‘Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary’ follows seven decades of a British Invasion band

Finally out two years after its festival debut, Robert Schwartzman’s documentary tells the band’s compelling story.

The Zombies were one of those bands that had a heyday in the 1960s, and I can probably name a half-dozen of their songs, but I probably couldn’t tell you the first thing about the band's numbers or their story. Or, that time that a fake version of the band was caught going out on tour. Which one were the Zombies and which were the Animals, again?

After all, as I never get sick of pointing out, the ‘60s were a long time ago. I’m in my mid-40s, and all this stuff happened before I was born.

The Zombies were a British group that formed in 1961, and had big hits with “Tell Her No,” “She’s Not There,” “The Way I Feel Inside,” “This Will Be Our Year,” and “Time of the Season,” although they broke up in 1967, with “Time of the Season” becoming a hit after the band was no more. And now, they’re the subject of a new, career-spanning documentary called Hung Up on a Dream.

The documentary, directed by Robert Schwartzman, debuted at South by Southwest more than two years ago and finally reached theaters this week.

It’s a fairly straightforward but illuminating telling of the band’s story, featuring interviews with the living band members (Colin Blunstone, Hugh Grundy, Chris White, and Rod Argent, all of them now in their 70s.) We learn about everything from their complex family histories to how the band contended with the rise of the Beatles.

But Hung Up on a Dream isn’t only about the band’s ‘60s run. It also follows the multi-decade story of their many reunions and their continuing influence, leading up to the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Yes, the film goes into that bizarre happening in the late 1960s when multiple fake versions of the Zombies went on tour, one of which featured future members of ZZ Topp. It does not mention, however, that the band has been credited with coining the phrase “who’s your daddy,” in the lyrics of “The Time of the Season.”

Whenever I see musicians from decades past reuniting when they’re past 70, I’m reminded of John Strausbaugh’s book “Rock Til You Drop,” which argued that it’s against the ethos of the form for rock stars to continue to perform into old age. Byt that argument, at this point, has been lost, especially since the guy on the cover of the book, Mick Jagger, is still performing now, in his 80s, almost 25 years after it was published.

Hung Up on a Dream will be enjoyable for anyone who’s interested in that band or the British Invasion period in particular.