Colin Blunstone

Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone performing on 25 April 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Colin Edward Michael Blunstone
Also known as	Neil MacArthur
Born	24 June 1945 (1945-06-24) (age 66) Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1959–present
Labels	Epic, Decca, CBS, Deram
Associated acts	The Zombies, Argent, The Alan Parsons Project, Keats
Website	Colinblunstone.co.uk

Colin Blunstone (born Colin Edward Michael Blunstone, 24 June 1945) is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.^[1]

Biography

He attended St Albans County Grammar School for Boys.^[1]

Blunstone's plaintive, wistful voice was one of the factors making The Zombies' single, "She's Not There" (written by fellow band member Rod Argent), such a big hit worldwide. After the amicable split of the band, shortly after completing the baroque pop classic LP, Odessey and Oracle, Blunstone briefly worked in the insurance business before resuming his musical career. In 1969, he signed with Deram Records and cut three singles under the pseudonym of Neil MacArthur, including a re-make of The Zombies' hit, "She's Not There" which charted in the UK.^[2]

He had some success as a solo artist, notably in 1972 with "Say You Don't Mind" (peaked at number 15 in the UK chart and written by future Wings member Denny Laine) and "I Don't Believe In Miracles" (peaked at number 31 in the UK chart and written by Argent member Russ Ballard), both with string arrangements by Christopher Gunning. Additional minor hits followed with "How Could We Dare To Be Wrong" in early 1973 (peaked at number 45 in the UK chart) and "Tracks of My Tears" in 1982 (peaked at number 60 in the UK chart).

One Year (1971) produced by Chris White) was his first solo album, and included the song "Caroline Goodbye" about Blunstone's break-up with the model and actress Caroline Munro. This was followed by Ennismore and Journey. He then signed with Elton John's Rocket Records and released three albums, Planes (1976), Never Even Thought (1978) and Late Nights In Soho (1979), which was only released in Europe.

Blunstone also contributed to Dave Stewart's hit cover version of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" (1980).

He went on to appear on several albums by The Alan Parsons Project including Eye in the Sky, where he sings the hit single Old And Wise, and Ammonia Avenue. In 1984, he joined with other Parsons musicians to form Keats.

Blunstone has appeared quite a few times on radio and television shows in the UK. He and his band performed several sessions for John Peel and Johnnie Walker, and on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1971 where he performed live with a string quartet.

He has had only a limited acting career. He was in The Savages (2001) and Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997) both as a singer. Other TV appearances include The Dan and Dusty Show (2004) as The Zombies, Shindig! Presents British Invasion Vol. 2 (1992) also as The Zombies, and Pop Quiz (1982). His sole film part was in Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) a movie directed by Otto Preminger (as The Zombies) and starring Laurence Olivier.

Blunstone still tours to this day, sometimes on his own, occasionally in tours with 1960s bands such as Manfred Mann - and most often with his old Zombies colleague Rod Argent. Some of his recent albums are As Far As I Can See, the mid 1990s Echo Bridge and Out of the Shadows (with Rod Argent).

His solo album, The Ghost of You And Me was released in the UK, Benelux and Scandinavia on 9 March 2009. Blunstone completed a twelve date UK tour, his first in several years. He continues to tour with Rod Argent as The Zombies, and the original surviving members of The Zombies played four reunion concerts performing Odessey and Oracle, in April 2009.

In 2010, Sony released Colin Blunstone Original Album Classics, a 3-disc boxed set featuring digitally re-mastered versions of Blunstone's solo albums, One Year, Journey and Ennismore. The collection also includes two bonus tracks that were originally released as non-LP b-sides in UK.

Discography

Singles

• "Mary, Won't You Warm My Bed" / "I Hope I Didn't Say Too Much Last Night" - Epic EPC7095 (1971)
• "Caroline, Goodbye" / "Though You Are Far Away" - Epic EPC7520 (October 1971)
• "Say You Don't Mind" / "Let Me Come Closer" - Epic EPC7765 (January 1972) (UK #15)^[3]
• "I Don't Believe In Miracles" / "I've Always Had You" - Epic EPC8434 (October 1972) (UK #31)^[3]
• "How Could We Dare To Be Wrong" / "Time's Running Out" - Epic EPC1197 (February 1973) (UK #45)^[3]
• "Wonderful" / "Beginning" - Epic EPC1775 (September 1973)
• "It's Magical" / "Summersong" - Epic EPC2413 (May 1974)
• "When You Close Your Eyes" / "Good Guys Don't Always Win" - Epic EPC4576
• "Planes" / "Dancing In The Dark" - Epic EPC4752 (November 1976)
• "Beautiful You" / "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" - Epic EPC5009 (February 1977)
• "Lovin' and Free" / "Dancing in the Dark" - Epic EPC5199 (April 1977)
• "I'll Never Forget You" / "You Are The Way For Me" - Epic EPC6320 (May 1978)
• "Ain't It Funny" / "Who's That Knocking?" - Epic EPC6535 (July 1978)
• "Photograph" / "Touch And Go" - Epic EPC6793 (November 1978)
• "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" (with Dave Stewart) / "There Is No Reward" (non Blunstone B-side) - Stiff Broken 1 (1980) (UK #13)^[3]
• "Miles Away" / "Excerpts From Exiled" (non Blunstone B-side) - Panache PAN1 (September 1981)
• "The Tracks of My Tears" / "Last Goodbye" - PRT 7P236 (April 1982) (UK #60)^[3]
• "Touch" / "Touch" (instrumental) - PRT 7P64 (February 1983)
• "Where Do We Go From Here?" / "Helen Loves Paris" - Sierra FED22 (May 1986)
• "She's Not There" / "Who Fires The Gun" - Sierra FED27 (October 1986)
• "Cry an Ocean" / "Make It Easy" - IRS IRM151 (May 1988)

