The Zombies, The Haunt, Pool Valley, Brighton, Tuesday, December 1

SINGER Colin Blunstone says he has two lasting memories from his childhood holidays to Brighton – playing at archery on the pier and nearly drowning after being swept out to sea.

“We are excited to be coming back, I have always loved coming to Brighton and I used to go on my holidays when I was young,” the longstanding frontman of The Zombies says “My big memories are I fell in love with archery on the one of the piers, I cannot remember which. I just could not get enough of it and I drove my parents mad.

“Also me and my half sister were nearly swept out to sea – that was genuinely a bit scary. We had those rubber rings around us and we got too close to the groynes and they have a current around them so it was dragging us out and under. But a couple of people grabbed us and got us back to shore.”

But with this “highlight and lowlight” in his younger years, he returned with The Zombies as they toured alongside The Searchers and The Isley Brothers, and then last year returned with the band for performances at The Great Escape.

The Zombies storied career has seen them split up, go solo, reunite, only to split again, but they are back together with a new album, Still Got That Hunger, which was funded and supported by their fans.

The band funded production of the new record through crowdfunding website PledgeMusic – receiving donations from nearly 1000 fans.

“The main idea for the crowd funding is we wanted to involve our fans from the very beginning and get them involved in the recording process,” Blunstone says “They knew when we were writing songs, recording them, and they were getting constant updates as the album developed.”

Included on the record and two re-recorded classic tracks I Want You Back Again, one of their singles from 1965, and Now I Know I’ll Never Get Over originally released on Blunstone’s 2009 solo album The Ghost of You And Me.

“With I Want You Back Again, Tom Petty recorded that song on a live album, and when we heard it we realised ‘what a great song that is’,” Blunstone says.

“We thought it would be a great idea to record it again and if Tom Petty had not started playing it I don’t think we have found it again.

“Part of the new album and the tour has been us rediscovering our own back catalogue as a lot of these songs are practically forgotten by us and other people remind us.”

But as the band rediscover the tracks from their own five albums-worth of history, they have also noticed a new generation of fans falling in love with their music.

“At shows there is a complete cross section of ages, going from teens to people who have supported us since the 1960s,” Blunstone says.

“It is a great mix, some people might surprised how varied it is. A lot of young people are very keen to rediscover live music and they trace back the history of it, we are now probably from the last generation which is still going.

“The 1960s was a special era, one where the country had just come out of a huge period of austerity and suddenly there was a new optimism - in general there was a wonderful and perhaps people are trying to rediscover that or just looking back to try and understand it. It was a wonderful time.”

He lamented the “cataclysmic collapse” of the record industry which has seen record labels and stores all shutting up shop but said “at the same time the online side of it has opened things up".

Blunstone says they are “more energised than ever” 54 years into their career and says they are aiming to hit the 60th anniversary milestone.

“We have two main aims” says Blunstone “To keep writing and performing new material to a high standard and the other aim is to keep playing for as long as we can – we all love performing live, physically, spiritually and emotionally.

“You always get the buzz performing live, whether it is a small club environment or a huge festival. We played Glastonbury and South By Southwest in Texas so we still play these festivals alongside the more intimate venues – but wherever you play you still get that buzz you got when you first started playing.

“I think that is why all these bands keep going. Performing live is such a wonderful experience and once you have tasted it you never forget it.”

Henry Holloway

Doors 7pm, tickets £20. Call 01273 606312.