Colin Blunstone

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, appearing on four of their albums between 1978 and 1985.

In 2019, Blunstone was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the Zombies.

Colin Edward Michael Blunstone was born on 24 June 1945, in Hatfield, Hertfordshire 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 had 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 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. The first record he ever bought was "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley. Other favourite artists included Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Ricky Nelson.

Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson, and Hugh Grundy first played together at a jam on Easter 1961 in St Albans, 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 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. 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 and Hullabaloo, among many others. Another hit by the group was "Tell Her No".

Blunstone's voice was considered^{[according to whom?]} 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 classic album Odessey and Oracle. One of the songs from Odessey and Oracle, "Time of the Season", would become one of the band's most acclaimed hits.