The Zombies’ Rod Argent Announces Retirement From Touring After Stroke

The Zombies’ founder, keyboardist and primary songwriter Rod Argent has announced his immediate retirement from touring following a stroke. Argent’s stroke occurred shortly after he returned home from a recent Zombies tour in the UK, and he was hospitalized overnight. Doctors have advised that Argent needs “several months of rest and recuperation.”

“Rod has asked us to convey that he has made the very difficult decision to immediately retire from touring in order to protect his health,” Argent’s team said in a statement. “He was already preparing to wind down his live performance schedule after health scares on recent tours (a Fall 2024 USA run was in the works that was intended to be his final overseas tour, and a farewell to the country that launched The Zombies’ career in 1964). However, the stroke was an unmistakable warning sign that the risks are too great. Rod still firmly intends to continue his other creative joy of writing and recording with The Zombies, and has already been back at his piano for some much-needed ‘Bach therapy.'”

The Zombies were formed in England in 1961 by Argent and singer Colin Blunstone. They famously scored hits in the US with “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and “Time of the Season.” The band endures as one of the most important markers of rock ‘n’ roll’s British Invasion. Argent initially retired from touring with the Zombies in 1975 and, in 1999, he rejoined the group on the road and kept up with playing shows for the next 25 years.

Watch the Zombies perform “She’s Not There” during their 2016 Paste Session below.