As Neil MacArthur

• "She's Not There" / "World of Glass" - Deram DM225 (January 1969) (UK #34)^[4]
• "Don't Try to Explain" / "Without Her" - Deram DM262 (June 1969)
• "It's Not Easy" / "12:29" - Deram DM275 (December 1969)

Solo albums

• One Year - Epic EPC64557 (1971)
• Ennismore - Epic EPC65278 (1972)
• Journey - Epic EPC65805 (1974)
• Planes - Epic EPC81592 (1977)
• Never Even Thought - Epic EPC82835 (1978)
• Late Nights In Soho - Rocket (Holland) 9103 510 (1979)
• Sings His Greatest Hits - JSE ESSCD139 (1991)
• Echo Bridge - Permanent PERMCD38(1995)
• Live At The BBC - Windsong WINCD079 (1995)
• The Light Inside - Mystic MYSCD125 (1998)
• The Ghost Of You And Me - Ennismore ENNISCD1 (2009)

Zombies and Rod Argent albums

• Begin Here (1965)
• Odessey And Oracle (1968)
• Odessey And Oracle 30th Anniversary Edition (stereo and mono versions of each song) (1998)
• R.I.P. (2000)
• Out Of The Shadows (with Rod Argent) (2002)
• The Zombies Live At The BBC (2003)
• New World (2003)
• As Far As I Can See (with Rod Argent as The Zombies) (2004)
• Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre, London (with Rod Argent as The Zombies) (2005)
• Into The Afterlife (The Zombies/Colin Blunstone as Neil MacArthur/Rod Argent & Chris White ) (2007)
• Odessey And Oracle 40th Anniversary Concert (Original Zombies members reunion) (2008)
• The Zombies And Beyond (including Colin Blunstone and Argent) (2008)

DVDs

• Bunny Lake Is Missing (vocals and guest appearance) (1965)
• Paul Atkinson - Time of the Season Concert (2004)
• Face to Face W/ Rick Wakeman (with Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of the Zombies) (2008)
• The Zombies Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre, London (2007)
• The Zombies Odessey And Oracle (revisited) - The 40th Anniversary Concert (2008)

Box Sets

• Zombie Heaven (Big Beat 4 CD Box Set with The Zombies' Albums re-mastered) (1997)
• Colin Blunstone Original Album Classics (Sony 3 CD Box Set with re-mastered solo albums and rare non-LP B-sides) (2010)

Guest appearances

• The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot (1977) - "I, Robot"
• The Alan Parsons Project - Pyramid (1978) - "The Eagle Will Rise Again"
• Mike Batt - Tarot Suite (1979) - "Losing Your Way in the Rain"
• Iva Twydell - Duel (1982) (backing vocals)
• The Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky (1982) - "Old and Wise" (UK #74,^[3] US #22)
• Keats - Keats (1984)
• The Alan Parsons Project - Ammonia Avenue (1984) - "Dancing on a Highwire"
• The Alan Parsons Project - Vulture Culture (1985) - "Somebody Out There"
• The Crowd - You'll Never Walk Alone (1985)
• Don Airey - K2 (1989) - "Julie"
• Nadieh - No Way Back (1989) - "Splendid Morning" (duet)
• The Bolland Project - Darwin (The Evolution) (1991) - "The Way Of The Evolution", "Emma My Dear"
• Just Like a Woman soundtrack (1992) - "Politics of Love"
• Split Second soundtrack (1992) - "Nights in White Satin"
• Heineken Night of the Proms '93 - "She's Not There"
• Time Code 64 W/ Colin Blunstone - Dance Trax (1993) - "She's Not There (Club Mix)"
• Duncan Browne - Songs Of Love And War (1995) - "Misunderstood", "Love Leads You", "I Fall Again"
• Steve Hackett - Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited (1996) - "For Absent Friends"
• Mike Batt - Keep The Aspidistra Flying (1998) - "Tiger In The Night"
• Mike Batt with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Philharmania (1998 - released only in Germany) - "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
• Alan Parsons - The Time Machine (1999) - "Ignorance Is Bliss"
• Sir John Betjeman & Mike Read - Words & Music (2000) - "Peggy", "In Memory"
• Edward Rogers - Sunday Fables (2004) - "Make It Go Away" (backing vocals)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} allmusic Biography
2. ^ Allmusic performance credits
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 67. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
4. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 336. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• Colin Blunstone's website
• The Voice - Colin Blunstone
• Being There interview, September 2005
• Digger talks to ex-Zombie Colin Blunstone, interview, 2003
• Colin Blunstone Peel Sessions information, 2006
• Colin Blunstone & Zombies articles on the web
• Colin Blunstone licensing EP Music website

Persondata
Name	Blunstone, Colin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	24 June 1945
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death