“Rod still firmly intends to pursue his other creative joy of writing and recording with the Zombies,” the group's managers said in a statement.
After surviving a recent stroke, Zombies keyboardist and songwriter Rod Argent has decided to retire from touring and focus on songwriting. The group's management announced the news on Thursday. The band has canceled all upcoming live dates.
“Rod had recently returned home from a triumphant Zombies tour of the UK and spent a weekend in London with his beloved wife, Cathy … before the stroke occurred,” managers Chris Tuthill and Cindy da Silva said in a statement. “He was taken to hospital overnight and released the next day. Doctors have advised that Rod will need several months of rest and recovery.”
Argent has endured other health scares in recent years and had told management he wanted to call the sunset of his touring career. The stroke hastened the decision. “Rod still intends to pursue his other creative joy of writing and recording with the Zombies and has already returned to his piano for some much-needed 'Bach therapy,'” the statement read.
Argent co-founded the Zombies in the early 60s. Singer Colin Blunstone joined a year later and the band led the British Invasion to the United States with the critically acclaimed “She's Not There”, “Tell Her No” and, later, “Time of the Season”. Odessey and Oracle album. After the Zombies disbanded, Argent formed a band simply called Argent in 1969. This group scored hits with “Hold Your Head Up” and “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”. Argent retired from touring in 1975, but returned to the Zombies in 1999 for a short run of shows that blossomed into a reunion.
“All upcoming Zombies shows will be canceled,” Thursday's statement said. However, the second annual Begin Here festival in St. Albans, UK (November 8-10) will continue. … We hope to replace the planned Zombies performance with a special show in Rod's honor and ask fans to hold onto their tickets until we have time to regroup and announce new plans.”
Blunstone will still honor the dates he had planned to perform his solo album, One year.
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