Abdel Wright

Abdel Wright (* 1977 in Trinityville , St. Thomas, Jamaica ) is a Jamaican singer and guitarist.

Wright spent his childhood in various children's homes, including an SOS Children's Village in Montego Bay . There the young Abdel saw Johnny Cash at benefit concerts , who lived nearby and supported the children's home financially.

When he was 12, Abdel Wright was given a guitar and taught himself to play, stealing to buy the textbooks. At the age of 18 he began to write his own songs.

After Abdel Wright left the SOS Children's Village, he got on the wrong track. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. While in prison, Wright wrote other songs, ran the prison band, and gave music lessons to other inmates.

After five years, Abdel Wright was released early. He romped through the clubs in Jamaica, gave guitar lessons and tried to get a record deal.

He was referred to Dave Stewart (founder of Eurythmics ) by producer Steve Jobson , who agreed to produce an album with Abdel Wright.

Shortly afterwards he was invited by Dave Stewart and Bono to take part in the charity concert 46664 . On November 29, 2003, Abdel Wright performed in Cape Town in front of around 40,000 spectators, and the concert was televised worldwide. Abdel Wright contributed his own song, Loose We Now , and sang a verse from 46664 - It's a Long Way to Freedom .

Abdels music is based on reggae and relies heavily on his voice, accompanying himself on guitar and harmonica .

Most of his songs have a personal background and deal with life in Jamaica.

Web links

• Works by and about Abdel Wright in the catalog of the German National Library
• Official homepage ( Memento of April 21, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
• CV at AOL