Hugh Birch Grundy (born 6 March 1945) is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Grundy came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the drummer of the English rock band the Zombies. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.[1]
Early years
Hugh Grundy was born in Winchester, Hampshire, England, to Ted and Aileen Grundy. The family moved to Hatfield, Hertfordshire, where Ted worked at the De Havilland factory as an aircraft inspector and metallurgist; he was also an amateur violinist. Aileen was a secretary at the police headquarters in Welwyn Garden City. Grundy's middle name, Birch, was his paternal grandmother's maiden name. His first drum was made by his father at work during his off-hours.[2]
Rod Argent wanted to form a band and Colin Blunstone and Paul Arnold joined in early 1961, while all five members were still at school. Grundy's parents supported his interest in the band as a pastime, but encouraged him to enter banking; he remained with Barclays for around a year, as the band's reputation grew, at which stage his parents acknowledged the viability of a career in music. His mother helped to establish, and ran, the band's fan club.[3] Arnold left not long afterwards and was replaced by Chris White. The band started life as the Mustangs, but after discovering other bands using the name, they changed it to the Zombies. After the band won a local contest, they recorded a demo as their prize. Argent's song "She's Not There" got them a recording contract with Decca.[4] An album, Begin Here (renamed to The Zombies when released in the US) would follow. They would appear on American television for the first time on January 12 1965, when they appeared on the first episode of Hullabaloo.[5]
The Zombies would have another chart-topper in 1964 with Tell Her No. The group continued to record successfully through the 1960s, but disbanded in December 1967, reportedly over management disagreements.[6] A second album was released in 1968 titled Odessey and Oracle, which featured the song Time of the Season. Time of the Season is one of the Zombies most successful singles, along with She’s Not There.
The Zombies had several hits and continued to record but they broke up in December 1967, reportedly over management disagreements.[7]
In 1990, Blunstone, Grundy, and White briefly reunited as the Zombies with keyboardist and guitarist Sebastian Santa Maria to record the studio album New World (1991).[8] To mark the 40th anniversary of the album Odessey and Oracle, the four surviving original members of the Zombies participated in a three-night series of concerts at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire Theatre between 7 and 9 March 2008.[9]
Together with the other three Zombies, Grundy performed a few songs when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 29 March, 2019.
While Grundy is not a member of The Zombies’ current lineup, he has rejoined the group on several tours featuring the surviving original lineup between 2008 and 2019 to play Odessey and Oracle in its entirety.
Later life
After the band's break-up, Grundy went to work as an A&R man for Columbia Records. In the 1980s, Grundy also operated a horse-transport business in England[10] and worked as a professional driver.[11]
