Feature: GRTR! Greats – COLIN BLUNSTONE
Photo: Simon Dunkerley
And then there’s Colin Blunstone with his ethereal, timeless voice
Pete Feenstra, 2011
Colin Blunstone has enjoyed a long and fruitful career both as a member of The Zombies and as a solo artist. He has also contributed to many a session including work with Alan Parsons.
His early influences included Little Richard, Chuck Berry and later Ricky Nelson and The Beatles. But working with long-term musical partner Rod Argent was a turning point especially in terms of his vocal phrasing.
Pete Feenstra writes that “Blunstone’s music has always been about combination of the song, the voice and an intuitive producer (since the mid-90′s he’s worked consistently with Jon Sweet).
The upshot is a rich and varied solo career, which started with 1971′s debut ‘One Year’ (revived in 2025 for ‘One Year And More (Live at The Union Chapel)’ which included ‘Caroline Goodbye’ and a top 20 hit with Denny Laine’s ‘Say You Don’t Mind’ , while 1972′s ‘Ennismore’ featured “I Don’t Believe in Miracles’, (which peaked at #31) alongside the evocative ‘Andorra’.
1974′s ‘Journey’, featured the uplifting ‘Oxygen’ and the spine tingling ‘Keep The Curtains Drawn’, later reprised on 2009′s ‘The Ghost of Me And You’ (also notable for the plucked string of the airy ‘Any Other Way’.) “
Reviewing The Zombies in March 2008 when they made a live “comeback” with original line-up after a 40 year gap Pete noted “At the core of The Zombies career lies the delicate balance between Colin’s angelic voice and fragile countenance and Rod’s magnificent musicianship, impressive arrangements and restless nervousness.”
A year later, reviewing Blunstone at his Boom Boom Club in Sutton, Pete enthused “This gig was an unconditional triumph. There can be few vocalists who can step out of a high profile comfort zone such as The Zombies safe in the knowledge that they have both the depth of back catalogue and peerless voice to take their own career in a slightly different direction.”
Four years earlier Blunstone and fellow Zombie Rod Argent had released Live At Bloomsbury Theatre (also a DVD) followed by The Zombies And Beyond whilst in 2005 Colin told Joe Geesin:
“As a vocalist I’ve had to develop a degree of technique to survive the rigours of performing night in and night out on the road. On tour now I practice everyday and warm my voice up before every performance. We play for two hours in concert and I have managed to keep my voice strong for up to six consecutive nights which I don’t think I could have done years ago.
As a writer I’m much less prolific than I used to be although ironically I think I have improved as a guitarist. I will always try to write new songs so I guess I just have to be patient.”
it still takes the vocal magic of Colin Blunstone’s unique phrasing to transform an ordinary lyric into something special.
Pete Feenstra, 2011
The Ghost And Me, released in 2009, was effectively a decade or more in the making and was Blunstone’s first solo album since 1998′s ‘The Light Inside’.
Pete Feenstra wrote “it reconfirms Colin’s standing as one of the primary vocalists of our time.”
In an interview, he told Pete about his current profile “It’s certainly higher now than in the 90′s. and one of the main reason for that was that I couldn’t do much for about 4 years because of an on going law suit with my record label. I couldn’t work basically and I almost had to start all over again. So for a while I was out of the public eye and had to start all over again.”
I’d say we are much more different when it comes to our listening tastes. I’m fairly catholic about what I listen to. I still like a lot of the jazz I heard in my youth – Miles Davis, Coltrane in the late 50′s and I still love Ray Charles in particular and early Elvis and rock & roll, while I think Colin is more into singer song writers, like Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne etc.
Rod Argent, 2011
…to share an evening with The Zombies is to embark on a journey through one of rock’s most enduring back catalogues.
