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Uk Blues Legends return with their finest ever
studio Album In their 30th Anniversary year

For three decades Nine Below Zero have delivered an explosive mix of blues & rock in live performances that never fail to leave their audiences illuminated and exhausted.

The definitive line-up of this tightest of live bands has been in place for eighteen years, and they play with a discipline that only experience & confidence brings. After thousands of shows together, this incendiary on-stage chemistry has enabled Nine Below Zero to sell-out venues all over Europe.

Gerry is a bass player's bass player, who spent 15 years laying it down for Rory Gallagher as did Brendan on drums for 10 years. Over this fat slice of rhythm, comes the unique harmonica of Mark Feltham, since January 2001 Mark has been back playing with Nine Below Zero needless to say anyone who knows the band will be aware of his history, himself and Dennis being the founder members of the band.
Live, this combination is lethal, hammering and nailing the big R'n'B sound to the floor of many a famous stage. It is not unusual for the band to sell out big clubs weeks up front.

The six albums Nine Below Zero recorded for A&M, Warner Music and EMI between 1979 and 1995 brought chart success and media attention. However, in 1997 the band decided to take control of their own affairs, and have since quietly built their own Zed Records into a solid business, releasing four albums and two DVD’s in the process.

Having traditionally been a “media shy” band, the release of their new studio album, It’s Never Too Late, announces Nine Below Zero as a band no longer content to “fly below the radar”.

The twelve original tracks found on It’s Never Too Late were recorded at 45 RPM Studios on the edge of the River Thames in London. At the desk on dual production duties are Nine Below Zero and Glenn Tilbrook and, between them, they have captured something that normally eludes the studio process: the energy and feel of a Nine Below Zero live show.

Formed in South London in 1977, they won their place on the main London circuit two years later, storming usually complacent venues like Dingwalls, The Music Machine and The Rock Garden with a rip-roaring of Blues and R&B. Suddenly there was life in the old Blues horse yet! A new dynamic life! There was vigour, there was spontaneity, there was enthusiasm, there was ....... Nine Below Zero.

As the band embarked on a frighteningly intensive gig schedule, the stirrings grew and word spread across the nation, over the Channel to Europe and beyond. People like Canned Heat, Dr Feelgood and The Blues Band wanted to know about NBZ, offered them supports and so the reputation swelled, at the same rate as the crowds until they were a headlining band in their own right.
As time went by however it soon became clear that their contemporary and energetic performance of cover versions, was merely a starting point for their own ideas to emerge with a vibrant solid sound that is finally and indisputably their own.

The real story began with Dennis Greaves, nine years old and already wise to musicians like John Mayall and B.B. King via an uncles record collection. His interest grew, and by the time of his final year at school, he had a bass guitar and amp. In the time honoured “Rock n Roll” tradition "School work just stopped.... I was in the music room all the time trying to play this thing".
His perseverance paid off and Dennis formed a band with a couple of mates, switched to lead guitar and "made a lot of noise". They only ever played one gig and that was at a wedding reception.
His next band faired slightly better, they were accepted for a handful of pub bookings but a staple diet of Bad Company and Led Zeppelin proved too much for Dennis, so he left taking with him bassist Pete Clark. Together the pair set about forming a band to play the music closest to their hearts. They recruited a school friend, Kenny Bradley on drums, as well as one of their teachers for vocals, who dropped out shortly afterwards.
They still needed a harmonica player and someone gave Dennis the number of a bloke called Mark Feltham, so he telephoned him and discovered that they only lived a few doors from each other in Tulse Hill. They arranged to have a blow and Mark, who has only previously practised in his bedroom, was immediately accepted into “Stans Blues Band”.

It was the fledgling Nine Below Zero.

The year was 1977 and the mood was Punk but the band had no intention of succumbing to fashion, even though the record companies were busily signing everything they saw with spiky hair and studs. They wanted to do it their way, no compromises. Ironically, the spirit of punk had it's helpful effects, Dennis harnessing it's "hell for leather" energy into the music of Stans Blues Band.
To say that they were playing New Wave R&B wouldn't be far off the mark.
Consequently, they found themselves acceptable to certain elements of the punk audience, and in demand locally from their earliest days. They began playing regularly at pubs like the "Thomas A Beckett" in the Old Kent Road, the "Apples and Pears" in Bermondsey and the "Clock House" in Clapham. It was a time of apprenticeship.

