DISCO MONTEGO GRAB ABS AND RECORD THE RUMBA THEME SONG

The Rumba music festival this year will have it's own theme song and Disco Montego are the guys behind it. So is ABS, formerly of 5ive.
"Disco Montego are working on a theme song for Rumba" Disco Montego's Dennis Dowlet tells Undercover News.

The song is a cover of the old Chic dance classic Good Times and it has an all star cast. "There's Selwyn, Peta Morris, Sophie Monk, Jeremy Katie Underwood and ABS from 5ive" he says. "We were trying to get Pink and Shaggy but we weren't sure if they were going to come out".

Some of the artists, such as Katie and Jeremy are signed to the Disco Montego owned label Bomb Records but for ABS the whole thing is being done internationally. "We got a demo mockup of the track and sent it over to the UK last week" his brother Darren told Undercover. "He's going to put a rap down on it and send it back to us. There's going to be a video and a single. I think it's going to be be the last song played at Rumba".

Rumba dates for 2003 Tues Dec 3 Perth, Fri Dec 6 Adelaide, Sun Dec 8 Melbourne, Wed Dec 11 Brisbane and Sat Dec 14 Sydney.

Copied and pasted by Krystle.

POP FANS GETTING READY TO RUMBA

Pop sensation Pink, reggae artist Shaggy and Aussie songstress Natalie Imbruglia will headline a stellar international line-up for the inaugural Brisbane Rumba festival in December.

Rumba made its debut in Melbourne and Sydney last year and has added dates in Brisbane, Auckland, Perth and Adelaide this year.

It will be staged at ANZ Stadium on December 11, with thousands expected to turn out to see artists including Taxiride, Bachelor Girl and Disco Montego featuring former Bardot singer Katie Underwood.

Bardot's Sophie Monk will also be there - launching her solo career to coincide with the festival - along with relative newcomers Selwyn and Shakaya.

Also on the bill are R'n'B sensation Toya, British group Liberty X and singer Abs from Five, who will perform his single What You Got and other tracks from his debut album Absessive Behaviour. But tickets won't come cheap - they will cost $92.

Organiser Sean Pickwell, of promoter Austereo Live, said he decided to bring the festival to Brisbane after pressure from the public and the artists.

"The band's management say, 'We want to come and do Brisbane too,'" he said.

"If they're going to come all this way, it makes sense to play to as many people as possible."

"Mr Pickwell said the day would be alcohol-free. He expected the Brisbane show, to be hosted by radio station B105, to sell out.

B105 general manager Richard Barker said the station pushed hard to get the festival in Queensland.

"We knew something like Rumba in Brisbane would be very, very popular," he said. "Last year our switch was on meltdown with people calling asking, 'Are we having Rumba?'"

This year's Rumba will also showcase world champion extreme athletes from the Pepsi Max team, featuring motocross, inline skating and skateboarding.

CHILLIN' WITH THE MAN

What does ABS stand for? It might be 'Absolutely Bloody Stunning' or 'Animal Behaviour Society', or it may even be just a clever name. Either way I'm not telling you, it would just stop you from wondering!

When I arrive at Hotel Sheraton in Brisbane I am told that ABS is taking interviews by the pool in the sun. He sits in a chair looking very laid back, a perfectly normal 23 year-old guy from England, happy, healthy and polite, who just happens to be a big superstar. He especially hates when people stress in a situation when all he wants to do is take it easy.

"I can't stand people who stress around me, you need to chill ... as long as you have a good team behind you, like I have, everything will work out fine," he says. In the end though, it is ABS who does the hard work. He is very satisfied with this situation and feels all is going smoothly. He is standing with both his feet on the ground and takes things as they come.

When 5ive officially split, he didn't have a plan. The producers from 5ive called asking if he wanted to work, so he recorded six tracks and sent them to the record company, who were thrilled to sign him.

"I think it kind of surprised a lot of people to be the first one to come out of a band and have something to say and especially with this kind of music ... I have more freedom now when I'm solo, I can say what I want without worrying what other people will say ... and I can choose the girls for the video," he says with a big grin on his face.

"I'm having a ball and just making the most of it, it doesn't last forever." Although he seems prepared for the future. "It's pretty crazy really, I have a lot of tracks written already, probably enough for three albums ... but that's just because I want the album to sound the way I want to," he says. And why not, it will carry his name.

Upon the release of his second EP 'Shame', and when he is back in England after Rumba, he's to finish the last recordings of his upcoming album. "It's got a bit of dance, girl chilling, some disco and reggae on the album ... it's a bit of everything for everyone," he says.

After that he's going to spend the holidays "chillin" with his family and friends. And his mother will probably, as usual, show everyone her scrapbook she has made of Abs's life as a star. Wouldn't every proud mother do the same?

ABS'S SECOND EP 'Shame" RELEASED THROUGH BMG CAN BE FOUND IN ALL GOOD RECORD STORES.

Do you get a lot of attention from female fans?
You get loads of christmas and birthday cards, and you get teddy bears galore. You get loads of underpants and stuff too. The weirdest thing i have been sent was a thong from (lingerie and adult toys retailer) Ann Summers. On the bit where you put your piece in, it's got a ruler on it. We'll leave it there!