| "Down to Zero" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Joan Armatrading | ||||
| from the album Joan Armatrading | ||||
| B-side | "Like Fire" | |||
| Released | December 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:51 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Joan Armatrading | |||
| Producer(s) | Glyn Johns | |||
| Joan Armatrading singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "Down To Zero" on YouTube | ||||
"Down to Zero" is a 1976 song by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. It features pedal steel guitar by B. J. Cole and drums by Kenney Jones of the Faces. [1]
The song first appeared on Armatrading's 1976 album Joan Armatrading , which was produced and engineered by Glyn Johns and recorded at the independent Olympic Studios in Barnes, London. It was the first song to be recorded for the album. [2] "Down to Zero" was released as a single, also in 1976, by A&M ("Down to Zero/Like Fire" – AMS 7270), and despite following the success of the top ten single "Love and Affection" (which had been released in August 1976), it failed to chart.
In his review of the album on AllMusic, Dave Connolly cites "Down to Zero" as "[one of] the album's most memorable tracks". [3] Women's music writer Lucy O'Brien described the song as "a full-tilt rollercoaster ... a masterly analysis of rejection." [4] Critic Wilfrid Mellers, in his book Angels of the Night, praised the song's "jazz intensity", achieved he says, through its "triplet cross-rhythms". [5]
"Down to Zero" has since been re-released on numerous collections, among them: Live at the Bijou Bijou Club, Philadelphia Superstar Radio Network (1977, promo album); 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); Live: All the Way from America (2004); Joan Armatrading: Gold (2005).
"Down to Zero" was re-released in July 1990 as a live version on the B-side of the single "Promise Land" (AM 567) from the album Hearts and Flowers . [6]
The single's B-side, "Like Fire", also appears on the Joan Armatrading album.
"Down to Zero" was used as the theme song for the BBC series Nurse in 2015. [7]
Source: [8]
During the 1970s, Armatrading used the song to open her live concerts, as noted in contemporary reviews. [9] She used "Down to Zero" to open her seminal concert for German TV (Studio L in Cologne) on 15 February 1979, accompanied by a band especially put together for the tour. The band featured Red Young on keyboards, Rick Hirsch on guitar, Art Rodriguez on drums, Bill Bodine on bass and Lon Price on saxophone. The concert was recorded by WDR and features on the DVD Steppin' Out . Armatrading played the song again, this time as the second opener, with the same band, live at the Rockpalast in Grugahalle, Essen, Germany on 19 and 20 April 1980, in another concert recorded live and featuring on the Steppin' Out DVD. It was during the fourteen months between these two concerts that she 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.
On 5 October 1976 Armatrading performed the song on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test , introduced by Bob Harris. [10]
Armatrading has included the song in many of her shows, almost as often as her top 10 hit "Love and Affection". She played it on her live concert tour for her 2003 album Lovers Speak ; recordings from that tour were released on the CD/DVD album Live: All the Way from America in 2004. Following this she rested the song, until including it once again in her 2012 Starlight tour.
On 27 April 2016, Armatrading was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and played "Down to Zero" at the ceremony. [11]
"Down to Zero" was recorded by soul and blues singer Bettye LaVette and issued on her 2005 album I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. [12]
The song was also recorded by Lili Añel and issued on her 2007 album Dream Again and later also released, by ESC Records, on her album Life or Death . [13]
The American singer Melissa Etheridge regularly covered the song live when she appeared in clubs in California in the 1980s – one of many Armatrading songs she included in her live repertoire. [14]
The Irish singer Freddie White performed "Down to Zero" in concert, and his rendition can be found on his 1979 live album Recorded Live on Tour 1978. [15]
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, Joan Armatrading (1976) and Show Some Emotion (1977), and she continues to play live and record studio albums. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996.
"Love and Affection" is a song by Kittitian-English singer-songwriter 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 classic." It appeared on her eponymous third album. The song has twice been used as the title track of compilation albums, for 1999's Love and Affection: The Best of Joan Armatrading and 2003's Love and Affection: Classics 1975–1983.
Joan Armatrading is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released in 1976 by A&M Records. It was her first album to be recorded entirely in London, as her first two albums – Whatever's for Us and Back to the Night being partially recorded in France and Wales respectively in addition to London.
Whatever's for Us is the debut album of British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The album was a collaboration between Armatrading and singer-songwriter Pam Nestor. At the time the two were musical partners and wrote over a hundred songs together. Armatrading sings lead vocals and plays piano and acoustic guitar, while Nestor co-wrote most of the songs.
