Down To Zero
Encyclopedia
History
The song first appeared on the 1976 album ‘Joan ArmatradingJoan Armatrading (album)
Joan Armatrading is the third studio album from the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading.Released in 1976, it was Armatrading's first taste of chart success and included her sole Top 10 hit single "Love and Affection"...
’, distributed by A & M records, Armatrading’s third album in as many years. (AMLH 64588). The album was produced and engineered by Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
, and recorded at the independent Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
in Barnes
Barnes
Barnes is a riverside London suburb in southwest London and in terms of local governance falls under the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located around west south-west of Charing Cross in a loop of the River Thames, with Hammersmith Bridge at the north end...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. "Down To Zero" was released as a single, also in 1976, by A&M (‘Down to Zero/Like Fire’ - AMS 7270), and it followed the success of the single of "Love and Affection
Love and Affection
"Love and Affection" is a song by Joan Armatrading. Her fourth single, and her third for A&M Records, it was her first chart success. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1976. One of her best known recordings, it has been described as a "deceptively feisty ballad... an instant...
" which was released in August 1976.
"Down To Zero" has since been re-released on numerous collections, among them: Live at the Bijou Bijou Club, Philadelphia Superstar Radio Network (1977, (Promotional LP); Track Record (1983), Joan Armatrading: Greatest Hits (1987), Joan Armatrading: 25th Anniversary Series (1987), Love And Affection (1996), Joan Armatrading: Master Series (1999); Joan Armatrading: Millennium Edition (2000); The best of Joan Armatrading: The Millennium Collection (2000); Joan Armatrading: Best (2001); Classic Joan Armatrading (2001); Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics 1975-1983 (2003); All the Way from America (2004); Joan Armatrading: Gold (2005).
Performances
"Down to Zero" was performed live by Joan at a seminal concert for German TV (Studio L in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
) on 15 February 1979, accompanied by a band especially put together for the tour. The band featured Red Young
Red Young
Red Young is a keyboard, piano, synthesizer and organ player.- Beginnings and early success :Grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. He began playing piano at age 3 and did first classical recital at age 10...
on keyboards, Rickie Rick Hirsch on guitar, Richie Hayward
Richie Hayward
Richie Hayward was a drummer best known as a founding member and drummer in the band Little Feat. He performed with several bands and worked as a session player...
on drums, Bill Bodine on bass and Lon Price on saxophone.
Joan played the song again, with the same band, live at the Rockpalast
Rockpalast
Rockpalast is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk . Rockpalast started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock and jazz bands have performed on Rockpalast...
in Grugahalle
Grugahalle
Grugahalle is an indoor sports arena, located in Essen, Germany. Opened in 1958, the seating capacity of the arena is 5,309 people, for sporting events and 7,800, for concerts.It is currently home to the TUSEM Essen handball team....
, Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 19 and 20 April 1980. It was during the fourteen months between these two concerts that Joan Armatrading became internationally famous, and "Down to Zero" helped her to achieve this. The band that played with her at these concerts went on to perform with her on subsequent tours.
The song was played by Joan on an edition of The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976, introduced by Bob Harris.
Joan has played "Down to Zero" many times in her shows over the years, almost as many times as the top 10 hit, "Love and Affection
Love and Affection
"Love and Affection" is a song by Joan Armatrading. Her fourth single, and her third for A&M Records, it was her first chart success. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1976. One of her best known recordings, it has been described as a "deceptively feisty ballad... an instant...
". She played it on the live concert tour of 2005, "All The Way From America", which was released in 2005, with a DVD.
Covers
"Down to Zero" was recorded by soul and blues singer Bettye LaVetteBettye LaVette
Bettye LaVette is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, with her album, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise...
, and issued on her 2005 album I've Got My Own Hell to Raise
I've Got My Own Hell to Raise
I've Got My Own Hell to Raise by Bettye LaVette was released September 27, 2005 on the label ANTI-. The album comprises covers of songs written by other female artists including Aimee Mann, Joan Armatrading, Sinéad O'Connor, Rosanne Cash, Dolly Parton and Fiona Apple, whose song "Sleep to Dream"...
. "Down To Zero" was also recorded by Lili Anel
Lili Anel
Lili Añel is an American singer-songwriter and performing artist originally from New York City. She was born in El Barrio, Spanish Harlem and raised in the South Bronx. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2004, where the local music scene embraced her, along with airplay and guest...
and issued on her 2007 CD "Dream Again" and released by ESC Records on the CD titled "Life or Death"