It was back at the Reading Festival of 1980, that I first saw Nine Below Zero, on the Friday night bill along with the late, great Rory Gallagher. Despite the passage of time, I still remember their performance well. Firstly, there was the consternation in the crowd, at what was in 1980 essentially a denim-clad Reading Festival celebrating the rise of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, as Nine Below Zero with very short haircuts and wearing mod suits. Then there was the glorious rendition of Willie Dixon’s I Can’t Quit you Baby, also covered by Led Zeppelin on their debut album which went a long way to winning the crowd over. Secondly, I simply remember that they were brilliant.
It was to be fourteen years before I had the pleasure of seeing them again at a festival in Gateshead in 1994, again with a famous guitar hero later in the bill, in the form of Mick Taylor, formerly of the Rolling Stones.
So, it was in late November that I saw Nine Below Zero for the third time and they proved that they didn’t need any other guitar hero to come on after them.
Loud and gloriously aggressive
The Cluny was packed in a warm Tyneside Friday night way as Nine Below Zero took themselves and the audience back in time on a journey that for me included remembering an old C90 tape – do you remember them? – but still managed to sound as vital and fresh as ever. Great, driving rhythm and blues will surely never sound dated.
Quite simply, they were as loud and gloriously aggressive as ever and all the better for it.
There were so many highlights; a storming rendition of the Four Tops’ I Can’t help Myself , the wonderful Don’t Point Your Finger and the heartfelt A Little Understanding, written after lead singer and guitarist Dennis Gereaves and harmonica player Mark Feltham had spent too long in the pub one afternoon and Dennis was asking his other half for a little understanding the next day….
And, yes, they did a rendition of Willie Dixon’s I Can’t Quit you Baby, and it was at least as brilliant as I remember it hearing from Reading all those years ago.
Indeed, Dennis Greaves played superb blues guitar throughout, playing which was matched by the virtuoso harmonica playing of Mark Feltham, who also found time to pay a nice tribute to Ray Jackson from our very own Lindisfarne.
Dennis Greaves told us of his first trip to Newcastle many decades ago and everything Nine Below Zero played and sang was rapturously received by a very supportive and enthusiastic audience. Well, everything except an impromptu rendition of Maybe it’s Because I’m a Londoner at the end of the main set which provoked a chorus of Geordie boos!
The encores included the great I can’t do my Homework Anymore, which I remembered well from my old C90 tape and a cover of the ever-popular Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs song Wolly Bully.
Having previously played a few bars of Whole Lotta Love, the band ended with opening riff and first line from Ziggy Stardust, a suitably playful end to a great night of music.
Real music
This was a night of real music, driven by the talent of the musicians, the quality of the songs and the heartfelt enthusiasm and support from the crowd. It was a communal celebration of both our youth and our defiance in the face of ageing.
Walking away from the Cluny, up the steep hill to the bus stop for the bus home and feeling our age, we talked about what music might be for future generations. I can only hope that it gives them the same sense of awe, of wonder, of hope, of love, of community and sheer inspiration that it has given mine. Here’s hoping.
