THANKS to Tony Dawson-Hill who has given me the following information on well-known St Albans group, The Zombies.

He said: "The Zombies, who were formed in 1962, were one of the most famous of Sixties groups from St Albans.

"They comprised five school friends; Rod Argent (keyboards), Paul Atkinson (guitar) and Hugh Grundy (drums), who all attended St Albans School and were from St Albans, Colin Blunstone (vocals) from Hatfield and Chris White (bass guitar) from Markyate who both attended St Albans Grammar School, now Verulam School.

"They won the Herts Beat Contest at Watford Town Hall in April 1964 and the first prize, which was a recording contract with Decca records.

"They used to rehearse at the Pioneer Youth Club in St Albans and they released their first single, She's Not There, written by Rod Argent, in July 1964. It was played on BBC TVs Juke Box Jury where George Harrison of The Beatles gave it a rave review.

"It reached the top ten and was a worldwide smash hit.

"They released two more self composed singles in 1964, Tell Her No and Leave Me Be, which both made the charts but not very high positions. They wrote and recorded some of the best and most memorable music of the 1960's but unfortunately success and chart placing for their singles seemed to elude them.

"They did achieve greater success in America around this time with sell-out tours and their singles reaching high chart positions.

"In 1967 their went to Abbey Road studios (where The Beatles recorded) to make their second album, Odessey (sic) and Oracle, with all the tracks composed by Rod and/or Chris.

"A couple of singles, taken from the album, were released but nobody seemed interested in them or the album and in early 1968 The Zombies decided to call it a day.

"Meanwhile in America, Odessey and Oracle began to generate a lot of interest. A single from the album Time Of The Season was released and became a million seller, reaching number one.

"Despite offers (reportedly) of a million dollars to reform and tour America, they never did.

"She's Not There and Time Of The Season are now classed as classic Sixties songs and can be frequently heard on radio, TV and film soundtracks.

"The album Odessey and Oracle is now rated as highly as The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.

"Tom Petty said: 'If The Zombies were around today they would rule the world.' "Rod Argent went on to form the progressive rock group Argent, with his cousin Jim Rodford (bass guitar) and Chris White (writing and producing).

"They had top ten hits in the 1970's with Hold Your Head Up and God Gave Rock n Roll To You.

"Paul Atkinson joined the management team at CBS records and was responsible for signing Abba to the label.

"Hugh Grundy became a concert booker and pub landlord.

"Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone are now writing, recording and touring together along with Jim Rodford and Jim's son Steve. They recently released an album – Out Of The Shadows and are in the process of recording a second album together."