Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the rock band the Zombies, which released four singles that entered the Top 75 charts in the United States during the 1960s: " She's Not There", " Tell Her No", " She's Coming Home" and " Time of the Season". Blunstone began his solo career in 1969, releasing three singles under a pseudonym of Neil MacArthur. Since then, he has released ten studio albums under his real name. He was also a recurring guest vocalist with

the Alan Parsons Project The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock music, rock duo formed in London in 1975. Its core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons, and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They shared w ...

, appearing on four of their albums between 1978 and 1985. In 2019, Blunstone was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

as part of The Zombies.

Early years

Colin Edward Michael Blunstone was born on 24 June 1945, in

Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, 39,201 at the 2011 census, and 41,265 at the 2021 census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House ...

and raised as the only son of Arthur and Dorothy Blunstone (née Mahn). “I was adopted,” Blunstone has said, “and my mother was the sister of my birth mother.” After Blunstone’s birth mother became pregnant, she went to live with Arthur and Dorothy in order to conceal the pregnancy from her family. She stayed with the couple for several months until she gave birth and then returned to her family. At an early age, Blunstone was told he’d been adopted, but the identity of his birth mother was not revealed until he was nearly 30 years old, when his “aunt”—who was in actuality his birth mother—revealed that she had had a brief affair with an American serviceman during the Second World War, which led to the pregnancy. Blunstone’s birth father was injured in France and sent back to the United States. Arthur was an aeronautical engineer at the

De Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...

factory at Hatfield who later ran a hairdressing business before returning to work for De Havilland. Dorothy was a former dancer who also worked for De Havilland. Notwithstanding postwar privations, Blunstone recalled that although his family were not well-off, his parents never owning a car, they had a pleasant lifestyle in rural Hertfordshire. He noted that "as a band we gave off that aura of being middle-class... maybe a couple of the guys' families were comfortable, but the others' weren't. Because of where we came from we talk in a particular way. That... sounded a bit like BBC accents... My parents weren't wealthy at all. We may have been middle-class by aspiration, but not by income." He attended St Albans County Grammar School for Boys. When he was ten, Blunstone acquired a radio, which he would frequently use to listen to

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

. The first record he ever bought was "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

" by Elvis Pressley. Other favorite artists included

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

, and

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

The Zombies

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the ba ...

, Paul Atkinson, and Hugh Grundy first played together at a jam on Easter 1961 in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, Hertfordshire. Rod Argent wanted to form a band and initially asked his cousin Jim Rodford to join as a bass guitarist. Rodford was playing in local band called the Bluetones at the time, so declined. Paul Arnold, Blunstone's classmate and a friend of Argent, personally invited him to join what would later become the Zombies. Blunstone and Arnold (who would take up

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

but leave shortly thereafter) joined in early 1961, while all five members were still at school. Blunstone was originally recruited as a rhythm guitarist and showed up to his first rehearsal with two black eyes from playing rugby shortly prior. Eventually, Argent opted to relinquish his lead vocal duties in favor of Blunstone. After they won a local contest, they recorded a demo as their prize. Rod Argent's song " She's Not There" got them a recording contract with Decca. She's Not There would go on to be a worldwide hit, with the band appearing on shows such as

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

and Hullabaloo, among many others. Another hit by the group was Tell Her No. Blunstone's voice was considered one of the main factors in making the Zombies' single, " She's Not There". In 1968, the band broke up over management issues, shortly after completing the

baroque pop Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid-1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...

classic album '' Odessey and Oracle''. One of the songs from Odessey and Oracle, Time of the Season, would become one of the bands most acclaimed hits. In 2004, Blunstone and Rod Argent recorded '' As Far as I Can See...'', a new album in the style of the Zombies. A later album and DVD ''Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent of the Zombies Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre'' were well received, as was their 2007 US tour. One critic wrote, "The Zombies, still led by original keyboard wizard Rod Argent and featuring the smoked-silk vocals of Colin Blunstone, is the best 60s band still touring which doesn't have

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

as a front man". Blunstone continued to tour with Argent as the Zombies, and in April 2009 the original surviving members of the band played four reunion concerts performing ''Odessey and Oracle''. Blunstone and Rod Argent decided to put together a touring band, perform live and release new material as The Zombies. Jim Rodford (Argent, The Kinks) was on bass, Steve Rodford on drums and Keith Airey on guitar. Airey left and was replaced by Tom Toomey. After the death of Jim Rodford in 2018, Søren Koch became the Zombies' new bass player. In a 2015 article for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', journalist J.C. Maçek III quoted Argent about the Zombies' latest album '' Still Got That Hunger''. Argent said, "''Still Got That Hunger'' is the first album that has really recaptured some of the

resonance Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration whose frequency matches a resonant frequency (or resonance frequency) of the system, defined as a frequency that generates a maximu ...

of feeling of a group. We're so tight as a group together now. And the whole process has become so organic that we're 100% happy with the Zombies name and rediscovering and playing all the old stuff and at the same time carving a new path forward which is also very, very important to us." In 2012, Blunstone participated in the unveiling of a

Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

at the Blacksmith's Arms, a St. Albans pub where the Zombies met for their first rehearsal. In 2019, Blunstone was inducted into the

as part of The Zombies, along with Argent, Atkinson (posthumously), White, and Grundy.