Dream Again is American singer-songwriter Lili Añel's third studio recording. Released in 2007, this marks the first time Lili is credited as co-producer along with Cooke Harvey. The CD received a favorable review in JazzTimes, catching the attention of ESC Records out of Germany. Seven of the tracks were compiled, along with eight tracks from her 2001 album Hi-Octane Coffee, and pressed onto a new album entitled Life or Death. It was released throughout Europe and Japan. This resulted in her first international album on a European record label.
Show Some Emotion is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released in 1977 on A&M. It reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, No. 52 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, and No. 18 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart.
Back to the Night is the second studio album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The album was released in April 1975 by A&M Records.
To the Limit is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released in September 1978 by A&M.
The Key is the eighth studio album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 28 February 1983 by A&M Records (AMLX64912). The album was recorded at Townhouse Studios in Shepherd's Bush, London; Polar Studios in Stockholm and also in New York.
Steppin' Out is a live album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The title is taken from her song of the same name which was first released in 1975 on her second studio album Back to the Night. A DVD with the same title, containing concerts recorded by WDR in 1979 and 1980, was released in 2004.
Secret Secrets is the ninth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 4 February 1985 by A&M. The album was recorded and mixed at Battery Studios, in Willesden, London. It reached number 14 on the UK Album Chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 60,000 copies. The album peaked at number 18 in Australia. The album had little success with singles, with its only charting hit, "Temptation", stalling at no.65 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sleight of Hand is the tenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 12 May 1986 by A&M Records. It was recorded and produced by Armatrading at Bumpkin Studio, her own purpose built studio in the grounds of her home. The album peaked at No. 34 on the UK Album Charts, No. 70 on the US Billboard 200, and No. 39 in Australia. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 60,000 copies.
The Shouting Stage is the 11th studio album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 29 June 1988 by A&M Records. It was written, arranged and produced entirely by Armatrading herself, and recorded at her home studio (Bumpkin), with mixing done at Olympic Studios, London.
Hearts and Flowers is the twelfth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The album was written, arranged and produced by Armatrading; recorded at Bumpkin Studios, her own studios in the grounds of her home; mixed at The Grey Room in Los Angeles and mastered at Sterling Sound, New York. Armatrading began writing the album in 1989 and finished it in April 1990. It was released on 4 June 1990 by A&M Records.
Lovers Speak is the fifteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, and was released on 25 March 2003. Three tracks from the album were released by Telstar on 10 March 2003 as a sampler.
Into the Blues is the sixteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 1 May 2007. The album was recorded by Armatrading at Bumpkin Studios, her own purpose-built studios. It was released on the 429 label (17625) and on the Hypertension label. The album was released in 2008 as a deluxe edition, with a DVD.
"Dry Land" is a 1975 song written by Joan Armatrading and Pam Nestor. It was released as an album track on Back to the Night in May 1975 and then as a single on 28 November 1975. The song has a simple arrangement, with a solo vocal, a number of choral-style backing vocals, an acoustic piano, and a Moog synthesizer. All of these were performed by Armatrading herself, with the exception of the Moog, which was played by her producer, Pete Gage.
Live: All the Way from America is a live album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. It was Armatrading's second live album, following the 1979 release of Steppin' Out, and was, therefore, the first live album she had released in twenty-five years. Armatrading was on tour following the release of her 2003 studio album Lovers Speak, and a concert from this tour was recorded on 25 June 2003 at the Lillian Fontaine Garden Theatre in Saratoga, California. The album takes its title from her 1980 song "All the Way from America", which originally appeared on the album Me Myself I. It was released in 2004 on digital format, CD and DVD by Savoy Records / SLG, and re-released in 2009 in CD format on the 429 Records label.
Live at the Royal Albert Hall is a live album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. It was recorded live on tour in 2010 and 2011, following the release of Armatrading's seventeenth studio album This Charming Life. The album was released as a digital album, CD and DVD by 429 Records / Savoy Jazz (FTN17814).
How Cruel is a 12-inch one-sided EP by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, which was released in November 1979 on A&M. The title track had previously appeared on Armatrading's live album Steppin' Out, which was not released in the US. The EP was released in the US and elsewhere, but not in the UK. It peaked at #19 on the Norwegian Albums Chart. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1981. The single from this EP was "Rosie"/"How Cruel" (1979/1980), which reached #49 in the UK and #52 in Australia. "Rosie" was included on Armatrading's first compilation album, 1983's Track Record, as well as her 2004 live album Live: All the Way from America. All four tracks from this EP were placed at the start of the second CD of Armatrading's 2003 compilation album Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975–1983).