About Abbe May
Abbe Joanna May is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician and human rights campaigner. From 2002 she pursued her music career in Perth-based groups, The Fuzz, Abbe May and the Rockin' Pneumonia, and The Devil & Abbe May. In 2010 she began to perform as Abbe May and released her solo album, Design Desire, in July 2011. She followed with Kiss My Apocalypse in May 2013. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013, May was nominated for Best Female Artist for her album. May has been nominated for a total 27 West Australian Music Industry awards since 2008.
Abbe Joanna May was born on 19 July 1983 in Subiaco, a Perth suburb. She grew up in Bunbury, a port city 175 kilometres south of the capital. Her mother taught English literature. May has an older brother, Douglas May . She attended a local Catholic school. Abbe spent her late teens and early twenties performing in rock venues and studios across Australia, touring around the country in various solo and band incarnations. Throughout her career, Abbe has been an ARIA, WAM, AIR, AMP winning and nominated artist and a dedicated member of the LGBTIQA+ community.
By 2002 she had moved back to Perth to further her career in music and performed lead vocals in a music group, The Fuzz, alongside her brother, KT Rumble , on lead guitar. The Fuzz had been formed by Douglas with Jiah Fishenden on guitar, Shayne Macri on bass guitar and Ben Mountford on drums. One of their early tracks, "The Bomb", which was co-written by May with her bandmates, won the Western Australian final of national radio station, Triple J's Unearthed competition in October 2002.
The Fuzz issued two extended plays, Dead on the Road and Take the Money , and a studio album, 100 Demons . In October 2005 Dylan McCardle reviewed their CD launch of the latter for PerthSounds.com, which was "a return to simple but powerful formula that is rock 'n' roll ... a night where female vocalists came to the fore, and Abbe May is certainly amongst the cream of the crop. She gave 110% percent with her vocals, she jumped up and down the stage like a woman possessed".
By 2006 May had formed an "electric blues" group, Abbe May and the Rockin' Pneumonia, with Douglas, joined by Alex Archer on violin; Todd Pickett on percussion and vocals; Alien Smith; and Pete Stone on bass guitar. They issued a self-titled EP in that year and followed with an album, Howl & Moan in April 2008.
Abbe May and the Rockin' Pneumonia released a second EP, Hawaiian Disease, in June 2009. For that disc May supplied lead vocals; wah, delay and slide guitars; and a 70's drum machine. The Sydney Morning Herald's reviewer, Bernard Zuel, found the EP was another "hugely impressive release" from "Perth's blues-rock guitarist/tear-down-the-walls singer"; he cited her description of the title track, "Every line is a euphemism for oral sex. I've been collecting sex slang over the years and I've got this great dictionary of sex slang, too, as well as having a general interest in all things sleazy".
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