Two Zombie-related things to make me forget about the cold which, in its second week of snottiness, is making me feel a bit like a zombie myself…
Zombies can’t run
Its official: zombies can’t run. It must be true because George A. Romero says so! He has a new zombie film coming out today called Diary of the Dead. Not sure I like the sound of it being made in a handheld, video diary format – like the Blair Witch Project but it must be worth seeing because its Romero. He is quoted as saying:
“Zombies don’t run. They can’t! Their ankles would snap. What did they do – wake from the dead and immediately join a health club? I don’t get it.”
Good point. Watch the Dawn of the Dead remake or the last Resident Evil film and you have to wonder where they are getting all their energy from.
Zombies return from the dead in the UK
The other event today is that the 60s band The Zombies are reformed (as much as they can) and playing their Odessy & Oracle album tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. I still think that Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone – along with Russ Ballard who wasn’t in the Zombies but is connected with the other two are enormously under-recognised.
Between them they have been involved in Unit 4+2, Argent, Zombies, the Alan Parsons Project and solo careers, and written and produced stuff for all sorts of other acts. I can’t work out why they are not better known than they are. Perhaps if they had come from Liverpool or London instead of the Hatfield area…
Oh my God, finally!
Russ… Colin… Rod… Jim… Bob… anything about that Herts generation, bring it in!
Underrated? This word is not enough.
If “God gave r’n’r to us” there must be a reason why one of those r’n’rollers was chosen by God to write the tune…
Did you know that Russ is half blind? Yes, I read it on his site, he was hit by a catapult in his right eye as a kid and, after a two-years-fight he lost sight in that eye. That’s why he always wore sunglasses and we don’t know whether he’s blue-eyed or not… And that’s probably why his talent is so vast…
Nuff said.
I never knew that. The sunglasses are the defining feature of the cover of the Russ Ballard solo album we played to death at school (and which I bought on CD at great expense because it was only available on Japanese import) but I thought it was just a rock star fashion thing.
‘Venus Shine Your Light’ is still a staple on my in-car compilation CDs.