CleveRock: You mentioned that many of The Zombies’ songs are in film and television. After 60 years of making music, does the thrill of hearing your song in these projects ever lose its thrill?
Blunstone: “No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t, actually. I think that’s the real kick. That’s what we do it for. When you hear things like that, there are all sorts of levels. You hear a song in a film, you might chart a record; it’s still a thrill. And then of course, the audience reaction, you never lose the excitement of a really fulfilling performance that’s appreciated by a great audience, and that’s what we do it for. That is the thrill. It motivates you and it energizes you and nothing changes. That’s always there.”
CleveRock: A documentary titled ‘Hung Up on a Dream’ recently debuted at a film festival. What was your reaction to the film when you saw it?
Blunstone: “I think it’s brilliant; absolutely brilliant. It’s directed by Robert Schwartzman, a very fine director. He’s a very fine musician as well. We were always a little bit concerned that there wasn’t enough old film of the original band, but he’s come up with some things. We had no idea it even existed. People didn’t have cell phones in those days, so there was not as much film as there would be nowadays, but he found a lot of clips that we didn’t even know existed. I think it’s really interesting. I think it runs about an hour and a half, and it is a real experience watching your life go by on a big screen. It’s not always the most comfortable experience. Actually, it’s a little bit strange, but I think overall, Robert’s done an incredible job. It is showing at all sorts of film festivals right through the year.
In fact, Rod and I are coming over early before this tour starts because it’s showing at the Woodstock Film Festival, and we’re going to do a Q&A after the showing, and I think we’re going to play two or three songs as well, just the two of us. And then from there, we’ll fly on to Vancouver where the tour starts. It’s been at quite a few film festivals throughout the year, and it seems to have been really well received. I know that at the end of the day, and this is outside of my powers, we really hope that some kind of deal has to be arrived at, and I just hope for the best with that respect. Obviously, you can’t go on to show a film at film festivals forever. I know there’s lots of interest, so hopefully there will be an arrangement for it to be shown on some major platform in the next few months. I do hope so.”
CleveRock: Do you miss the sanctity of the concert experience when people weren’t sitting there with their cell phones, holding them up for the whole show, filming everything you do? Does that take away from the specialness of the concert experience for both fans and the performers?
Blunstone: “I think people in an audience should do what they want to do. I’m not going to tell them what to do. I do sometimes wonder if they might be missing some of it because they’re concentrating on filming because it is a unique experience and it only happens once when you’re in the theater. It is interesting if people want to capture a moment of the show, they can film it and go away with it. I think it keeps us on our toes because we have to try and make sure that we’re giving absolutely everything we can every night, of course.”
CleveRock: Not many bands that started 60 years ago are still recording or touring today. The Zombies have defied the odds! What is the secret to being able to persevere for more than six decades?
Blunstone: “I think you have to enjoy what you’re doing. We really enjoy it. Money has never been the main motivation for us. Of course, everyone likes to be paid for a day’s work, but going back to what I said before, for us, the motivation has always been new music, written and recorded, and let’s get out and play that new music to a live audience. That keeps us going. It really does. That’s enough for us. I completely understand if some of the bands from the sixties are not playing, because touring is quite physical. It’s more physical than it looks, and it’s not the performance, it’s actually traveling. It’s a mystery why that is so tiring, but it is. I can understand why people would either stop touring or tour less, but we’ve managed to keep it going up till now.
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