The celebrated singer/songwriter talks about his epic career
BY BEN WEST
“I live in Surrey these days – I prefer a slightly quieter pace of life,” says renowned veteran singer-songwriter Colin Blunstone, 80, in a surprisingly youthful voice.
I’m not that convinced: for a man in his eighth decade, Blunstone doesn’t look like he’s thinking of slowing down in the foreseeable future at all. Indeed, with the release of a new documentary about his first band, British Invasion pioneers The Zombies, and four of their albums having been remastered and released (in all formats including limited edition vinyl), he is busier than ever.
“It’s surprising. Rod [Argent, of The Zombies] wasn’t well about a year ago and I thought life would get quieter,” he says. “But it’s not happened at all. It’s only September, and I’ve been in America two times this year already, publicising the documentary.”
The film, Hung Up On A Dream, chronicles the six-decade career of what is one of the longest running bands in the UK. It was released in cinemas across the US earlier this year, and garnered rave reviews. Band admirers, including Paul Weller, Dave Grohl, Harry Styles and Post Malone appear. It is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
“I was 18 when I made my first record – Rod was 10 days older than me. For us, success did seem to happen very quickly. We won a competition and the prize was a contract with Decca for, if I remember correctly, one single. But that single was She’s Not There, and that became a worldwide hit. It wasn’t easy, it was intense, but it happened quickly.”
Further huge hits with The Zombies, which formed in 1962, included Tell Her No and Time of the Season. Their 1968 album, Odessey and Oracle, was ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
“When The Zombies finished in 1967 it was a very sad time for me, a difficult time too. I didn’t know what to do. The music business is very up and down, and one of the first things musicians have to learn is getting thorough the troughs, everyone has them. From 1985 to the early 1990s nothing much was happening for me. I sang on commercials to keep my head above water.”
Blunstone has had a very varied career, and as well as working with The Zombies and releasing 10 solo albums, with his celebrated uniquely silky and emotive vocal style in demand, he was guest vocalist on four albums by the Alan Parsons Project, singing hits like Old and Wise. He also sang on Dave Stewart’s hit cover version of What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, and other artists he has worked with include Manfred Mann, Mike Batt, Steve Hackett and even Sir John Betjeman and Mike Read. What has been the favourite period of his career?
“I think one of my favourite times was definitely the second incarnation of The Zombies, in 1999. It has been wonderful seeing that develop. Not singles so much, but the albums sold without the help of a major label. We went from playing the back of pubs to some of the largest festivals in the world, like Glastonbury and Isle of Wight, and many American festivals.
“I don’t know why our music has endured so well. There’s always a slight mystery why some music does endure, while other things don’t do so well. The songwriting was so good with The Zombies – the song is so important, it’s the cornerstone of every music career.”
Does he prefer to play or listen to music?
“That’s an interesting question. I love to play music. I don’t like music just playing in the background, I’m very selective with what I listen to. But I do enjoy playing. I do like some new stuff but tend to go back to old favourites. I have a theory that you like best the music of your formulative years, and for me that was people like Joni Mitchell and Jackson Brown. And Duncan Browne made some wonderful albums, as has Judie Tzuke. As for new stuff, there’s a very good young singer Georgie Sweet – her album, I Swear To You, is fab.”
With a career as long as his, Blunstone must have spent many weeks touring.
“I get into a routine when I’m touring. When you’ve been doing it a long time there is a routine to it. Not the performing, but getting up, travelling etcetera. There’s an element of newness on each tour, but after two weeks you really do feel a strong of feeling of routine. It’s all super fast, getting that machinery together again. But however long the tour is – two weeks or two months, at the end – the last week especially – you get homesick.”
Having worked in the music industry for so many years, there must have been profound changes.
“The music industry in the 1960s was always a mystery to me, and today it certainly is a complete mystery still. I’ve never understood it, really. Recording has changed out of recognition. We started with 4-track and now it’s digital, for example. On one side that’s good, but now with there being so many choices it makes it much more complicated and slower, and there is less spontaneity. The major labels aren’t as powerful now, as so many people are doing it independently. And radio is not so powerful, as people listen online. But touring is much more important now as record sales earn far less.
“So you have to look at things in a different way. It’s probably why concert tickets are a lot more expensive now, as artists don’t have the record sales. You used to make an album and tour an album to promote it but it has gone into reverse – you make the album to promote the tour.
“When you have such a long career it is best to learn all sides of the business, learn about the publishing, recording and touring. It is important to get into synch work, such as commercials and films featuring your work.”
Indeed, recent collaborations include She’s Not There being featured on Chanel ads with Kiera Knightley, and Time Of The Season used on the trailer of the Guy Ritchie TV series, The Gentlemen.
“One thing that sticks in my mind is that it can be such a long career. When I started, the misconception was that it would last three or four years, but obviously a career can last a lifetime.”
That’s clearly the case here, and there’s no signs of Blunstone beginning to peruse the retirement ads anytime soon.
Further information: colinblunstone.net, thezombiesmusic.com
