Colin Blunstone: Still ‘Hung Up on a Dream’

By Peter Lindblad

It took a while for Odessey and Oracle to get everyone’s attention.

Eventually, the second album from The Zombies, originally released in 1968, caught the ear of critics and fans alike, who realized that they’d recorded a timeless classic of baroque-flavored psychedelic pop. 

The popularity of “Time of the Season,” the record’s hazy, spellbinding third single, sparked renewed interest in America in 1969. Alas, The Zombies split up before Odessey and Oracle was released, seemingly destined to fade into the mist. They re-emerged years later.

Unsurprisingly, lead singer Colin Blunstone has learned to be patient, waiting for the world to catch up, too, with his solo outings, including 1971’s One Year, his remarkable debut solo LP of gorgeously arranged chamber-pop. History seems to be repeating itself.

“I mean it’s almost like Odessey and Oracle all over again, because Odessey and Oracle, to a large extent, was ignored when it first was released,” said Blunstone. “And then gradually over a period of time, people particularly like Tom Petty, Dave Grohl and Susanna Hoffs in America [championed it], and over here Paul Weller has always been a great advocate of Odessey and Oracle. And it’s gradually become recognized as a really, really good album, and the same thing is happening with One Year. it’s just taking a bit longer for One Year to reach out to people’s sensibilities.”

Thrilled to see One Year gaining more appreciation for its string-laden brilliance, the self-deprecating Blunstone likes that it’s finally getting its just due. 

“It is unfortunately about 50 years ago when I recorded it. I’m recording a new album at the moment, and if people wait 50 years to recognize this one, it’s going to be a bit of a story tale for me because I won’t be around to see it,” laughed Blunstone.

Not quite finished, the new album is still in the works, with Blunstone noting a key difference from past efforts.

“I can tell you that I’m recording with a young producer called George Moore, who is extremely good, very, very musical, and a great person to work with,” said Blunstone. “We’re recording 10 of my songs [which] I’ve never done before. Quite often I’m singing other people’s songs, but on this album, it’ll be 10 of my songs. I’m really thrilled and excited. So, it’s coming along really well, it’s about half finished now. I know it’ll be finished before Christmas, and we’re hoping for a release about spring next year.”

Maybe he’ll offer a preview when the 81-year-old supports ‘80s new wave heroes The Fixx and fellow ‘60s recording star Peter Asher on an upcoming September U.S. tour that arrives in Madison on Sept. 19 at the Barrymore Theatre.

“I really enjoy the performing, which I’ve always enjoyed,”

said Blunstone.

The English gentleman is ready for another British Invasion.

“Well, I love playing in America because the audiences are so enthusiastic,” said Blunstone. “And it really lifts an artist when the audience shows their appreciation. There are some places in the world where it’s just tradition and etiquette. They’re not such enthusiastic audiences as they are in America. So, it’s always a thrill to come over and play in the States.”

Expect to hear a beguiling mix of Zombies and Blunstone favorites and lesser-known works, all carried aloft by Blunstone’s captivating vocals. 

“We’ll be playing probably 50/50 Zombies tunes and my solo songs,” said Blunstone, who adds there will be some more obscure stuff sprinkled in, too. “I’m painfully aware that I’ve never had a hit single [as a] solo artist, but I have had a lot of hit records in other areas, and so I’ll be playing hits from around the world … and, also, I worked a lot with the Alan Parsons Project. I play one of the songs that I recorded for Alan Parsons, ‘Old and Wise’ from Eye in the Sky.”

Almost everyone knows Blunstone from The Zombies, who were cobbled together in St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England, in 1962. Piloted by Blunstone and vocalist/keyboardist Rod Argent, The Zombies first broke through in the U.K. and the U.S. with the 1964 hit single “She’s Not There.” A year later, “Tell Her No” scaled the charts, with “Time of the Season” later becoming perhaps their crowning glory, as the group that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

As for Odessey and Oracle, recorded in the summer of 1967 at Abbey Road studios, the LP would land at No. 100 on Rolling Stone’s 2012 list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

However, The Zombies broke up later that year, frustrated by a lack of quality live gigs. Argent moved on to form the eponymous Argent with the last Zombies lineup. Blunstone soon revived his music career with One Year, which was produced by fellow Zombies Chris White and Rod Argent, both of whom wrote new material for the LP. The final track on the record was “Say You Don’t Mind.” Penned by former Moody Blues member Denny Laine, Blunstone’s version rose to No. 15 in the U.K.

Blunstone remembers recording One Year in Studio 3 of Abbey Road Studios, with Peter Vince handling engineering duties.

“Which is the same kind of setup almost exactly as for Odessey and Oracle, which we recorded two and three years before with The Zombies,” said Blunstone. “So, it was great for me to be back with the old team and recording my first solo album.”

That crew conjured up an arresting record of romantic, chamber-pop beauty, swept along by elegantly arranged strings and lovely songwriting. Among the prettiest tracks was “Caroline Goodbye,” which Blunstone said was one of the first songs he ever wrote.

“Yeah, I’d written maybe half a dozen songs before that. So, it’s one of the very early songs that I wrote,” said Blunstone.

