The Zombies
Rod Argent (b. 14 June 1945, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England; piano), Colin Blunstone (b. 24 June 1945, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England; vocals), Paul Atkinson (b. 19 March 1946, Cuffley, Hertfordshire, England; guitar), Paul Arnold (bass) and Hugh Grundy (b. 6 March 1945, Winchester, Hampshire, England; drums) formed the Zombies in 1963, although Chris White (b. 7 March 1943, Barnet, Hertfordshire) replaced Arnold within weeks of their inception. This St. Albans-based quintet won the local Herts Beat competition, the prize for which was a recording deal with Decca Records. The Zombies' debut single, She's Not There, rose to number 12 in the UK, but proved more popular still in America, where it reached number 2. Blunstone's breathy voice and Argent's imaginative keyboard arrangement provided the song's distinctive features and the group's crafted, adventurous style was then maintained over a series of excellent singles. Sadly, this diligence was not reflected in success, and although Tell Her No was another US Top 10 entrant, it fared much less well at home while later releases, including Whenever You're Ready and Is This The Dream unaccountably missed out altogether. 
The group, not unnaturally, grew frustrated and split up in 1967 on completion of ODYSSEY AND ORACLE. The promise of those previous releases culminated in this magnificent collection which adroitly combined innovation, melody and crafted harmonies. Its closing track, Time Of The Season, became a massive US hit, but despite several overtures, the original line-up steadfastly refused to reunite. Argent and Grundy were subsequently joined by Jim Rodford (bass—ex Mike Cotton) and Rick Birkett (guitar) and this reshaped ensemble was responsible for the Zombies' final single, Imagine The Swan. Despite the label credit, this release was ostensibly the first recording by the keyboard player's new venture, Argent. Colin Blunstone, meanwhile embarked on a solo career. The band reconvened to record a new album in 1991, which on release received respectable reviews.