website.
The Zombies will be touring the UK later this year, with dates and details as follows:
November 10th 2015 London The Forum
December 1st 2015 Brighton Concorde 2
December 2nd 2015 Cardiff The Globe
December 3rd 2015 Bristol The Fleece
December 4th 2015 Birmingham, The Institute
December 5th 2015 Norwich Norwich Open
December 7th 2015 Leeds Brudenell Social Club
December 8th 2015 Glasgow Oran Mor
December 9th 2015 Manchester Manchester Club Academy
December 10th 2015 Liverpool Arts Club
December 12th 2015 Newcastle Upon Tyne Riverside
