Steven Paul "Abbo" Abbott (born January 1960 in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

) is an English producer, A&R executive, artist manager and concert promoter. Formerly a singer/songwriter, Abbott was lead singer of the band UK Decay from 1979 to 1983.

Early life

Abbott grew up on the Farley Hill Estate in

in the 1960s. He attended Luton Sixth 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 as " UK Decay" in 1979, after a front-page headline in the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

''. In an interview with Steve Keaton for ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' music paper, Abbott described the band as " Goth" and has since been credited with being one of the first to use the term for the music and fashion movement. The band toured extensively around Europe on the rock and art circuits. Having supported the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing p ...

on their debut UK tour, the band were invited to play with them in the US and toured for five 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. They made one album, entitled '' For Madmen Only'' and five singles between 1979 and 1983, spending months in the UK Independent Charts, including the punk standard "For My Country". Abbott split from UK Decay in 1983 and formed Furyo, an experimental four-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. In 2012 they recorded a new album, ''New Hope for the Dead'', produced by

Chris Tsangarides Christopher Andrew Tsangarides (17 August 1956 – 6 January 2018) was a British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, and mixer of Greek Cypriot origin. He was best known for his work with many heavy metal artists, including G ...

. The band also released the ''

Wonderful Town ''Wonderful Town'' is a 1953 musical with book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Leonard Bernstein. The musical tells the story of two sisters who aspire to be a writer and act ...

'' EP in partnership with Luton Town Football Club and Luton Foodbank, all proceeds going to the latter charity.

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 The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Despite enormous differences in size, various cat species are quite similar ...

, 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".

Arc of Light Classical Recordings

Abbott started this classical label by signing

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...

, and its debut release was the first recording of his ''Akathist of Thanksgiving'' with the

Westminster Abbey Choir Westminster Abbey Choir School is a boarding preparatory school for boys in Westminster, London and the only remaining choir school in the United Kingdom which exclusively educates choristers (i.e. only choirboys attend the school). It is loca ...

, James Bowman and

Martin Neary Martin Gerard James Neary LVO is an English organist and choral conductor. Neary was born in London, and read theology and music at Cambridge University. He was Organist and Director of Music at Winchester Cathedral from 1972 to 1988, and Org ...

. Further recordings included a Grammy nomination of Henry Purcell's

Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary The English composer Henry Purcell wrote funeral music that includes his ''Funeral Sentences'' and the later ''Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary'', Z. 860. Two of the funeral sentences, "Man that is born of a woman" Z. 27 and "In th ...

, recorded at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

as a replica of her original funeral service on its 300th anniversary, featuring soloists Emma Kirkby and

Ian Bostridge Ian Charles Bostridge CBE (born 25 December 1964) is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera and lieder singer. Early life and education Bostridge was born in London, the son of Leslie Bostridge and Lillian (née Clark). ...

. It was Abbott's suggestion and approach to Elton John that led to Elton singing "

Candle in the Wind "Candle in the Wind" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier. In 1997, John perfor ...

" at Princess Diana's funeral. He also compiled and recorded the subsequent tribute record ''Diana, Princess of Wales – Tribute'', which included new recordings by Aretha Franklin,

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

and Peter Gabriel.

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), Claytown Troupe, Mercury Rev, and Heather Nova, while classical artists managed included Hayley Westenra (2003–09),

Nicola Benedetti Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti (born 20 July 1987) is an Italian-British classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She w ...

(2005–09), and

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

(2004–05). During this time Abbott created and produced two groups, The Choirboys and All Angels, both of which released records on Decca Records. 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, 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 The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...

, RZA, The Jungle Brothers and

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...

Artist manager and promoter

Abbott's company Harmonic Artists Ltd is an artist management and concert agency for a number of artists, including Max Richter, Guy Chambers,

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes an ...

, Lang Lang (UK and Ireland),

Jules Buckley Jules Buckley (born 8 January 1980) is an English conductor, composer, and arranger. Personal Buckley was born and grew up in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire in the UK. He is the son of Keith Buckley (a doctor) and Joan Buckley, and attended Ayle ...

and Zara McFarlane. Abbott is on The Advisory Board at

The Arts Club The Arts Club is a London private members' club founded in 1863 by, among others, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and Lord Leighton in Dover Street, Mayfair. It remains a meeting place for men and women involved in the creative arts either ...

in Dover Street, London. He is Cultural Ambassador for the city of

. Abbott promotes and co-promotes live concerts at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Festival Hall, Manchester's Bridgewater Hall and the Birmingham Symphony Hall. Abbott is a trustee of Tomorrow's Warriors and of Poet in the City.

The Good Life Experience Festival, Hawarden

This festival, focusing on the food, artisan-brewed drinks,

bushcraft Bushcraft is the use and practice of skills, thereby acquiring and developing knowledge and understanding, in order to survive and thrive in a natural environment. Bushcraft skills provide for the basic physiological necessities for human li ...

and a diverse range of live music, was started and is owned by Abbott and his partners in 2014. The first year drew more than 2,000 people and increased to 5,000 for the 2017 festival.

Public appearances

In 2007, Abbott was a judge on the BBC Two television reality show ''Classical Star''. In 2011, Abbott was an on-screen mentor for the BBC Two series titled ''Goldie’s Band: By Royal Appointment''. With the help of mentors composer Guy Chambers, jazz artist

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

, MC/songwriter Ms Dynamite, broadcaster/singer/songwriter

, and Abbott, a band of musicians with "challenges" in life work through the series towards a live performance at Buckingham Palace in front of

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

and an invited audience.

Personal life

Abbott married

in January 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Steve Living people 1960 births British post-punk musicians English punk rock singers English businesspeople English male singers English music managers English male songwriters