Rod Argent has spoken about his emotional return to the stage with The Zombies following his stroke last year. The 81-year-old keyboardist and founding member shared his thoughts on the performance in an interview with the BBC.
Argent performed at the Begin Here Festival alongside bandmate Colin Blunstone, marking his first appearance on stage in over two years. The crowd gave him repeated standing ovations throughout the show.
“I felt people were all trying to make me feel at home in the best possible way, and then after each song they all stood up and cheered,” Argent said. “It was very emotional.”
Blunstone also reflected on the significance of the performance. “It was very emotional and I think the crowd felt it and we certainly felt it on stage,” he said. “It was a wonderful reaction to him. They were a wonderful audience. They really, really were and they lifted us. It was very moving.”
Argent acknowledged that his recovery is ongoing. “In my head, if I’m just thinking through things, I’ve got absolutely no lack of fluency at all,” he continued. “But when I speak, sometimes I lose my thread, lose where I’m going. But it is getting better.”
The keyboardist also spoke about his plans for the future. “Over the last two years she’s [his wife] been wonderful because she’s got a few health issues herself, but she was with me when I had the stroke,” he said. “I want to spend more time with my wife now really, because I was away all the time before.”
Argent has decided to retire from touring following his recovery from the July 2024 stroke. His decision reflects a shift in priorities toward spending more time with his family.
Argent’s recovery journey began when he suffered a stroke in July 2024 after returning home from a Zombies UK tour. He was hospitalized overnight and released the next day, with doctors advising several months of rest. The band cancelled their upcoming US tour, but Argent was determined to continue writing and recording with The Zombies despite the health setback.
The performance at the Begin Here Festival in St Albans Cathedral marked an unexpected milestone in his recovery. Neither Argent, Blunstone nor management had expected him to be able to return to the stage. He worked hard to rehabilitate his speech over the following months, and the three-song set showed how far he had come. Sir Elton John also reached out with support and praised Argent as a genius for his outstanding musicianship.
The band released Continue Here (Mono Remastered) on October 30th via Beechwood Park Records. This collection brought together all non-album singles and B-sides from 1964 to 1967, material that had never been released before. The release followed earlier mono remastered versions of Begin Here and Odessey and Oracle and was overseen by Matthew and Jamie White, the sons of founding member Chris White, with mastering by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering.
