Jacqui Abbott

Jacqui Abbott
Performing at the O2 Apollo, Manchester, March 2016
Performing at the O2 Apollo, Manchester, March 2016
Background information
Birth nameJacqueline Abbott
Born (1973-11-10) 10 November 1973 (age 51)
St Helens, Lancashire, England
Genres
OccupationSinger & photographer
InstrumentVocals
Years active1994–present
Formerly ofThe Beautiful South

Jacqueline Abbott (born 10 November 1973) is an English singer who was a vocalist with The Beautiful South from 1994 to 2000, following the departure of Briana Corrigan.

With Abbott, the band released several top-10 singles. Amongst their most successful during her stint were "Rotterdam (or Anywhere)", "Perfect 10", "Don't Marry Her" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me". Abbott was discovered by Beautiful South co-founder Paul Heaton after she and a friend met him outside a night club. Heaton invited them to a party, where Abbott's friend encouraged her to sing. Heaton was impressed with her singing, and later invited her to audition to replace Corrigan.[1]

Abbott left the band in 2000,[2][3] because of the pressure of touring; a busy schedule would have conflicted with her wish to concentrate on looking after her son who had been diagnosed with autism.[1]

Abbott reunited with Heaton in June 2011 to perform in his musical The 8th, while in 2013 they recorded a new album What Have We Become?[4] released on 19 May 2014. This was followed by a second album in 2015 entitled Wisdom, Laughter and Lines. They embarked on a tour in 2016.[5] Their third album, Crooked Calypso, was released in July 2017, with a tour beginning later that year.[6] In 2020, Heaton and Abbott again collaborated on Manchester Calling, their first UK number-one album.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Jacqui Abbott interviewed by Allan Johnson Radio 4 2nd June 2011". BBC. 2 June 2011.
  2. ^ "It's All Two Beautiful". NME.COM. 23 November 2000. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Beautiful South - The Beautiful South: London Brixton Academy - Live Reviews - NME.COM". NME. 14 December 2000. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  4. ^ Heward, Emily (3 July 2015). "Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott at Summer in the City". Manchester Evening News. Chadderton, Oldham, UK: M.E.N. Media. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  5. ^ Walters, Sarah (5 October 2015). "Paul Heaton announces 2016 tour dates and new album with Jacqui Abbott". Manchester Evening News. Chadderton, Oldham, UK: M.E.N. Media. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  6. ^ Aroesti, Rachel (20 July 2017). "Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott: Crooked Calypso review – wise, witty and weighty". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference UK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).