Friends of Mine (The Zombies song)

"Friends of Mine" is a song written by British bassist Chris White and recorded by his band the Zombies. Following a tour of the Philippines, the Zombies were dropped by Decca Records. They turned to CBS, who signed the band and gave them artistic control over their music, allowing them to produce an album by themselves. "Friends of Mine" was recorded on 1 June 1967 at EMI Studios in London, together with audio engineers Peter Vince and Geoff Emerick. Vocalist Colin Blunstone made a mistake when singing, and the band left it in the track. Musically, the song was inspired by the Beatles and was written in a major key, containing unorthodox chord changes and open guitar chords. Lyrically, the song is about various couples that the Zombies knew, including their guitarist Paul Atkinson alongside bassist Jim Rodford.

CBS released "Friends of Mine" as the Zombies first single on the label, with "Beechwood Park" on the B-side. Despite the band performing the song live and on radio, it failed to chart, which contributed to it not receiving a US release and the Zombies breaking up in December 1967. "Friends of Mine" was later released on the Zombies second album Odessey and Oracle on 19 April 1968, and as the B-side of "Time of the Season" in the US on 30 December 1968. Upon release, the song received positive reviews in the British press, with a praise towards the vocal performance on the song. Retrospectively, the song has also received widespread praise, with one critic arguing it set the blueprint for jangle pop.