In choosing not to reform The Zombies, the members weren’t able to take advantage of the vast sums that were dangled before them to perform live. One booking agency reportedly offered $600,000. “I never entertained the possibility,” said Rod. “The time spent in trying to reform the group would have resulted in what musical accomplishments I’d achieve going to waste. If you want to make a lot of money, well that’s fine. But I have more fun doing what I’m doing now.”
A consequence was the proliferation of bogus groups calling themselves “The Zombies” to exploit the group’s renewed popularity. Rod: “There are about three American Zombies—two in England—that we know about. The name was copyrighted, but there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
“You’ve got to sue them, prove that they’re damaging your ability to earn a living,” added Chris. “It’s difficult because we no longer existed as The Zombies.”
“It’s not worth the time and the money,” continued Rod, “because as soon as we finished suing one, another would spring up.” One of the fake Zombies included future ZZ Top members Frank Beard and Dusty Hill.
I liked Argent’s first two albums (not the subsequent ones), but questioned Rod’s decision not to reform The Zombies when I discovered that they sold only nine thousand each. Rod and Chris spent a lot of time putting Argent together and held to their commitment, bankrolling the group and even subsidizing the early tours that lost money. It helped that Rod was flush with “Time of the Season” money. Chris wasn’t too far behind. People, a San Jose group, covered Chris’ “I Love You,” a Zombies B-side, which became a Top 20 hit in 1968. Success for Argent had to wait until 1972 when “Hold Your Head Up,” composed by Rod and Chris, became a top five hit, driving the All Together Now album into the Top 30.
I saw Argent again at the Starwood in November 1975. By that time Russ Ballard had left and much of the magic had diminished. I popped backstage and chatted with Rod. (Rod’s favorite track on Argent’s first album, Ballard’s “Liar,” didn’t do much for the group, but a year later Three Dog Night had a Top 10 hit with it. Ballard was achieving success as a songwriter, and as Argent’s sales were declining from album to album, it wasn’t hard for him to leave.)
I met Paul Atkinson at a Christmas Eve party at Mike Chapman’s house in 1982. He was head of West Coast A&R for RCA Records and invited me to his office for a visit. I played him a cassette tape of The Winos performing “She’s Not There” (from 1973), thinking he would get a kick out of hearing Paul Rappaport’s guitar arrangement, which was similar to what Carlos Santana played four years later. Paul knew Rappaport from when they both worked for Columbia Records. Through the years, Paul and I became friends, and we worked on a few projects together. The first was The Zombies’ Live On the BBC.
I got the idea to issue albums by artists who recorded for the various BBC radio programs from The Beatles Broadcasts, a superbly produced bootleg album from 1980. As the British musicians union required that the BBC program live music for a certain amount of hours—so union musicians could get paid—there were a number of shows that featured the popular artists of the day. But because these were conceived to only air on that show, the original recording session tapes were not saved. Transcription discs (records) were made and circulated to the BBC’s non-UK outlets. Not all of the recording sessions survived, but those that did were on discs.
It was difficult to deal with the BBC. They thought of these sessions as providing content for radio. Even though most had not been played since their original airing, they had difficulty understanding why anyone—meaning Rhino—would want to make them commercially available. It took three years for me to make a deal with the BBC and The Zombies and to produce the album.
When I heard the songs on the cassette tape the BBC mailed me, I was surprised at how many were covers of soul hits, as The Zombies’ records revealed no great interest in this genre. Paul explained that the band performed songs they liked, and as they weren’t having hits, they included these more familiar songs in their set. I chose the songs, with Paul and Rod’s input, from the better of their covers: “This Old Heart of Mine” (Isley Brothers), “It’s Alright,” “You Must Believe Me” (Impressions), “When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes” (Supremes), among others. I thought fans would enjoy hearing these songs the group never released on their own records.
We had presented a quality package with previously unseen photos. Over the next two years The Zombies received royalties, so they felt comfortable enough with Rhino for the company to reissue Odessey and Oracle in 1987. I brought back the original album cover color separations in my suitcase so we could copy the original UK release rather than the American one. I was happy to make the album available again, on vinyl, and compact disc for the first time. It sold thirty-five thousand copies for us.
The Zombies toured in 2015. That was nothing new. Since 2001, Rod and Colin along with Rod’s cousin Jim Rodford (after eighteen years with The Kinks) played intermittently as The Zombies. This time around, Chris and Hugh joined them—now four-fifths of the original band—to perform Odessey and Oracle in its entirety for the second set. In the group’s professional guise, it’s almost as if they were real zombies resurrected. To think, these seventy-year-olds reunited to recreate an album they originally recorded but never had the satisfaction of performing on tour.
