The First and Second British Invasions collided in a night of wonderful and inventive tunes at Warner Theatre as MTV-era innovators The Fixx teamed with chamber-pop pioneer Colin Blunstone of The Zombies for a thoroughly enjoyable bill of English pop music. Adding even more class to the evening was the dapper Peter Asher, once of the duo Peter and Gordon, who opened the show with a set of timeless songs and the stories behind them.
On Sept. 12 at Warner Theatre, Asher set the tone with a trio featuring himself on guitar, multi-instrumentalist Robert Berry on keyboards and guitar, and Aubrey Richmond on violin and backing vocals.
Asher built his set around three old collaborators and friends — Paul McCartney, James Taylor, and Carole King. He shared the story of how McCartney met and dated his sister, Jane, and, for a time, the Asher home became McCartney’s place to stay in London while the Beatles were making it big. Asher asked McCartney if his duo, Peter and Gordon, could record his then-unreleased song “A World Without Love.” McCartney agreed, and a lasting friendship and working relationship was born.
Asher later became head of A&R for the Beatles’ Apple Records, where he signed James Taylor, before going on to an enormously successful career as a producer, manager, and record executive. Asher not only performed the moving McCartney tune but also shared a bit of a demo recording McCartney made in the Asher home decades ago to show him how to play it.
Asher also shared the tale of how Taylor and Carole King each recorded “You’ve Got a Friend,” which inspired Asher and his bandmates to offer their own live version of the song as one of the six numbers they performed.
Watch young Peter Asher perform “A World Without Love” with Peter and Gordon on YouTube:
Next, Colin Blunstone took the stage. Blunstone and his band played for about an hour, diving into some of the most recognizable numbers from The Zombies. Blunstone was bolstered in this performance by longtime Zombies touring members Søren Koch on guitar and Steve Rodford on drums. Dave Bainbridge on keyboards and Chas Cronk on bass, both of The Strawbs, filled out the band, which also included percussionist Dean Ross.
I have to say that Blunstone and Koch were a striking pair, sharing the front of the stage and presenting the set with style and flair. The gents looked as if they had stepped out of a ’60s British fashion catalog, and I mean that in the very best way.
The set started with several Zombies tunes, including “Indication,” “I Love You,” and “Tell Her No.” It wrapped with some of the group’s biggest songs, including “She’s Not There,” “Time of the Season,” and “Hung Up on a Dream.” Blunstone sprinkled other selections throughout the performance, most notably the moving “Old and Wise,” which he famously sang for The Alan Parsons Project.
Blunstone’s voice was extremely evocative, and he easily moved the audience through feelings of tenderness, loss, triumph, and bravado. Blunstone is 81 years old, and it is remarkable that his singing voice still carries so much power after all this time.
Watch Colin Blunstone lead The Zombies in a performance of “She’s Not There” at Metropolis Studios on YouTube:
Blunstone suggested that this may be his last solo tour, which made the show bittersweet. The Zombies claimed some long-overdue accolades in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, culminating in their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Zombies co-frontman Rod Argent has since retired from touring, leaving Blunstone as the lone active founding member carrying the Zombies banner. And, as I said, he does so with time-tested confidence and skill. I was very pleased to see Colin Blunstone once again.
The Fixx closed the evening with an extraordinary set of engaging tracks that demonstrated the band’s lyrical intelligence as well as its ability to rock. And yes, while The Fixx have some moody, thoughtful numbers at the forefront of their catalog, they also truly rock out in concert. It wasn’t long before the dedicated Warner Theatre audience was dancing in the aisles.
The most incredible thing about The Fixx is that they continue to tour with all five classic members: Cy Curnin on vocals, Jamie West-Oram on guitar, Rupert Greenall on keyboards, Adam Woods on drums, and Dan K. Brown on bass. Curnin, Greenall, Woods, and West-Oram have been there since the band’s early days, while Brown joined during the sessions for “Reach the Beach” in 1983 and became a full member by “Phantoms” in 1984.
And speaking of “Reach the Beach” and “Phantoms,” The Fixx drew upon those two albums for some of the most exciting selections in their set. Toward the end, the band performed “One Thing Leads to Another” and “Saved by Zero” — perhaps its two most recognizable songs to the radio-listening public. The Fixx then returned for a one-song encore of “Are We Ourselves?” — one of the band’s signature songs for longtime admirers.
Watch the official music video for “Are We Ourselves?” by The Fixx on YouTube:
The Fixx came ready to play, and Curnin was in good humor, imparting pithy reflections on the state of human nature as he introduced songs dealing with anxiety, alienation, and irresponsible behavior. Curnin and West-Oram made good use of the expansive Warner stage to strut their stuff, while Greenall, Woods, and Brown gave them the freedom to do so with a powerful rhythmic foundation.
I was over the moon to see The Fixx at Warner Theatre. I regularly catch them when they move through the DC metro area in more intimate spaces such as The Birchmere and The Barns at Wolf Trap, so the larger space allowed them to spread their wings a little more. The Fixx took advantage of the opportunity to shine.
By the time the house lights came up, Warner Theatre had traced more than 60 years of British pop while keeping things interesting. From Asher’s firsthand memories of Beatlemania, through Blunstone’s elegant psychedelic pop, to The Fixx’s sleek and cerebral new wave, the First British Invasion had met the Second — and both sounded remarkably alive.
Here are some photos of The Fixx performing live at Warner Theatre on Sept. 12, 2026. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Colin Blunstone and his band performing live at Warner Theatre on Sept. 12, 2026. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
Here are some photos of Peter Asher and his trio performing live at Warner Theatre on Sept. 12, 2026. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