Solo career

Blunstone briefly worked as a clerk in the insurance business before resuming his musical career. In 1969, he signed with Deram and released three singles under the pseudonym of Neil MacArthur, including a re-make of "She's Not There", which charted in the UK. Blunstone gained success as a solo artist in 1972 with " Say You Don't Mind" (which peaked at number 15 in the UK chart and was written by future

Paul McCartney and Wings Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, was a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in 1971 in London by former The Beatles, Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; a ...

member Denny Laine), and "I Don't Believe in Miracles" (which peaked at number 31 in the UK chart and written by Argent member Russ Ballard), both with

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s by Christopher Gunning. Additional minor hits followed with "How Could We Dare to Be Wrong" in early 1973 (which peaked at number 45 in the UK chart) and "The Tracks of My Tears" in 1982 (which peaked at number 60 in the UK chart). '' One Year'' (1971), produced by Chris White and

was Blunstone's debut solo album, and included the song "Caroline Goodbye" about his break-up with the

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

and actress Caroline Munro. The album also featured new material written by Argent and White. This was followed by '' Ennismore'' and '' Journey''. He then signed a recording contract with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

's record label, The Rocket Record Company, and released three studio albums: ''Planes'' (1976); ''Never Even Thought'' (1978); and ''Late Nights in Soho'' (1979) which was only released in Europe. Blunstone also contributed to Dave Stewart's hit

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of " What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" (1980). He went on to appear on several albums by

including '' Eye in the Sky'', where he sings the hit single " Old and Wise", and '' Ammonia Avenue'' ("Dancing on a Highwire"). In 1984, he joined with other Parsons musicians, most notably David Paton of PILOT/Parsons to form Keats. His ninth solo album ''The Ghost of You and Me'' was released in the UK, Benelux, and Scandinavia on 9 March 2009. Blunstone completed a twelve date UK tour, his first in several years. He continued to tour with Rod Argent as the Zombies, and the original surviving members of the band played four reunion concerts performing ''Odessey and Oracle'', in April 2009. In 2010, Sony released ''Colin Blunstone Original Album Classics,'' a 3-disc boxed set featuring digitally re-mastered versions of Blunstone's solo albums ''One Year,'' ''Journey'' and ''Ennismore.'' The collection also includes two bonus tracks that were originally released as non-LP b-sides in UK. Blunstone continues to be active, occasionally in tours with 1960s bands such as

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

, often collaborating with Rod Argent. Some of his more recent albums are ''As Far as I Can See'', the mid-1990s ''Echo Bridge'' and ''Out of the Shadows'' (with Rod Argent). In 2024, he toured in the UK with a band comprising Søren Koch on lead and acoustic guitar, Dave Bainbridge on keyboards, Chas Cronk on bass and Steve Rodford on drums. For their second set, a string quartet, Q Strings, joined them on stage to perform Blunstone's first solo album '' One Year'' in its entirety.

Radio, television and film

Blunstone has appeared many times on radio and television shows in the UK and on soundtracks. He and his band performed several sessions for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

and

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

, and on ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

'' in 1971, where he performed live with a string quartet. Blunstone appeared in ''The Savages'' (2001) and '' Keep the Aspidistra Flying'' (1997) both as a singer. Other TV appearances include ''The Dan and Dusty Show'' (2004) as the Zombies, ''Shindig! Presents British Invasion Vol. 2'' (1992) also as the Zombies, and '' Pop Quiz'' (1982). His sole film part was in '' Bunny Lake Is Missing'' (1965), directed by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

(as the Zombies) and starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

Personal life

Blunstone is married to Suzy Blunstone, and the couple have a daughter.

Discography

With the Zombies

Band albums

* Argent-Blunstone - ''Out of the Shadows'' (2001) - Redhouse REDHCD

Solo albums

*'' One Year'' – Epic EPC64557 (1971) * '' Ennismore'' – Epic EPC65278 (1972) * '' Journey'' – Epic EPC65805 (1974) * ''Planes'' – Epic EPC81592 (1977) * ''Never Even Thought'' –

Rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

BXL1-2903 (1978) * ''Late Nights in Soho'' –

(Netherlands) 9103 510 (1979) *''Sings His Greatest Hits'' - JSE Records – CLACD 351 (1991) * ''Echo Bridge'' – Permanent PERMCD38 (1995) *''Live at the BBC'' (1996) * ''The Light Inside'' – Mystic MYSCD125 (1998) * ''The Ghost of You and Me'' – Ennismore ENNISCD1 (2009) * ''On the Air Tonight'' – Ennismore ENNISCD2 (2012) * ''That Same Year'' – recordings from 1971 (2021)

Compilations

* ''I Don't Believe In Miracles'' - CBS/Embassy (1979) * ''Some Years : It's the Time of Colin Blunstone'' - Epic/Legacy 489487 2 (1995) * ''Super Hits'' - Epic (2003) * ''Greatest Hits + Plus'' - Mystic MYS CD194 (2006) * ''The Best Of'' - Camden (2010) * ''3 Original Album Classics'' - Epic/Legacy/Sony (2010) * ''Collected'' - Universal Music 534 274-2/4 (2014)