The seeds of this reunion were planted when Rolling Stone published “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” In the magazine’s 2003 poll, Odessey and Oracle placed at eighty. In June 2009, the four surviving members reassembled for the Mojo Honours List dinner to collect the magazine’s Best Classic Album Award for Odessey and Oracle. In 2011 the Foo Fighters covered “This Will Be Our Year” and in 2013 Eminem sampled “Time of the Season” in “Rhyme or Reason.” The members were bemused at getting all of this recognition forty years later. They knew they’d made a great album, but, in their words, “Nobody was interested at the time.” It was never a hit, and never even charted in their native England.
“It was a wonderful surprise and it’s helped to validate what we did and to take a bit of the edge off the sadness of the band having to split,” Colin told the Guardian. “It made us feel like we were on the right line with what we were doing because at the time I’m not sure we felt that we were.”
I saw the show a week before Halloween at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. Rod, Colin, Chris, and Hugh were dedicated, hitting all the right notes, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Although their voices weren’t as supple as when they were younger, it hardly diminished the magnificent performance. Even though Paul Atkinson was not part of the reunion (having perished from liver and kidney disease in 2004), guitarist Tom Toomey reproduced his parts in a way that gave me a new appreciation for his contribution to the album.
I have never before been part of an audience that was so astute, so loving. Bob Lefsetz writing in his newsletter referred to it as a “religious experience.” I was glowing for days.
The Zombies proved that good music is timeless. Their music, originally made by teenagers for teenagers, resonates fifty years later, and it’s not just with people who experienced it when it was first played on the radio. In the audience there were many in their forties, and more than a few in their twenties. The Zombies and the other artists of the British Invasion made great music, and we’re all the better for it.
Playlists
The most important thing about writing about the music is the music itself. I think the best way to experience music is sitting in front of a good stereo system. I’m also aware that many people prefer the convenience of listening through their computers or mobile devices. One advantage of the Internet is that music is accessible, and this includes many obscure recordings that can be found on YouTube and other sites.
What follows are suggested playlists to accompany some of the artist focused chapters that I feel are among those artists’ best record
ings.
The Dave Clark Five
Glad All Over
Bits and Pieces
Do You Love Me
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Can’t You See That She’s Mine
On Broadway
Because
Everybody Knows (I Still Love You)
Come Home
Reelin’ and Rockin’
I Like It Like That
Catch Us If You Can
Over and Over
At the Scene
Anyway You Want It
Try Too Hard
Look Before You Leap
You Got What It Takes
The Red Balloon
Julia
Herman’s Hermits
I’m Into Something Good
Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat
Silhouettes
Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter
Wonderful World
I’m Henry VIII, I Am
Just a Little Bit Better
A Must to Avoid
Listen People
Leaning on the Lamp Post
Hold On!
This Door Swings Both Ways
Dandy
No Milk Today
East West
Jezebel
There’s a Kind of Hush
Don’t Go Out Into the Rain
I Can Take or Leave Your Loving
Here Comes the Star
Peter Noone
Oh You Pretty Thing
The Hollies
I’m Alive
Look Through Any Window
I Can’t Let Go
Bus Stop
Stop Stop Stop
Pay You Back With Interest
On a Carousel
King Midas In Reverse
Dear Eloise
Wings
Step Inside
Do the Best You Can
Listen to Me
Sorry Suzanne
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
The Baby
Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)
The Air That I Breathe
Sandy
There’s Always Goodbye
The Kinks
You Really Got Me
All Day and All of the Night
Tired of Waiting for You
Who’ll Be the Next In Line
Set Me Free
Till the End of the Day
Where Have All the Good Times Gone
A Well Respected Man
Dedicated Follower of Fashion
Sunny Afternoon
