Hugh Grundy

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.

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.

While attending St Albans School in Hertfordshire, he met Paul Atkinson, and Rod Argent. Argent, Atkinson and Grundy first played together at a jam on Easter 1961 in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

Argent wanted to form a band and Colin Blunstone and Paul Arnold joined Argent, Grundy, and Atkinson 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. 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. 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.

The Zombies would have another chart-topper in 1964 with "Tell Her No". The group continued to record successfully, but disbanded in December 1967, reportedly over management disagreements. A second album was released in 1968 titled Odessey and Oracle, which featured the song "Time of the Season", one of the Zombies' most successful singles, along with "She’s Not There".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.