In a 3-part interview with Forbes Magazine, Zombies lead singer Colin Blunstone recalls the early days of the band, and what happened when they were recording their very first hit, "She's Not There."

"We started about 7 p.m., with a producer and really good engineer. Unfortunately, the engineer had been at a wedding all day, and was very, very drunk, really aggressive. He was screaming through the headphones. Now remember, this was our first time in a commercial studio. I was just thinking, ‘If this is the music business, it’s not for me [laughs]’. But then we had a bit of luck. The engineer passed out cold on the floor, and we carried him down two flights of stairs, one Zombie on one arm, and one Zombie on the other. We put him in a black London taxi, and never saw him again."

After their initial success, Blunstone recalls having to go onstage following Tom Jones, who was a dynamic performer. When his set ran really long, they decided to do something to fill the time and calm their nerves. Little did they know, it would be too much time. 

"So we did what any respectable musician in that situation would do - went down to the party and had a few pints for courage [laughs]. When we came back, Tom had left the stage. Now when we had gone down to the party, an audience of thousands was teeming. So when we came ‘round on this revolving stage, I thought we’d get slaughtered. I even had my arm in front of my face to protect me from beer bottles they were going to throw. But they had all gone home! Two people and a big, black dog, were still there - and I don’t think the dog had paid [laughs]. So we played to just those two people and the dog."


Blunstone interview Part One

Blunstone interview Part Two 

Blunstone interview Part Three