Steven Paul Abbott is an English

artist manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day ...

concert promoter Tour promoters (also known as concert promoters or talent buyers) are the individuals or companies responsible for organizing a live concert tour or special event performance. The tour promoter makes an offer of engagement to a particular artist, ...

, live music agent, A&R executive and arts consultant. He was formerly a songwriter and lead vocalist with punk band

UK Decay UK Decay are an English post-punk band based in Luton. History UK Decay was born from another Luton band called the Resiztors, who had formed in 1978. The Resiztors' line-up consisted of guitarist Steve "Abbo" Abbott, drummer Steven David ...

from 1979 to 1983. Among other activities, he set up and curated Lutonia Literature Festival.

Early life

Steven Paul "Abbo" Abbott grew up on the Farley Hill Estate in

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, England. He attended Farley Junior School, Rotheram High School and Luton VI Form College.

Punk career

UK Decay

Abbott joined Luton punk band The Resistors in 1978, but renamed the group "UK Decay" after seeing the phrase used on the cover story of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

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

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 br ...

'' music paper, Abbott used the term "Goth" to describe the band and has since been credited as the first to use the phrase to describe

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

. 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. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

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, including 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 at their concerts, and their song "Sexual" was one of the first to take up the issue of "trans" sexuality. 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 rock against racism 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 record producer, sound engineer, and mixer of Greek Cypriot origin. He was best known for his work with many heavy metal artists, including Gary Moore, Thin L ...

. The band also released the ''Wonderful Town'' EP in partnership with Luton Town Football Club ‘SOLYD’ and Luton Foodbank, all proceeds going to the two charities.

Record and managerial career

Big Cat Records UK, 1989–

In 1989, Abbott worked as an office-equipment delivery van driver in Luton 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. All cats descend from the ''Felidae'' family, sharing similar musculature, c ...

(UK) Ltd, named after a line in the

Big Youth Manley Augustus Buchanan (born 19 April 1949, Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica),Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, better known as Big Youth (sometimes called Jah Youth), is a Jamaican Toasting (J ...

reggae song "Lightning Flash". His first signing was Carter USM's album ''101 Damnations'', which spawned the singles "Sherriff Fatman" and "Rubbish". Other label signings include Jeff Buckley, Pavement,

Luscious Jackson Luscious Jackson is an alternative rock/rap-rock group formed in 1991. The band's name is a reference to former American basketball player Lucious Jackson. The original band consisted of Jill Cunniff (lead vocals, bass), Gabby Glaser (vocals, ...

Mikey Dread Michael George Campbell (4 June 1954 – 15 March 2008), better known as Mikey Dread, was a Jamaican singer, producer, and broadcaster. He was one of the most influential performers and innovators in reggae music. Biography Born in Port Antonio ...

Junior Delgado Oscar Hibbert (25 August 1958 – 11 April 2005),Greene, Jo-AnnJunior Delgado Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 25 April 2016 better known as Junior Delgado, was a reggae singer, famed for his roots style. Biography Born in 1958 in Kingston, Jamaic ...

, Big Youth,

Heather Nova Heather Nova (born Heather Allison Frith, 6 July 1967) is a Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. , she has released eleven full-length albums, six EPs and twelve singles. Biography Heather Nova was born Heather Allison Frith on Bermuda, a Bri ...

, Faith Over Reason, Mercury Rev, Cop Shoot Cop, Foetus, Grandaddy. Big Cat (UK) Records was also a leading label in ambient music in 1995 with releases from EAR,

Paul Schutze Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

, KJ Heino, and Thomas Koner. Abbott opened a combined Bedlam Management / Big Cat (UK ) Records office at 580 Broadway, New York, in 1997.

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. Further recordings included a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated recording of

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

'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 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 Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

that led to Elton singing "

Candle in the Wind "Candle in the Wind" is a threnody-style ballad 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 199 ...

" at

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

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

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

. Other recordings for the label included

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

's ''

A Ceremony of Carols ''A Ceremony of Carols'', Op. 28 is an extended choral composition for Christmas by Benjamin Britten scored for three-part treble chorus, solo voices, and harp. The text, structured in eleven movements, is taken from ''The English Galaxy of Sho ...

'',

Gregorio Allegri Gregorio Allegri (17 February 1652) was an Italian Catholic priest and composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a singer. He was born"Allegri, Gregorio" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes ...

's '' ⋅Miserere'',

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

’s "Innocence", and "Adeste Fidelus - Christmas with Emma Kirkby", including artists

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dorse ...

, James Bowman, Martin Neary, Westminster Abbey Choir,

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

, BBC Singers, Alice Neary.

