The Zombies have enlisted Q Prime for label and distribution services, it was announced Tuesday (Oct. 22).
Under the agreement, Q Prime will manage marketing, manufacturing, distribution and licensing for the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees’ new imprint, Beechwood Park Records. The imprint includes the pioneering British band’s catalog, which the group acquired the rights to last year from Marquis Enterprises Ltd. “There’s a very narrow window in a Venn diagram where love, admiration and business overlap. That’s what the deal is all about,” said Q Prime co-founder Cliff Burnstein in a statement.
Starting next year, Q Prime will physically reissue four of The Zombies’ albums, remastered from the original tapes. This includes the band’s seminal 1968 album, Odessey & Oracle, in its original mono mix; the LP, which was recorded for 1,000 British pounds, includes the classic songs “Time of The Season,” “Care of Cell 44″ and “This Will Be Our Year.” Its release will coincide with a new Zombies documentary, Hung Up On A Dream, directed by musician and filmmaker Robert Schwartzman and co-produced by Schwartzman’s Utopia Films, The Ranch Productions and Tom Hanks’ Playtone.
Chris Tuthill and Cindy da Silva of The Rocks Management, who have represented the band for the past 11 years, oversaw the deal along with attorney Monika Tashman of Loeb & Loeb. “We went through a painstaking process to find a strategic partner who would truly understand the unique qualities of these beloved recordings,” said Tuthill in a statement. “Ultimately, we knew we had to stay true to the band’s history. They have always benefited from a non-traditional and independent approach to both music and business, which is one of the reasons their songs are continually rediscovered by new generations of fans.”
After former publishing executive Rick Krim introduced the management team to Q Prime, da Silva added, “We were incredibly impressed by the team and infrastructure that Q Prime assembled with their long-term clients Metallica to nurture and grow their own catalog, and their genuine desire to collaborate with us and the band to do the same for The Zombies.”
The Zombies’ four surviving founding members are lead singer Colin Blunstone, keyboardist Rod Argent, bassist Chris White and drummer Hugh Grundy. The band first appeared on the Billboard charts with 1964’s “She’s Not There,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.