Here’s wishing a very Happy Birthday to Zombies frontman Colin Blunstone, who celebrates his 80th spin around the sun today (June 24). Blunstone was just a teenager when he co-founded The Zombies in 1961 in his hometown of St Albans, a London suburb.
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Colin’s breathy but strong voice was showcased on all of the British Invasion band’s best-known songs, including “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No,” and “Time of the Season.”
After The Zombies initial breakup in the late 1960s, Blunstone launched a moderately successful solo career. He also contributed vocals to a number of other artists’ recordings, including several Alan Parsons Project albums. “Old and Wise,” a 1982 single by the Alan Parsons Project, reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Blunstone eventually re-launched The Zombies in the early 2000s with co-founding keyboardist/singer Rod Argent, and the group has been active ever since. Unfortunately, Argent suffered a stroke in 2024, which ended The Zombies as a touring entity. Blunstone was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Zombies in 2019.
On his birthday, he and the other surviving original Zombies will be taking part in a London screening event of their recent documentary Hung Up on a Dream. The event will take place at the Finsbury Park Picturehouse. It will include a Q&A between the film’s director, Robert Schwartzman, and the four Zombies members.
Blunstone recently chatted about the event and his milestone birthday with American Songwriter.
Blunstone on Turning 80 Shortly After His Bandmate Rod Argent
Asked about the fact that he was turning 80 not long after Argent, Blunstone commented, “Well, it’s true. You know, Rod is 10 days older than me. His [birthday] is on June the 14th. [Mine] is on June the 24th, and I don’t know how it happened, but I’m going to be 80. It’s gone in a blink of an eye. It’s really strange, isn’t it?”
About the Screening Event That Falls on His Birthday
“I’ll be celebrating my birthday as we show the documentary in North London,” Blunstone continued. “And Robert Schwartzman, the director, will be there and all the living Zombies. Sadly, [Zombies guitarist] Paul Atkinson died in 2004. So it’ll be myself, Rod Argent, [bassist] Chris White, and [drummer] Hugh Grundy, and we’ll be taking questions from the audience.
He added, “[I]t’s an unlikely way to spend your birthday, but I think it’ll be fun. I think we’ll have a lot of fun.”
Asked if any special celebration will be part of the event, Colin admitted, “I don’t know, to be honest, but I’ll tell you a secret. I’m not that big on birthdays. And I think most people, as they get older, are probably trying to forget, to be honest.”
He continued. “I wouldn’t think there’ll be anything extravagant, but if people want to celebrate my birthday, of course, I don’t want to be negative about that. It’s great, I’ll celebrate with them. But on my own, I’m happy to celebrate other people’s birthdays—of course, I am—but my birthdays … I normally would be at home with my family and just have a quiet evening. That’s fine by me.”
Blunstone added, “I hope that doesn’t make me sound like an old misery, but I think as you get older, you know, it doesn’t mean quite the same thing.”
Reflecting on how quickly time has seemed to pass for him, Colin remarked, “Well, it speeds up. A word of warning, it definitely speeds up as you get older.”
More About Plans for Special U.K. and U.S. Screenings of the Documentary
The June 24 screening of Hung Up on a Dream is one of three scheduled events in the U.K. that will feature a Q&A with the director and the Zombies members. The others will take place on June 26 at the Hackney Picturehouse in London, and July 5 at the Odyssey Theatre in St Albans.
Blunstone told American Songwriter that these events won’t feature a performance. That being said, Blunstone will also be taking part in a series of special U.S. screenings of Hung Up on a Dream later in the summer.
The screenings will be held in seven cities, beginning July 9 in New York City and winding down July 19 in Los Angeles. After the film, Blunstone will participate in a Q&A with Schwartzman. That will be followed by a short acoustic performance featuring Blunstone and Schwartzman’s band, Rooney.
You can find out more about the screenings at TheZombiesMusic.com and HungUp.Official.film.
(Photo by Andrew Eccles)
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