Bedlam Management 1979–2007

Bedlam Management was started with Abbott's business partner Linda Obadiah. Management clients in popular music included EMF (whose debut single reached the US ''Billboard'' single charts "Unbelievable" and their album ''Schubert Dip'', which sold in excess of four million copies); Claytown Troupe signed to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

; Mercury Rev, and Heather Nova. While classical artists managed included Hayley Westenra (2003–2009), Nicola Benedetti (2005–2009), and

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer, radio and television presenter, and actor. As a teenage chorister, he gained widespread fame in 1985 with his recording of " Walking in the Air", which reached No 5 in the UK pop chart. He ...

(2004–2005). During this time Abbott created and produced two groups, The Choirboys and All Angels, both of which released records on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. He also wrote and co-produced (with Ian Tilley) 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

After Abbott’s partner, Linda Obadiah, sold her 50% of Big Cat to

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

's new V2 Records, Big Cat's UK and US teams became the basis of the new company’s UK and North American offices. Abbott took on the role of Head of International, helping to set the company up worldwide, moving to New York as Head of A&R North America, where he lived from 1999 until 2002. Associated acts during this time include Moby, The Black Crowes, RZA, The Jungle Brothers and The White Stripes.

Artist manager and promoter

Abbott set up a new management company and live concert agency on returning to London, which became Harmonic Artists Ltd, and currently represents

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...

Cerys Matthews Cerys Elizabeth 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 now ...

Jules Buckley Julian "Jules" Buckley (born 8 January 1980) is an English conductor, composer, and arranger. Career In 2004, Buckley and producer/manager Chris Wheeler co-founded the Heritage Orchestra, with the intention of featuring an orchestra in a music ...

, Zara McFarlane,

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Phi ...

(UK),

Cherise A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...

Carroll Thompson Carroll Thompson is a British lovers rock singer, best known as the "Queen of Lovers Rock" Biography Thompson was born in England and is of Jamaican descent. Thompson undertook classical piano training on the piano and sang in school and chur ...

and

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York,
with Chad Lawson (UK), Zara McFarlane, Carroll Thompson, and Vanessa Wagner Abbott is on the advisory board at The Arts Club in

Dover Street Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It al ...

, London. He is Cultural Ambassador for the city of Luton. Abbott promotes and co-promotes live concerts at venues such as the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

, Manchester's

Bridgewater Hall The Bridgewater Hall is a concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build in the 1990s, and hosts over 250 performances a year. It is home to the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra as well as to the Hallé ...

and the

Birmingham Symphony Hall Symphony Hall is a 2,262-seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...

. Abbott is a trustee of Tomorrow's Warriors.

The Good Life Experience Festival, Hawarden

The Good Life Experience Festival, Hawarden In partnership with his wife Cerys Matthews, and Caroline and Charlie Gladstone Abbot formed a new festival in 2014 centred on "The Great Outdoors", with activities such as bushcraft, lake swimming, axe throwing, trapeze, as well as international world music acts, DJs (Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay, Trevor Nelson), Heavenly Records, and authors and chefs ranging from

Thomasina Miers Thomasina Jean Miers, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born February 1976) is an English cook, writer and television presenter. She is the co-founder of the Wahaca chain of Mexican street food restaurants. Early life Thomasina Jean Miers wa ...

Helen Sharman Helen Patricia Sharman (born 30 May 1963) is a British chemist and cosmonaut who became the first British person, first Western European woman and first privately funded woman in space, as well as the first woman to visit the ''Mir'' space sta ...

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo ('' né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as '' War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelli ...

, Michael Rosen, Ben Fogle. The last Festival was pre-

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, in 2017, drawing an audience of 7,000.

Public appearances

In 2007, Abbott was a judge on the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

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 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 playing ...

, MC/songwriter

Ms Dynamite Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Naomi Arleen M ...

, broadcaster/singer/songwriter

, and Abbott himself, a band of musicians, with "challenges" in life, worked through the series towards a live performance at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

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. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

and an invited audience. Other BBC appearances include:

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

''The Grace of Jeff Buckley''; BBC Radio 4 ''Nitin Sawney on Jeff Buckley''; BBC4 TV ''What Makes a Great Tenor''.

Personal life

Abbott married

in January 2011. Abbott is a stalwart supporter of Luton Town Football Club.

References

External links

"Manager Spotlight: Steve Abbott"

Music Managers Forum The Music Managers Forum (MMF) is the world's largest professional membership organisation representing music managers. At present, the MMF membership stands at over 950 managers based in the UK with global businesses and a wider network of 270 ...

, 5 January 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Steve 1960 births English post-punk musicians Businesspeople from Bedfordshire English male singers English male songwriters English music managers English punk rock singers Living people Musicians from Luton