Jacqui AbbottJacqui Abbott (born Jacqueline Abbott, 10 November 1973, St Helens, Lancashire, was the female lead singer with the band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 The Beautiful South

The Beautiful South

The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of Hull group The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch , Dave Stead and Dave Rotheray , all of whom stayed with the group throughout...

 after 1994, following the departure of Briana Corrigan

Briana Corrigan

Briana Corrigan is an Irish singer. She was the first female singer for The Beautiful South, from 1988 to 1994.She was born in Northern Ireland, her family moving from Belfast to Portstewart, County Londonderry when she was eleven, but her love for the theatre made her move to Newcastle upon...

.

The band were arguably more successful with Abbott on board, releasing several Top 10 singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

. Amongst their most successful hits

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

 during her stint were: "Rotterdam

Rotterdam (song)

"Rotterdam " is a song by The Beautiful South, taken from their Blue Is the Colour album of 1996.It features Jacqui Abbott on lead vocals and reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart, where it was resident for nine weeks....

", "Perfect 10

Perfect 10 (single)

"Perfect 10" is a song by The Beautiful South, released in 1998. It reached number two in the UK charts. The song also appeared on their album Quench....

", "Don't Marry Her

Don't Marry Her

"Don't Marry Her" is a song by The Beautiful South, which was the opening track from their album "Blue is the Colour". Vocalist Jacqui Abbott begs a man to run away with her from the woman he is going to marry, and attempts to sway him by describing what she thinks married life with the other...

" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (cover). Abbott was discovered by Paul Heaton

Paul Heaton

Paul David Heaton is an English singer-songwriter. He was a member of The Housemartins, who disbanded in 1988, and a member of The Beautiful South, who disbanded in 2007. He is currently pursuing a solo career....

, the Beautiful South's other lead singer, after she and a friend met him outside a night club. Heaton invited them to a party, where Abbot's friend encouraged her to sing. Heaton was impressed with her singing, and later invited her to audition to replace Corrigan.

She left the band in 2000, because of the pressure of touring, to concentrate on looking after her son, who had just been diagnosed with autism.

Jacqui Abbott reunited with Paul Heaton in June 2011 to perform in his musical The 8th.