Legendary Aus Rockers Announce First Original Single In Over 50 Years

One of Australia's favourite bands in the late '60s and early '70s, iconic outfit Zoot have just announced their first new original music in over 50 years.

Last year, Zoot announced they would be reforming for a national tour with a line-up that boasts Beeb Birtles, Rick Springfield, Rick Brewer and Russell Morris, performing in dedication to late lead singer Darryl Cotton who died of liver cancer in 2012.

Although the tour was postponed a couple of months after it was announced due to COVID and today has been rescheduled to late next year, it’s not all bad news, with the group today confirming brand new track That Was Then.

“That Was Then is a song that takes us back to the heydays of Zoot, as well as Russell Morris’ solo career,” Birtles said.

“When the idea for writing a new Zoot song was presented to Rick Springfield, Russell Morris and myself, I sent a chord progression that I’d been playing to Rick in Los Angeles.

“Rick ran with it and came up with a fantastic melody and chorus. Then it was sent to Russell in Australia who wrote the bridge for the song.

“So, it is truly a collaboration between all of us, and it turned out to be a really great new Zoot song! Check it out!”

Cotton also makes a posthumous appearance in the intro to the song.

While there's no official release date set as of yet, That Was Then will be made available for all concert ticketholders as a free download, with a link provided by ticketing companies in change of date notification emails.

That Was Then follows on from the group’s cover of The Dream Academy’s Life In A Northern Town in 2018.

The Zoot 2022 tour will kick off in Brisbane in early October before taking on Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne.

For more details, head to theGuide.