In all, Blunstone has made 12 solo albums, including Ennismore and Journey. His most recent EP, Less is More, featured spare renditions of Blunstone favorites. A CD/DVD release called One Year Live & More – released in the fall of 2025 – found Blunstone and company recreating One Year live at London’s Union Chapel.

“Union Chapel is a wonderful venue,” said Blunstone. “It is actually a church. It’s used as a church, but it’s a very prestigious place … It’s a beautiful place to play. Taking on One Year was …. it’s quite a challenge to do it, but we had a wonderful set of musicians, a great string quartet, the Q-Strings, and my solo band also played. And we managed to play One Year completely live, and it was a real thrill. I think we did three concerts in a row. “

The experience was quite moving for Blunstone. 

“We filmed the last one and recorded it, as well, and I’m really pleased that we did it,” said Blunstone. “It was very exciting and quite emotional, as well, really thinking back to all the times of innocence in 1971 when we put One Year together in the first place. It was a great experience.”

Reissues of Zombies records are also on the way. Blunstone discussed some of the details.

“We’ve signed a new deal with a new company, and they’re putting out four albums in 12 months,” said Blunstone. “So, they reissued Odessey and Oracle in the original mono, and then they reissued Begin Here, which was our first album, in mono again. And then the next release is going to be all the A-sides and B-sides. That weren’t on an album. And then the final one is the time just after The Zombies is finished, when we were asked to put some tracks together and we finished off some memories that we’d started. We added harmonies and added a few instrumental breaks to them, as well. And, also, some of those tracks on the fourth album will start to feature people from Argent, which is how Rod and Chris moved on from The Zombies, and they were wonderful players, as well. And they started getting involved in these sessions, so you’ll see a transition from The Zombies to Argent in that fourth album.”

Over the years, White and Argent continued writing songs for Blunstone, and in 1989, Blunstone, White and Hugh Grundy formed a new version of The Zombies, releasing the album The Return of The Zombies. 

Serendipity brought Blunstone and Argent together in 1999 at a charity concert, which led to them going out and performing as Colin Blunstone & Rod Argent, before again assuming The Zombies name. Between 2019 and 2024, the four surviving original members – Blunstone, White, Argent and Grundy – went out touring as The Zombies, releasing 2023’s Different Game, which made the Billboard charts. However, health problems forced Argent to retire from the road.

A documentary on The Zombies entitled “Hung Up on a Dream” came out in 2023, and Blunstone is happy with how it turned out.

“Well, I mean, it’s very interesting,” said Blunstone. “Robert Schwartzman was the director of ‘Hung Up on a Dream,’ and I think he did a really, really good job. We were a little wary because we didn’t think there’d be enough film of the original band back in the ‘60s, but he found strips of film that we didn’t even know existed.”

The movie brought back a flood of memories for Blunstone.

“It was great going over all those old times. I’m constantly struck by the fact that we all remember it differently,” laughed Blunstone. 

Carrying on as a solo act, Blunstone announced the new 19-city U.S. tour of the Midwest and Northeast with Asher and The Fixx about a month after completing a headlining tour of the U.K. It’s a cross-generational triple bill that promises a little something for music fans of every stripe. These types of shows were commonplace once upon a time.

“I think back to when I first got into the business, people used to do package tours, and you would have seven or eight different acts all playing different kinds of music and everybody really enjoyed it,” said Blunstone. “I don’t think you have to have an evening of very, very similar music. Hopefully people will find different kinds of music.”

Blunstone is looking forward to getting to know the guys in The Fixx. He already knows Asher from the old days.

“I know Peter Ash is super bloke,” said Blunstone. “I think we’re going to have fun, and I think that that will come over to the audience. They’ll realize there is camaraderie in this show, and we’re all fans of one another, and we’re just trying to give them a wonderful evening.”

Thinking back, Blunstone recalls doing shows together with Asher when he was with Peter and Gordon and both were on the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars. 

“Peter does a lot of these music themed cruises that go out of Miami, and The Zombies have played on a lot of them as well,” said Blunstone. “So, I got to meet him again more recently, and he’s a very good artist. Of course, he’s been a successful manager. He’s really got a wide breadth of knowledge of the whole music business …. with The Fixx, I’m familiar with their records, and I have met them briefly on the road. It was just sort of at a truck stop The Zombies pulled into and The Fixx were there. And so, we had a chat and compared notes on how the tour was going, but of course, I’m familiar with their records.” 

The band Blunstone has assembled to tour with is a ‘60s British supergroup of sorts. 

“I call it the second incarnation of The Zombies, from 1999 onwards,” said Blunstone. “Steve Rodford is the drummer, and Søren Koch was the bass player in The Zombies – he’s actually playing guitar in my band. And then the other side of the stage, there’s two guys from The Strawbs, Dave Bainbridge on keyboards and Chas Cronk on bass. So, they all have great musical history, and they’ve been in wonderful bands. And they’ve come together and formed this new band, which I’m absolutely thrilled to be playing with them.”

That enthusiasm is the fuel that keeps him going.

“I really enjoy the performing, which I’ve always enjoyed,” said Blunstone. “I think that you just kind of modify it a little bit as you get older. I mean, I can remember playing shows as a teenager, thinking immediately when we finished, ‘Where’s the coffee? What’s happening? Where are we going?’ And it’s very different now. When we finish up, there’s a rush to get back to the hotel to get bed, try to get some sleep.”