Born in Belfast 1951, Brendan O'Neill started playing the drums in the boy scouts pipe band when he was about twelve. Two years later Brendan O'Neill fell in love with The Beatles then had his life changed after seeing The Kinks and The Buddy Rich Big Band within weeks of each other on national TV. In 1976 whilst in the band Swift, Brendan won the young jazz musician of the year competition for London Arts Association. While living in London, Brendan O'Neill played in various Blues bands until joining Rory Gallagher in 1981, who he toured and recorded with for 10 years. In 1991 Brendan joined Nine Below Zero. They toured internationally with artists including Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee, Allanah Myles, Sting, ZZ Top and Joe Cocker. Recently, Nine Below Zero have been working and recording with Glen Tilbrooke of Squeeze.