No one is more surprised about The Zombies' upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than the British Invasion band's singer Colin Blunstone.
Before the announcement of the band's selection in December, 30 years after it was first eligible, the voice behind classic hits "Time of the Season" and "She's Not There" had already planned two American tours around the band's shows on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas in February. Blunstone had set a solo tour before the cruise and a tour with The Zombies after it. Now, The Zombies also have to prepare to be inducted at the Barclays Center on March 29, along with The Cure, Def Leppard, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead and Roxy Music.
"It was genuinely a surprise," says Blunstone, calling from his home outside London. "In '67, when The Zombies broke up, we felt that we were unsuccessful, that there wasn't any interest in the band. When (Zombies guitarist) Rod Argent and I started playing together in '98, we were playing mostly non-Zombies songs. We played only a handful of Zombies songs. And it was seven or eight years before we used the name The Zombies again, encouraged by audiences and promoters. It was just a big surprise that there was that interest in us."
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