The first real breakthrough came when Dingwalls offered them a gig in January 1979, impressed by a tape that the band had recorded at the "Apples and Pears" and sent to various influential venues. From then on "Stans Blues Band" were playing in all the right venues in London and it was round the end of that year that there occurred the most significant event of all.
A musician named Mickey Modern walked into the "Thomas A Beckett", saw and loved the band and instantly decided to manage them, fed up with his own recording career, he saw in management the opportunity to be creative in a new and exciting way.
Wisely he persuaded them to stop calling themselves "Stans Blues Band"; they became "Nine Below Zero", a name which carried the blues flavour that Dennis was so anxious to preserve.
Within a couple of weeks Mickey had them in the studio recording a demo that included four tracks which would materialise in the New Year on the Pack Fair and Square EP.
He found them a recording deal with A&M Records, who put out the EP themselves after the initial 3000 released by the band sold out. (Released on Mickey's own label through A&M called M&L Records - if you've still got one of these keep it very safe as it's worth a fortune!)
Mickey demanded that they played more gigs and so the band gave up their day jobs and started playing any and every gig they could, seven nights a week, for weeks on end. Oddly enough, without having a hit record, the tracks from the EP were played almost every day for weeks, putting NBZ firmly on the map. All this took A&M completely by surprise, Derek Green ( then MD with A&M) said "the exposure the band got never turned into real sales. I still can't say why now".

In March 1980 Mickey "Stix" Burkey gave up his day job and stepped in behind the drum kit to replace Kenny Bradley who had been finding the increasing demands of NBZ that bit too hectic. Stix knew the band, having previously supported them with a group called "Spoof Order". "I thought I'd like to play in NBZ when I first saw them" he recalls. A happy turn of events.
The band reached another milestone on July 16th 1980, when they recorded their first album Live at the Marquee, an exciting and vivid representation of the band as they were at that time. (Produced by Mickey, it still sells healthily today and is asked for by people all over Europe)
And so they went on tour to promote it.
Three months later they headlined the Hammersmith Odeon with special guest Alexis Korner.

The whole of 1980 was one long relentless tour for the band, they can remember having only one week off, but the endless slog was paying off and their continued advancement clearly visible. January 1981 bought recording sessions for their second album Don't point your finger - their first studio album and a major progression.
It featured nine tracks written by members of the band as opposed to only three on their debut set and combined songs of loyal blues, thrust with several more uncharacteristic ompositions, notably "You can't please all the People all the Time", a robust number with an infectious chorus that pointed to a taste of things to come. Derek Green bought in Glyn Johns (him of Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones fame) who was at that time a staff producer.
Glyn made a great job of the album. In twelve days it was finished and released within two months. The album entered the charts twice, remaining there in all for about five weeks. Through Glyn the band were exposed to The Who and Kenney Jones came down to the studio. He loved what he heard and promptly asked Pete Townsend to give NBZ the support slot on The Who tour. The same thing happened with Ray Davies and so they went on tour with The Kinks .
In their quest for musical perfection, NBZ decided to look for a new bass player and with much regret had to say goodbye to Pete Clark in June 1981 and set about auditioning 50 replacements.
Brian Bethall was the second and they knew that they would go back to him with their offer, impressed firstly by the fact that he did not look like a musician and secondly by his confident and imaginative playing. This had been an eventful year for the band and still in their early twenties they were still as enthusiastic and as excited as they ever were. They had made appearances on the "Old Grey Whistle Test", the "South Bank Show" and further on up the road their legendary appearance on the very first "Young Ones". Together with supports to The Who and The Kinks under their belts the band certainly proved that they could kick with the best of them.

Nine Below Zero recorded an album at Glyn John's studio in West Sussex but Glyn never allowed the band to stay the night and so they had to drive 100 miles a day. This had an odd effect on the relationship so things never really got off the ground and the album was shelved. Mind you, 11+11 was written as an epitaph and was re-recorded later.
Third Degree was probably the most under-rated of all the albums that NBZ made. It contained the classic track "11+11" and was produced by Simon Boswell, who was a very influential part of the band's learning curve. "11+11" should have been a monster hit but somehow either it was miss-timed or bad luck took a hand. The disappointment had a knock on effect and the band split.
Dennis moved into the Truth for the remainder of the eighties and Mark, having earned a high reputation entered the session world with high regard and quickly got himself established with Rory Gallagher. Brian continued playing and eventually found himself playing with the "Blow Monkeys". Stix ended up in management and equipment hire.

