Jacqui Abbott

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.

Jacqui Abbott
Performing at the O2 Apollo, Manchester, March 2016
Background information
Birth name	Jacqueline Abbott
Born	(1973-11-10) 10 November 1973 (age 51) St Helens, Lancashire, England
Genres	Indie pop pop alternative rock
Occupation	Singer & photographer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1994–present
Formerly of	The Beautiful South

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]

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details, chart positions and certifications

Title	Details	Peak chart positions		Certifications
		UK [7]	IRE [8]
What Have We Become? (with Paul Heaton)	Released: 12 May 2014 Label: Virgin EMI  Formats: CD, cassette, LP	3	26	BPI: Gold[9]
Wisdom, Laughter and Lines (with Paul Heaton)	Released: 23 October 2015 Label: Virgin EMI  Formats: CD, cassette, LP	4	39	BPI: Silver[9]
Crooked Calypso (with Paul Heaton)	Released: 21 July 2017 Label: Virgin EMI  Formats: CD, cassette, LP	2	10
Manchester Calling (with Paul Heaton)	Released: 6 March 2020 Label: Virgin EMI  Formats: CD, LP	1	3
N.K-Pop (with Paul Heaton)	Released: 7 October 2022 Label: EMI Formats: CD, LP	1	4 [10]

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		UK [7]
"DIY" (with Paul Heaton)	2014	75	What Have We Become?
"Moulding of a Fool" (with Paul Heaton)		—
"When It Was Ours" (with Paul Heaton)		—
"Real Hope" (with Paul Heaton)		—
"The Austerity of Love" (with Paul Heaton)	2015	—	Wisdom, Laughter and Lines
"I Don't See Them" (with Paul Heaton)		—
"(Man Is) The Biggest Bitch of All" (with Paul Heaton)	2016	—
"I Gotta Praise" (with Paul Heaton)	2017	—	Crooked Calypso
"She Got the Garden" (with Paul Heaton)		—
"He Wants To" (with Paul Heaton)		—
"You and Me (Were Meant to Be Together)" (with Paul Heaton)	2020	—	Manchester Calling
"Still" (with Paul Heaton)	2022	—	N.K-Pop
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.