If you’re going to V Festival this weekend, try to find time to show some love to new singer-songwriter Jodie Abacus on the V Street Stage. He’s emerged in his mid-thirties with a sunny, funk-pop sound, following an exceptionally bad spell.
In 2013, stubbornly trudging on with a music career going nowhere, he almost died of pneumonia, then was dumped by his girlfriend of five years. Badly in need of a hug, he wrote one for himself.
I’ll Be That Friend, finally released as a single next month, deserves to capitalise on the current resurgence of Jeff Lynne’s ELO with its bubbly piano chords and supremely sweet strings.
His other songs have a vintage funk and soul feel that’s never downbeat. In between Stevie Wonder filling Hyde Park this summer, and ELO filling Wembley Stadium next summer, Abacus should be in a strong position to pull in fans of both.
He’s cheered up considerably since his low point, and is now ready to cheer the rest of us up too.
Sept 29, Jazz Cafe, NW1 (0844 847 2514, thejazzcafelondon.com)