I’m Not Like Everybody Else
Dead End Street
Big Black Smoke
Waterloo Sunset
David Watts
Death of a Clown (Dave Davies solo single)
Autumn Almanac
Days
Lola
This Time Tomorrow
Manfred Mann
Do Wah Diddy Diddy
5-4-3-2-1
Sha La La
Come Tomorrow
Oh No Not My Baby
With God On Our Side
If You Gotta Go, Go Now
You Gave Me Somebody to Love
Pretty Flamingo
I Put a Spell On You
Just Like a Woman
Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James
Each and Every Day (Day Time Night-Time)
Ha! Ha! Said the Clown
The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
Everyday Another Hair Turns Grey
Up the Junction
My Name Is Jack
Fox On the Run
Ragamuffin Man
Paul Jones
I’ve Been a Bad Bad Boy
Privilege
Free Me
The Yardbirds
For Your Love
A Certain Girl
I Ain’t Got You
Smokestack Lightning
Heart Full of Soul
I’m A Man
Still I’m Sad
Train Kept A-Rollin’
Evil Hearted You
Shapes of Things
You’re a Better Man Than I
Jeff’s Boogie
Over Under Sideways Down
The Nazz are Blue
Happenings Ten Years Time Ago
Psycho Daisies
Little Games
White Summer
Goodnight Sweet Josephine
Think About It
Jeff Beck
Hi-Ho Silver Lining
Beck’s Bolero
The Spencer Davis Group
Keep On Running
When I Come Home
Somebody Help Me
Every Little Bit Hurts
I Can’t Stand It
Strong Love
Searchin’
It Hurts Me So
The Hammer Song
Georgia On My Mind
Gimme Some Lovin’
Midnight Special
Back Into My Life Again
I’m a Man
I Can’t Get Enough of It
Look Away
On the Green Light
Looking Back
Time Seller
Balkan Blues (Spencer Davis and Peter Jameson)
The Troggs
Wild Thing
From Home
With a Girl Like You
Our Love Will Still Be There
Lost Girl
I Want You
I Can’t Control Myself
Any Way That You Want Me
Give It To Me
I Can Only Give You Everything
Night of the Long Grass
Love Is All Around
Cousin Jane
You Can Cry If You Want to
Lover
Come Now
Everything’s Funny
Feels Like a Woman
I’m On Fire
Strange Movies
The Zombies
She’s Not There
You Make Me Feel So Good
Tell Her No
Leave Me Be
She’s Coming Home
Whenever You’re Ready
I Love You
Kind of Girl
I Remember When I Loved Her
I Can’t Make Up My Mind
Just Out of Reach
I Must Move
I’ll Call You Mine
Indication
Gotta Get a Hold of Myself
Care of Cell 44
Butchers Tale (Western Front 1914)
Time of the Season
Friends of Mine
Imagine the Swan
Glam Rock
DAVID BOWIE Suffragette City
SWEET Blockbuster
T. REXBang a Gong (Get It On)
SUZI QUATRO48 Crash
WIZZARD See My Baby Jive
T. REX Jeepster
DAVID BOWIE Prettiest Star
SLADE Mama Weer All Crazee Now
SWEETBallroom Blitz
GARY GLITTERDo You Wanna Touch
MUDDyna-mite
SWEETThe Six Teens
SPARKSThis Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us
DAVID BOWIERebel
Rebel
SLADE Cum On Feel the Noise
T. REX
STEVE HARLEY & COCKNEY REBELMake Me Smile
VULCAN Much Too Young
T. REXTelegram Sam
SWEETFox On the Run
BONUS TRACK:
“Let Me Tell Ya” by U. K. Jones, released in February 1969, sounds like the first record in a style that would later be referred to as Glam.
Pirate Radio Obscurities
MAL RYDER & THE SPIRITS Lonely Room
THE IVY LEAGUEThat’s Why I’m Crying
THE SORROWSTake a Heart
THE ACTIONI’ll Keep Holding On
JIMMY POWELL & THE DIMENSIONSI Can Go Down
STEVE DARBISHIREYum Yum
THE THOUGHTSAll Night Stand
FINDERS KEEPERSLight
THE RENEGADESThirteen Women
THE IVY LEAGUEMy World Fell Down
A WILD UNCERTAINTYMan With Money
THE CREATIONPainter Man
TWICE AS MUCHTrue Story
ALLEN POUND’S GET RICHSearchin’ in the Wilderness
THE BATSListen to My Heart
THE MERSEYSThe Cat
THE FLIESHouse of Love
DOUBLE FEATUREBaby Get Your Head Screwed On
VINCE EDWARDSI Can’t Turn Back Time
UNIT FOUR PLUS TWOToo Fast, Too Slow
Index
Symbols
5-4-3-2-1 111, 115, 223
10cc 245–246
200 Motels 26
? and the Mysterians 272
A
A Hard Day’s Night 173, 276
Air That I Breathe, The 108
Alice Cooper 43, 61, 72, 116, 137, 140, 206, 215, 278
All Day and All of the Night 22, 150
Allman Brothers, The 44, 73
A Must to Avoid 87, 90
Andrew Sisters, The 58
Animals, The 17, 23, 78, 84, 96, 125, 145, 219, 221
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere 17
Any Way That You Want Me 162
Anyway You Want It 175
Apple Records 9, 27, 209, 226
Argent, Rod 298–299, 302–310
Art School 17, 20, 123
Asher, Peter 15, 17, 27, 93, 116
Atkinson, Paul 298, 300, 304–305, 307–308, 310
Autographs 270
A World Without Love 28
My British Invasion Page 31