The year is 1990 and after some serious persuasion from various sources a 10th Anniversary gig is announced at the Town and Country Club in October. Was the NBZ flag still flying? The gig sold out and another gig was announced. Gerry McAvoy and Brendan O'Neill were leaving Rory Gallagher's band and they intended to form their own but through Mark Feltham they heard that Dennis was trying out Drums and Bass players for the new NBZ. So a blow was arranged and worked a treat. The packed houses at the Town and Country witnessed the same energy, excitement and fervour that blew their minds a decade ago. NBZ were back and the public greeted them with open arms.

A short tour in December followed taking them out of London and showing the band that they were wanted nationwide. At the same time Derek Green, now of China Records, came, saw and wanted to be involved. In early 1991 5 songs were demo-ed and played to China Records. China said Go with an album and On the Road Again a significant and apt title was recorded and released in April 1991. Touring continued establishing NBZ again in the UK and earning them high regard in Europe. Tour followed tour in '91. NBZ were back .

It was sad to have to say goodbye to Mark early in '92 due to health problems but a new harmonica player called Alan Glen quickly filled the gap. He first came to light in 1985 when he won the Hohner Harmonica Player of the Year. Alan had also played with B.B. King, Johnny Winter and Albert Collins. And so the touring continued, and another album called Off the Hook was released again on China Records, inviting rave reviews. Then they supported Sting on his 1993 European tour, things were going pretty well.

What a year 1994 was for NBZ, a full book of dates and good record sales. Little did they know that their reputation had reaches the ears of Eric Clapton and he loved what he heard. Suddenly they were invited to join Eric at the Royal Albert Hall, playing the whole twelve nights and going down a storm. In the audience on one of those nights sat Sting, he loved the band so much he bought them! That night he signed NBZ to his newly formed record company Panagea Records distributed through A&M. Word got round and Ray Davies, a long time NBZ fan booked them for his tour of Britain including Wembley Arena. Brian May came in with six shows across Britain on his solo tour.

October and November 1994 saw the band gigging all over America and Canada with Allanah Miles and Alvin Lee promoting their U.S. album "Hot Music for A Cold Night" . In 1995 Alan Glen left the band, due to the heavy touring commitments and his place was filled by Billy Boy from Ireland who had supported the band on one of their gigs over there. March 1996 saw the release of their next album Ice Station Zero, tracks co-written with Nik Kershaw and Russ Ballard and great self-penned maximum R&B titles. This album was the best thing they had done up to this point. Later that year they got an invitation from Bruce Willis to play with him at Planet Hollywood in London, what an experience that turned out to be.

1996 saw them touring heavily with Billy to help get him accustomed to the work load required by Nine Below Zero and they got to headline many festivals in Europe and at last they got the chance to headline the Colne British Blues Festival that summer.

1997 saw the band form their own record company called Zed Records and their first release was an album called Covers which had four reversible covers and was not full of cover songs as some people thought. This album was received well and guitarist magazines even interviewed Dennis. There was a bizarre start to 1998, a tour of Bangladesh working with the British Council, this was an eye opener. The band took their task as ambassadors and blues representatives very well and made a lot of friends. Even in Dacca people want to learn how to play Hideaway like Freddie King. In this same year the band started work on the Refrigerator album and did a single for the first National Curry Day with an Indian Artist called Bappi Lahri.

1999 was the year the band successfully negotiated with A&M to license their back catalogue to Zed Records, culminating with the release of "Live at the Marquee" on CD for the first time in October 1999. Also they finished recording and mixing the Refrigerator album. That takes us to its release in January 2000 and a whole year booked touring the album that has eleven self-penned songs and has been critically acclaimed by Mojo Magazine. The year 2000 also saw them celebrate the 20th anniversary of Live at the Marquee at the Thomas a Beckett where they started their career. Mark Feltham played both nights and it was electrifying and hot.

Don't Point Your Finger was released in September 2000 and Third Degree is released in early 2001. This sees the completion of the A&M years released on CD and takes us nicely to the present with more tours booked and more releases on Zed Records.
2001, and Mark Feltham had rejoined Nine Below Zero after the success of the Thomas a Beckett concerts in London. The old band were back together again and concert tours, festival appearances, and radio interviews,etc started too flow in.