Pete Feenstra 2011
Although Argent and Colin Blunstone had started working together again since 2002, it wasn’t until 2008 that they used The Zombies moniker for their work together. Pete Feenstra described the album Breathe Out, Breathe In :
“Colin Blunstone still has a wistful vocal delivery and a startling range and Rod Argent sparkles as an inspired instrumentalist and an innovative arranger with an eye for a rocky edge and a catchy hook to confirm his peerless song writing credentials.
And above all the band still has the ability to cross over from pop to rock without once comprising its oeuvre. ‘Breathe Out – Breathe In’ is a well recorded, crisply mastered album with a strong sonic quality and a coherent sequential flow that carries the listener forward from the poppy opening title track to the organ led finale of ‘Let It Go’.”
Photo: Noel Buckley
We reviewed Colin Blunstone at several festival events, including Great British Rock & Blues, in 2013, whilst Dave Atkinson reviewing the Aylesbury gig in 2014 offered:
“Colin Blunstone’s vocal range remains absolutely intact and he does not hold back from the top-end. He retains his serene, slightly detached persona on stage, calmly surveying the scene during Rod Argent’s frequent, frenzied, whole-body-experience keyboard breaks. Even Blunstone’s interactions with the crowd are charming and graceful.”
David Randall chatted to Colin in 2016 for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. This two-part special includes some of his favourite artists/tracks as well as solo, The Zombies and Alan Parsons Project. First broadcast 3 April 2016 (Part 1) and 10 April 2016 (Part 2).
Photo: David Randall/GRTR!
Colin embarked on a series of UK dates in 2016 when David Randall wrote:
“Colin Blunstone comes across as a real gentleman and confided that he and his wife had earlier had a really intense conversation, about whether to water the plants in the garden or wait until the next day. I can fully relate to this, as I am sure did most of the packed audience. It may well be a sign of advancing years – like that yearning for a decent song well sung – but it heightens the experience when witnessing one of our greatest ever pop rock vocalists.”
Photo: John Bull/Rockrpix
The following year, returning to the Boom Boom Club in Sutton, Pete Feenstra noted:
“In an era when the term ‘The Voice’ generates much derision among rock fans, Colin Blunstone is here to remind us of the staple, old school values that have continued to provide a bedrock for the quality end of the music industry for over half a decade.
Standing centre stage in a black leather jacket and emoting unruffled urbane cool at the Boom Boom Club, it’s hard to believe that Blunstone’s career started in earnest in 1964.”
A definitive Colin Blunstone box set has yet to appear, but readers are directed also to his work with Alan Parsons including Keats (1984) whilst Cozy Powell made his final recorded appearance on ‘The Light Inside’ (1998).
Pete Feenstra: “An abiding memory of Colin is catching him backstage doing his vocal exercises with a Zen style focus on the task ahead, as three women who were old enough to know better, tried to break into the dressing room.
Rock and roll!”
Story coordination: David Randall, with thanks to Pete Feenstra
Contributors: Dave Atkinson, Joe Geesin, Pete Feenstra, David Randall
Tour dates 2026
Thu May 7th 2026 NEWPORT Strings
Sat May 9th 2026 ST ALBANS Pioneer Club
Thu May 14th 2026 STROUD Sub Rooms
Sat May 16th 2026 GATESHEAD Glasshouse
Sun May 17th 2026 GLASGOW St Lukes
Wed May 20th 2026 LEEDS Howard Assembly Room
Sat May 23rd 2026 CARDIFF Gate
Sun May 24th 2026 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre
Wed May 27th 2026 WORTHING Pavilion Theatre
Thu May 28th 2026 LONDON Union Chapel
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,
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April 12
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast 8 March 2026.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). First broadcast on 10 March 2026
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Power Plays w/c 16 March 2026
THE DEVIL WEARS NADA Brat With A Baseball Bat (Eonian Records)
ARANDA You Don’t Wanna Know (indie)
MYRATH Breathing Near The Roar (earMUSIC)
DELBHOY KENNEDY Sky’s The Limit (Flip Flop Records)
ALL THEM WITCHES Starting Line (BMG)
HER FURY Use And Abuse (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 16 March 2026
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)
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