Singles

* "Mary, Won't You Warm My Bed" / "I Hope I Didn't Say Too Much Last Night" (1971), Epic * "Caroline, Goodbye" / "Though You Are Far Away" (1971), Epic * " Say You Don't Mind" / "Let Me Come Closer" (1972), Epic – UK #15 * "I Don't Believe in Miracles" / "I've Always Had You" (1972), Epic – UK #31 * "How Could We Dare to Be Wrong" / "Time's Running Out" (1973), Epic – UK #45 * "Wonderful" / "Beginning" (1973), Epic * "It's Magical" / "Summersong" (1974), Epic * "When You Close Your Eyes" / "Good Guys Don't Always Win" (1976), Epic * "Planes" / "Dancing in the Dark" (1976), Epic * " Beautiful You" / "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" (1977), Epic * "Lovin' and Free" / "Dancing in the Dark" (1977), Epic * "I'll Never Forget You" / "You Are the Way for Me" (1978), Epic * "Ain't It Funny" / "Who's That Knocking?" (1978), Epic * "Photograph" / "Touch and Go" (1978), Epic * " What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" (with Dave Stewart) / "There Is No Reward" (1980), Stiff – UK #13 (AUS #34) * "Miles Away" / "Excerpts from Exiled" (non-Blunstone B-side) (1981), Panache * " The Tracks of My Tears" / "Last Goodbye" (1982), PRT – UK #60 * " Old and Wise" / "Children of the Moon" (

The Alan Parsons Project The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock music, rock duo formed in London in 1975. Its core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons, and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They shared w ...

release; Blunstone on lead vocals on "Old and Wise") (1982), Arista – UK #74 * "Touch" / "Touch" (

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

) (1983), PRT * "Where Do We Go from Here?" / "Helen Loves Paris" (1986), Sierra * "She's Not There" / "Who Fires the Gun" (1986), Sierra * "Cry an Ocean" / "Make It Easy" (1988), IRS * "So Much More" (2012), Ennismore

As Neil MacArthur

* " She's Not There" / "World of Glass" (1969), Deram – UK #34 * "Don't Try to Explain" / "Without Her" (1969), Deram * "It's Not Easy" / "12:29" (1969), Deram

Guest appearances

* The Alan Parsons Project – ''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'' (1978) – "The Eagle Will Rise Again" * Mike Batt – '' Tarot Suite'' (1979) – "Losing Your Way in the Rain" * Iva Twydell – ''Duel'' (1982) (backing vocals) * The Alan Parsons Project – '' Eye in the Sky'' (1982) – " Old and Wise" (UK No. 74, US #22) * Keats – ''Keats'' (1984) * The Alan Parsons Project – '' Ammonia Avenue'' (1984) – "Dancing on a Highwire" * The Alan Parsons Project – ''

Vulture Culture ''Vulture Culture'' is the eighth studio album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in March 1985 via the Arista label. Overview The first side of the LP (CD tracks 1–4) consists entirely of four-minute pop songs, and the second side va ...

'' (1985) – "Somebody Out There" * The Crowd – ''

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and e ...

'' (1985) * Don Airey – ''K2'' (1989) – "Julie" * Nadieh – ''No Way Back'' (1989) – "Splendid Morning" (duet) * The Bolland Project – ''Darwin (The Evolution)'' (1991) – "The Way of the Evolution", "Emma My Dear" * '' Just Like a Woman'' soundtrack (1992) – "Politics of Love" * '' Split Second'' soundtrack (1992) – "Nights in White Satin" * ''Heineken Night of the Proms '93'' – "She's Not There" * Time Code 64 W/ Colin Blunstone – ''Dance Trax'' (1993) – "She's Not There (Club Mix)" * Duncan Browne – ''Songs of Love And War'' (1995) – "Misunderstood", "Love Leads You", "I Fall Again" *

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...

– '' Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited'' (1996) – "For Absent Friends" * Mike Batt – ''Keep the Aspidistra Flying'' (1998) – "Tiger in the Night" * Mike Batt with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – ''Philharmania'' (1998 – released only in Germany) – "

Owner of a Lonely Heart "Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by British progressive rock band Yes. It is the first track and single from their eleventh studio album, '' 90125'' (1983), and was released on 24 October 1983. Written primarily by guitarist and singer Tre ...

" * Alan Parsons – ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...

'' (1999) – "Ignorance Is Bliss" * Sir John Betjeman & Mike Read – ''Words & Music'' (2000) – "Peggy", "In Memory" * Edward Rogers – ''Sunday Fables'' (2004) – "Make It Go Away" (backing vocals)

References

External links

* *
EP Music website
(Colin Blunstone licensing)
The Zombies official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blunstone, Colin 1945 births Living people Entertainers from Hatfield, Hertfordshire British soft rock musicians English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters The Zombies members Deram Records artists Rocket Records artists Musicians from Hertfordshire