Songs About The Number Zero

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This is the last column I have found that I started in the past and did not finish. The reason for not finishing this column came from the fact I did not feel I had enough songs in the column to make for a decent length. However, revisiting this and looking through my music collection, I reckon I do now.

This came on the heels of my rather long list of song columns about numbers in music. I did 1 to 10, then a few others, and decided that I needed songs about zero. And, finally, here we are!

And thus we have songs about the number zero


So, because I set myself the number identity, songs about "nothing" are not included here. I was going to include songs with "nought" in the title as well, but I only have one and I don't actually like it. Therefore, this is songs with the word "zero" in the title (not "Zerox"). Apart from that, usual rules apply – one song per artist, one version of each song, I need to like it.

Songs about zero!
'Zero X Theme' by The Shadows (1966)

From the soundtrack of the supermarionation film Thunderbirds Are Go, this instrumental is just another bit of good Shadows music, with Hank Marvin's guitar at the forefront. Oh, and in the film, The Shadows and Cliff Richard all appear as puppets!
'Down To Zero' by Joan Armatrading (1976)

This was one of the first songs Joan released that really hit the zeitgeist, and has become one of her most popular songs in concert. The studio version has some great acoustic guitar and really highlights her voice. Beautiful track.
'Less Than Zero' by Elvis Costello (1977)

The debut single from Costello, released on Stiff Records (which is where I have it – on a Stiff Records compilation), shows the lyrical chops that he would become known for, and the musical style that was proto-punk in its feel.
'Down To Zero' by Roy Wood (1981)

After ditching Wizzard, Roy Wood tried to fit his glam rock stylings into the early 1980s New Wave scene. While the songs he released I find quite enjoyable, the general public rejected him, and his career never really recovered. Shame, because the songs are fun.
'Too Low For Zero' by Elton John (1983)

The title track from the first Elton John album I bought, this is a decent mid-tempo track from an underrated album. I still like the album and still like the song. It was released as the fifth and final single from the album as well, but didn't do much.
'Christmas At Ground Zero' by 'Weird Al' Yankovic (1986)

Al's charming little Christmas ditty about spending Christmas under the threat of imminent nuclear destruction. It is sung like every other jaunty Christmas song you can want to hear, but the whole thing, while amusing, is also inherently depressing. And yet this is played every year on the radio here…
'Zeroes' by David Bowie (1987)

A deep cut from the Never Let Me Down album, I am not sure if it is meant as a sequel or a response to his classic 'Heroes', but it is still one of the better tracks from that collection, which the critics did not like.
'Zero' by Jenny Morris (1991)

Jenny Morris had a string of hit singles and a few hit albums in the 1980s to 1990s in Australia. This is a track from the Honeychild album, released as a single, and has that dance-beat drum sound that was so pervasive at the time, but the song is still a decent one from a good album.
' #1 Zero' by Audioslave (2005)

This is an album cut from the Out Of Exile album, a song that has more than a touch of Led Zeppelin about it, with some modern blues stylings and that build to the end. Audioslave were something of a supergroup, and I do enjoy a lot of their music.
'Hero Ground Zero' by The Who (2019)

From the %%WHO[/i album], when I reviewed the album, I said the track sounds like Townshend having a dig at Daltrey, and that I think this would be great live. This is a strong recent The Who track.
So, that is ten songs featuring the number "zero" in the title. A nice, wide range of styles and decades, so I hope there is something here for everyone. There were a few other tracks I had that were close, but I would only have been including them (Smashing Pumpkins, Power Station) to make the list longer. I mean, they are okay, but I prefer to put in songs I really like.

So, there we go!
via GIPHY

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