Rod Argent's cathedral return: a full-circle moment

There is a certain kind of full circle that only happens in a town like St Albans. Tonight, the cathedral that once held Rod Argent as a chorister under director Peter Hurford becomes the stage for his return to live performance, and the story behind it is worth knowing before you walk through the doors.

Argent, born Rodney Terence Argent in St Albans in 1945, is one of the architects of a sound that travelled far beyond Hertfordshire. As a founding member of The Zombies, he co-wrote the songs that made them a name — 'She's Not There', 'Tell Her No' and the timeless 'Time of the Season'. The band itself grew out of the local school run: Chris White and Colin Blunstone from St Albans Grammar School for Boys, now Verulam, and Argent, Hugh Grundy and Paul Atkinson from St Albans School. They formed at The Blacksmith's Arms in 1961, and the record of what followed eventually earned them a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

The reason tonight carries weight is that it was not guaranteed. In July 2024, Argent suffered a stroke and announced he was withdrawing from touring. To see him back on stage, and in this particular building, is the reason the festival organisers have leaned into the 'zombie resurrection' framing. The performance is billed as the Colin Blunstone Acoustic Candlelight Concert, part of the fourth Begin Here Festival, which has been running across Saturday and Sunday. Doors open at 19:00, with the music starting at 19:30, and tickets sit between £45 and £75.

It is an ensemble bill rather than a solo turn. Blunstone is joined by Argent, Dave Bainbridge on keyboards, the Q Strings quartet, and a guest list that reads like a family tree of the band's history: Russ Ballard, who played in Argent, Søren Koch, who has been with The Zombies and the Beatophonics, and the local folk trio ARC — Anya, Russell and Cara Rodford. The evening is opened by the Right Revd Dr Andrew Rumsey, the Bishop of St Albans, who performs an acoustic original of his own.

For anyone who has caught the festival elsewhere over the weekend, the cathedral show is the centrepiece. The rest of Begin Here has been a deep dive into the band's legacy, from a Zombies 60s Dance Party to Q&A sessions with original members, and a session titled 'Rod Argent's Lifelong Affair with Keyboards', moderated by Søren Koch. There have also been record signing sessions at the Collective Gallery with the current line-up — Argent, Blunstone, Chris White, Hugh Grundy, Steve Rodford and Koch.

If you have never heard the record that defined them, 'Time of the Season' came from the 1968 album Odessey and Oracle, years after the band had first split in late 1967. To hear those songs live, in the city where the band began and the cathedral where Argent once sang, is about as complete a homecoming as it gets. Doors open at 19:00, music at 19:30, and the whole thing wraps up the festival's second night.