Andorra

Andorra is a small principality located between the borders of Spain and France. The population is less than 100,000, but millions of tourists visit each year. Chris White, Colin Blunstone's bandmate in The Zombies, was one of them. He wrote the song about this journey, and it ended up on Blunstone's second solo album, Ennismore. While told the story to Songfacts: "I was on holiday with my then girlfriend in Sitges, just south of Barcelona. We decided to drive up to Andorra for a couple of nights. We thought it would be sunny and dry - but down came the rain! Later we went to Grenada – only to experience the same weather conditions as we had in Barcelona and Andorra. So, having a guitar with me I wrote 'Andorra.' When you run for the sun – you catch the rain! That's the true story of 'Andorra.' I later went back with my first wife to live in Sitges."

The credited writers on this song are Chris White and Rod Argent, but Argent is only listed because he and White had a co-publishing agreement. Like White and Blunstone, Argent was a member of The Zombies, which broke up in 1967. In 1969, the band became wildly popular when their album Odessey and Oracle took off in America, led by the hit "Time Of The Season." The band briefly reunited that year without lead singer Colin Blunstone, but they quickly disbanded, with Argent forming the band Argent while Blunstone pursued a solo career. In 1969 and 1970, Rod Argent and Chris White were working on material for both Blunstone and the band Argent. Said White: "The song was originally called 'Siempre La Misma' which translated from the Spanish as 'It's always the same' – but that was too long a title, so I called it 'Andorra.' Rod and I tried it with Argent in rehearsal but it was more suited to Colin's voice. So the Argent band recorded the song's backing for Colin's solo album."

The breathy background vocals are something The Zombies and their members used a lot after "Time Of The Season" took off.