Nine Below Zero worked nonstop for the best part of the next seventeen months,when it was decided that a brand new DVD of the band performing live just had to be released, and so it was that in May 2002 The On The Road Again DVD was filmed and recorded in Wilbarston, England. Interviews, and a full two hour concert was now recorded for ever on celluloid.
The Band had made it clear to people close at hand, that they had been toying with the idea of one day, releasing an acoustic record, a sort of unplugged Nine Below Zero.
So with this the guys set off to deepest Hampshire in England to record the wonderful Chilled record. The record was made over two weeks with NBZ and Stephen Smith producing.
Paul McCartney and Pretenders guitarist Robbie McIntosh added some background guitar to Dennis Greaves already weeping blues guitar.
Nine Below then set off around Europe to take Chilled to the people, and rave reviews followed them on the exausting touring schedule they had embarked upon.

The year of 2004 was a big year for the guys, as they fulfilled the dream of playing one of Europes greatest blues festivals, Pistoia Blues, in Italy, Dennis and John Mayall chatted away backstage, with Alvin Lee and Steve Winwood, as Santana headlined the following night.
NBZ were to later meet up again with Mayall on the BANGOL blues festival in France.
One more project had to be completed before the guys could move on into 2005 and that was with the making of a truly analogue blues record,where the guys literally took of thier hats to some of the great blues artists they had loved so much.
The record was recorded in Konk studios London, owned by Mr Ray Davies of the Kinks and he would regularly pop in to see his old mate Dennis to see how the project was going.
The record was aptly named Hats Off, and yet again, the band took off with Contributors Ben Waters and Pete Wingfield on the shows around Europe.

2005...And one of the highlights of the year was a two times sold out show of the 100 club in Oxford street in London. Mr Pete Wingfield of the Everly Brothers and Albert Lee fame, became such good mates with the band that he is the kind of 5th member now when the situation warrants some blues piano.
The Guys took in Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Croatia in 2005 to take the blues to places that had been starved for so long due to depressed economy over a long and bitter war. NBZ made many friends in the Baltic states in 2005 and are now Truly international, by any strech of the imagination.

2007 Nine Below Zero film two acoustic concerts at Rheged in Lancashire, UK. The results are worked on over many months to produce the DVD Bring It On Home, and including a live CD, which has by now become a tradition of the band.
Bring It On Home is eventually released in the autumn of 2007 after a successful but exhausting summer festival season. Rave reviews for the DVD followed, along with a sold out G.A.S. tour. On one of the dates to promote Bring It On Home, Gary Moore sits in with the band.

2008 The year starts in fine fashion, with the band being asked by special request to open the show for the legendary Chuck Berry at The 100 Club on Oxford Street. The band also starts work on a forthcoming original CD, It’s Never Too Late!, the first collection of new songs since Refrigerator. In between recording sessions, the band plays a string of festival dates, including The Colne British Blues Festival.

2009 The band prepares to release It's Never Too Late, while taking in shows across the UK and Europe. The band also start working towards a special concert to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their debut album, Live At the Marquee.

2010 arrives and a chance meeting with Glenn Tillbrook from Squeeze results in an offer to record a new record that Dennis and Mark had been busy writing all year, the offer was gladly accepted and the band go into 45 RPM studios in London to record the highly acclaimed and self-penned 'It's Never Too Late' tours followed in wider Europe and Jools Holland and Paul Jones ask the band to guest on their shows.

2011 With the critical acclaim of It's Never Too Late ringing in the bands ears they are approached by Glenn Tillbrook again, but this time to make a new record together under the name of the Co-operative. All is finished in July of 2011 and one track, The Lennon McCartney song "You Never Gave Me Your Money" is used on a Mojo magazine special celebrating the 40 year anniversary of the release of the Beatles record Abbey Road. The band play a selected few dates with Glenn as a taster for what will follow in 2012 as a mini tour.
The end of 2011 sees Gerry McAvoy play his last show for NBZ and pursue a new solo career.

2012 sees the return of Brian Bethell who played on Third degree and who was a natural replacement. The band set off in January to take their music to the people who they call their extended family and kick off with shows in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Nine Below Zero now enter their 35th year together and are just as vibrant and unpredictably brilliant as they have always been. 2012 is going to be a great year for the band, they hope to see you somewhere soon in a town near you.

Official Website: www.ninebelowzero.com