August 21, 2019

The Zombies, the British Invasion band who in 1964 had the second number one hit in the USA after The Beatles, were in Cleveland this week to dedicate the plaque displaying the Class of 2019 inductees.  After the dedication, they took to the Rock Hall's outdoor stage for a fantastic concert, under the threat of gray Cleveland skies.  

Surviving members Rod Argent (keys), Colin Blunstone (vocals), Hugh Grundy (Drums), and Chris White (lead guitar), were all present for the ceremony.  In 2004, original guitarist Paul Atkinson passed away, leaving the quintet a quartet.  Rock Hall president Greg Harris introduced the band to the collected group of about a hundred fans, all squeezed into the third floor corridor of the museum.  Band spokesman Argent thanked the Rock Hall for the induction and spoke of their journey from St. Albans, a suburb thirty miles north of London, to the shores of the US on the heels of the most famous British Invasion band, The Beatles.  In 1964, the band had a huge hit in America with "She's Not There," and then went on to record their masterpiece Odessey and Oracle a few years later.

After signing autographs for the crowd, the quartet left the corridor to prepare for a mid-afternoon outdoor performance.  With a scheduled time of 3:00, the skies, on cue, opened up at 2:45 with a deluge that would have made Noah a little nervous.  But, once again, in typical Cleveland fashion, the skies were blue and the clouds big, white and puffy a half hour later.

The band's current iteration of Blunstone, Argent, and two replacements for Grundy and White, took the stage.  While Grundy (a resident of Mallorca), and White will be touring with their band and Brian Wilson in September, they flew in special for the Rock Hall event but stayed to the sidelines for most of this concert, they did come out and play a few of the outfit's seminal songs towards the end of the gig.

Overview and Photos by Brian M. Lumley