Nine Below Zero pair’s acoustic blues gig

NINE Below Zero founder members Dennis Greaves and Mark Feltham will be going back to their roots when they perform an intimate, acoustic show at the Crooked Billet in Stoke Row on Wednesday.

This will be the first “old style” blues show the pair have performed in their 35 years of working together. A second is booked for Ipswich next month.

As well as playing unplugged versions of Nine Below Zero material, the duo will cover songs by blues legends such as Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Jimmy Reed, Slim Harpo and Lead Belly.

Guitarist and singer Dennis Greaves said: “We will continue to play the bigger venues with the whole band, but Mark and I are looking forward to getting up close with the audience who, like us, are fans of the blues.

“As well as playing the songs, it will also be nice to talk about the artists who inspired so many of the great British blues bands of the Sixties, who in turn went on to inspire us”.



The love of the blues began at an early age for Dennis and Mark. Two of Dennis’s uncles were big fans and had vast collections of blues albums.

It was listening to those records that encouraged the Nine Below Zero frontman to first pick up the guitar.

Meanwhile, Mark’s uncle in the merchant navy would bring him back harmonicas from his travels overseas, sparking his enjoyment of music.

The pair first met during the punk era, when Dennis decided to form a blues band and was introduced to Mark, who it turned out lived just 14 doors away on the same South London estate.

The Crooked Billet will be serving its full regular menu on Wednesday evening. A £20 music cover charge applies.

For more information or to make a table reservation, call (01491) 681048 or visit www.thecrookedbillet.co.uk