[Cover photo credit to Alex Lake]
The Zombies have released a new track and animated lyric video, “Dropped Reeling & Stupid”, ahead of a full album CD, vinyl, and digital release for Different Game on March 31st, 2023 on UK indie label Cooking Vinyl Records. The animated lyric video for “Dropped Reeling & Stupid”, produced by Animind Studio, is inspired by the band’s mishap in the desert while on tour.
In support of the release, and a forthcoming feature documentary, the band will resume their “Life Is A Merry-Go-Round” Tour in 2023 with appearances at South by SouthWest (SXSW), new concerts announced in Texas and New Orleans, followed by a full UK run in the Spring, and more extensive touring planned throughout the year.
The Zombies began work on the album after their 2019 induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a USA tour with Brian Wilson. The band, which features founding keyboardist Rod Argent and lead singer Colin Blunstone, along with drummer Steve Rodford, guitarist Tom Toomey and bassist Søren Koch, hoped to finish writing and recording the follow-up to their 2015 album Still Got That Hunger during a busy 2020 touring schedule, but COVID-19 had other plans for them.
As primary songwriter and Producer Rod Argent relates, the band was not content to record remotely:
Making this album has been a joy from start to finish. Post-lockdown, we were absolutely determined to come together and record in as “live” a way as we could – to capture the magical, fleeting quality of energy and immediacy of performance… “Dropped Reeling & Stupid” is our first streamed release… Can’t wait for you to hear it!
The album cover comes from a photo taken by Rod Argent during a touring misadventure in the Arizona desert this past summer.
Singer Colin Blunstone explains:
We were traveling from Southern California to Tucson, when our tour van’s engine suddenly caught fire! We spent about 5 hours stranded in the remote Arizona desert, but thanks to our intrepid team and crew, we were rescued and made it to our next show! It was a harrowing experience, but also beautiful and surreal.
The album is being released in advance of a new feature documentary entitled Hung Up On A Dream, directed by musician and filmmaker Robert Schwartzman, and co-produced by Schwartzman’s Utopia Films, The Ranch Productions, and Tom Hanks’ Playtone, slated for release later in 2023.
USA Shows:
Jan 28-Feb 2, 2023 – Caribbean Sea – On The Blue Cruise
March 11-17, 2023 – Austin, TX – SXSW Film & Music Festival
March 18, 2023 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre
March 21, 2023 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
March 22, 2023 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
March 24, 2023 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
March 26-30, 2023 – Caribbean Sea – Flower Power Cruise
UK Shows:
April 05, 2023 – Wimborne Minster, UK – Tivoli Theatre
April 06, 2023 – Exmouth, UK – Exmouth Pavilion
April 07, 2023 – Fletching, UK – Trading Boundaries
April 08, 2023 – Fletching, UK – Trading Boundaries
April 09, 2023 – Fletching, UK – Trading Boundaries
April 12, 2023 – Pontardawe, UK – Pontardawe Arts Centre
April 13, 2023 – Bristol, UK – The Fleece – SOLD OUT
April 14, 2023 – London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
April 15, 2023 – Bury St. Edmunds, UK – The Apex
April 18, 2023 – Norwich, UK – Epic Studios
April 19, 2023 – Felixstowe, UK – Spa Pavilion
April 20, 2023 – Harpenden, UK – Eric Morecambe Centre
April 21, 2023 – Harpenden, UK – Eric Morecambe Centre
April 23, 2023 – Kinross, UK – Backstage at The Green Hotel – SOLD OUT
April 24, 2023 – Kinross, UK – Backstage at The Green Hotel
April 26, 2023 – Glasgow, UK – Òran Mór – SOLD OUT
April 27, 2023 – Holmfirth, UK – Picturedrome
April 29, 2023 – Taunton, UK – Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre
April 30, 2023 – Bury, UK – The Met
May 03, 2023 – Stockton-on-Tees, UK – ARC
May 04, 2023 – Carlisle, UK – Old Fire Station
May 05, 2023 – New Brighton, UK – Floral Pavilion
May 06, 2023 – Milton Keynes, UK – The Stables – SOLD OUT
