Nine Below Zero

Born on the south London pub-rock scene in the late 1970s, Nine Below Zero formed around guitarist and singer Dennis Greaves and adopted that name in 1979 after an initial period as Stan’s Blues Band. The group belongs to the British rhythm-and-blues tradition and electric blues rock, drawing on Chicago blues, rock’n’roll and soul, characterised by a taut guitar style and a prominent harmonica, long provided by Mark Feltham. Nine Below Zero made its name around 1980 thanks to intensive touring of London clubs and venues and the release of the live album Live at the Marquee in 1980, followed by Don’t Point Your Finger (1981) and Third Degree (1982), which established a repertoire mixing original compositions and rearranged covers. After disbanding in the mid-1980s, Nine Below Zero reformed at the end of the decade and resumed regular activity, alternating concerts, studio recordings and live albums. The band continued to record through the 1990s and 2000s and released, among others, It’s Never Too Late (2011) and 13 Shades of Blue (2016), consolidating an identity centred on direct blues rock, driven by Dennis Greaves’ vocals, often brisk tempos and a cohesive group approach, still active on British and European stages.