Steve Abbott (musician)

Steven Paul "Abbo" Abbott^[1] (born January 1960 in Luton)^[2][3] is an English producer, A&R executive, artist manager, concert promoter and media consultant. Formerly a singer/songwriter, Abbott was lead singer of the band UK Decay from 1979-1983.

Early life

Abbott grew up on the Farley Hill Estate in Luton in the 1960s where he attended Rotheram High School and Luton VIth Form College where in 1978 he joined local punk band The Rezistors as a guitarist.

Punk career

UK Decay

Moving to vocals and guitar, Abbott renamed the Rezistors 'UK Decay' in 1979 after a front page headline in the Daily Mirror. The band's music was far from the proto-punk of 1977, instead inspiring bands of the early 80s with their deep, dark imagery and slow grinding rhythms. In an interview with Steve Keaton for Sounds music paper, Abbott described the band as "Goth" and has since been credited with the first usage of the term that became a notable music and fashion movement.^[4] The band toured extensively around Europe on the rock and art circuits. Having supported the Dead Kennedys on their debut UK tour, the band were invited to play with them in the US and toured for 5 weeks in March/April 1981, playing on bills with the fledgling West Coast scene bands like Black Flag, DOA, Circle Jerks, Subhumans, Flipper and Social Unrest. The Band were outspoken against racism and discrimination and were often targeted by Right Wing political groups.^[5] They made one album, entitled For Madmen Only and 5 singles between 1979 and 1983, spending months in the UK Independent Charts, including the punk standard For My Country.^[6] Abbott split from UK Decay in 1983 and formed Furyo, an experimental 4-piece band, releasing a mini-album and EP in the UK and a full-length album in Japan.

Return to UK Decay

In 2008 the band reformed to perform at a number of festivals across Europe including Berlin, Lisbon, Whitby, London, Leipzig, Rimini, Rome, Milan, Bologna and Paris. In 2012 they recorded a new album New Hope For The Dead, produced by Chris Tsangarides. The band also released the Wonderful Town EP in partnership with Luton Town Football Club and Luton Foodbank, all proceeds going to the latter charity.^[7]

Record and Managerial Career

Big Cat Records UK 1989-

In 1989 Abbott worked as an office equipment delivery van driver to fund starting the record label known as Big Cat, named after a line in the Big Youth song Lightning Flash. His first signing was Carter USM's album 101 Damnations which spawned the singles Sherriff Fatman and Rubbish. The label grew quickly after discovering acts such as Pavement, Jeff Buckley, Luscious Jackson, Will Oldham (Palace Brothers), Heather Nova, E.A.R., One Minute Silence, Blumfeld, as well as releases by Harry Crews, Foetus, Shudder To Think, Lydia Lunch, Mercury Rev, Keiji Heino, Pauline Oliveros, Paul Schutze, Thomas Koner, Augustus Pablo, Junior Delgado, Big Youth and Mikey Dread.

Arc of Light Classical Recordings

Abbott started this classical label by signing John Tavener, and its debut release was the first recording of his Akathist Of Thanksgiving with the Westminster Abbey Choir, James Bowman and Martin Neary. After this recording, Arc of Light signed a worldwide distribution deal with Sony Classical NY. Further recordings included a Grammy nomination of Henry Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, recorded at Westminster Abbey as a replica of her original funeral service on its 300th anniversary, featuring soloists Emma Kirkby and Ian Bostridge. Its most successful release was Tavener's Innocence, commissioned by Big Cat, which included the renowned Song For Athene (performed at Princess Diana's funeral service) which went on to sell three quarters of a million copies. It was Abbott's suggestion and approach to Elton John that lead to Elton singing Candle In The Wind at Diana's funeral. He also compiled and recorded the subsequent tribute record Diana, Princess of Wales — Tribute,^[8] which included new recordings by Aretha Franklin, Bryan Ferry and Peter Gabriel.

Discography

Bedlam Management 1979-2007

Bedlam Management was started with Abbott's business partner Linda Obadiah. Management clients in popular music included EMF (including their number one US single Unbelievable and their album Schubert Dip which sold in excess of four million copies), Mercury Rev, and Heather Nova, while classical artists managed included Hayley Westenra (2003–09), Nicola Benedetti (2005-09), and Aled Jones (2004–05). During this time Abbott created and produced two groups, The Choirboys and All Angels, both of which released records on Decca Records, each passing the quarter of a million sales mark. He also wrote and co-produced two albums for Westenra based on Japanese songs which both broke into the top 10 album charts when released by Universal Japan.

V2 Records 1998-2002

Abbott joined Richard Branson's new V2 Records as Head of International,^[10] helping to set the company up worldwide, moving to Head of A&R North America, where he lived in America from 1999 until 2002. Associated acts during this time include Moby, The Black Crowes, RZA, The Jungle Brothers and The White Stripes.

Artist Manager, Consultant, Promoter 2007-

Abbott currently manages, represents, and promotes a number of artists including Max Richter, Cerys Matthews, Lang Lang (UK and Ireland), Catrin Finch, and Gabriel Prokofiev. He has an A&R and new business consultancy with Decca Records and also consults for The Arts Club (Dover Street, London) and the Club at Cafe Royal (Piccadilly) and is 'Cultural Ambassador' for Luton Culture.^[11] Abbott promotes and co-promotes live concerts at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Festival Hall in London, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, the Birmingham Symphony Hall and many theatres around the UK.

In 2015 Abbott started a consultancy role for Tido Music, a new music, notation, and media technology company. In 2016, he was appointed to the board.

The Good Life Experience Festival, Hawarden

This festival, focusing on the 'great outdoors'; quality food, artisan-brewed drinks, bushcraft and world music, was started and is owned by Steve Abbott, Cerys Matthews, and Charlie & Caroline Gladstone in 2014. The first year drew over 2,000 people and this doubled in 2015. The 2017 date is set for September 15–17.^[12][13]

Public Appearances

In 2007 Abbott was a judge on the BBC2 television reality show Classical Star.^[14]

In 2011 Abbott was a participant in a one-off show for BBC 2 titled 'Goldie's Band: By Royal Appointment'. This three-part series followed drum and bass pioneer Goldie on a personal mission to discover young people whose talent and passion for music was at the centre of their lives. In episode three, Goldie's band returns to Christ's Hospital for two days of final rehearsals. With the help of expert mentors composer Guy Chambers, jazz artist Soweto Kinch, MC/songwriter Ms Dynamite, singer/songwriter Cerys Matthews, and Abbott, the band make their final preparations before travelling to Buckingham Palace. In the final scene Goldie's Band performs 'Breaking Free' at the imposing setting of the Palace Ballroom at Buckingham Palace in front of Prince Harry and an invited audience including their parents.^[15]

In 2016, he appeared on an episode of the Sky Arts TV Series Trailblazers: Gothic Rock (S1, Ep 12).

References