The True Story of the Fake Zombies Podcast Premieres

 The British Invasion --musically not militarily -- in 1964 and for the rest of the decade brought with it more than The Beatles. Of course, The Rolling Stones, the Dave Clark Five, and The Animals were just part of that musical influx. 

One of the unique sounds of that invasion emanated from The Zombies.

The Zombies were an English rock band formed in St Albans in 1961. Led by keyboardist/vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone, the group had their first British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two further singles—"Tell Her No" in 1965 and "Time of the Season" in 1968—were also successful.

Their 1968 album Odyssey and Oracle was ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and number 243 on Rolling Stone's 2020 list. The Zombies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

In a time when there is a 24-hour global stream of information at our fingertips, some stories are impossible to imagine. On July 11, Talkhouse will launch its latest podcast, The True Story of the Fake Zombies, in which host Daniel Ralston regales listeners with an expertly researched and unbelievable music industry scam that went untold for decades.

Throughout the historiographic 8-episode weekly series, Ralston dives deep into the tale of how, in 1969, a music promotion company in a tiny Michigan town sent out not one but two bands onto the road to pretend to be The Zombies, the recently disbanded British Invasion band who had just had a huge hit with their song “Time of the Season.” Fake band members included Frank Beard and Dusty Hill, who would go on to become legendary figures in their next band, ZZ Top!

Ralston, who discovered this stranger-than-fiction con a decade ago, dives deep into every aspect of this 55-year-old rock n’ roll mystery, uncovering the secret history of the shady managers who concocted the scheme, the hapless young musicians who were recruited for the scam, the unlikely town where the whole thing was cooked up, the impact of the scheme on the real Zombies (whose iconic music features throughout the show), and much more.

Ralston shares, “55 years ago, four guys from Texas toured North America pretending to be the British Psychedelic rock band The Zombies.Two of those incredibly talented young men ended up in ZZ Top. Eight years ago, I wrote a story that uncovered the names and faces behind the Texas Zombies. I am incredibly excited to take the story further. The True Story of The Fake Zombies traces the origins of the Texas band back to Bay City, Michigan, where two audacious managers put the whole thing together. This podcast was made possible by the local historians, legendary music writers and musical heroes who agreed to help tell the story of this truly wild rock and roll con. We are incredibly honored to have The Zombies voices and music included in the podcast.”

The True Story of the Fake Zombies is a production of iHeart, Nevermind Media and Talkhouse. Check it out. It's a wild story with an engrossing narrative and ingratiating host.