Abz Love
| Abz Love | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Richard Abidin Breen |
| Born | 29 June 1979 |
| Genres | Pop, hip hop, dance |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter, producer & TV personality |
| Instruments | Guitar, turntables, sampler |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Associated acts | 5ive |
Richard Abidin Love (born 29 June 1979), better known as Abz Love, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, producer and TV personality. Love has sold over 20 million records as a member of Simon Cowell's boy band Five. In 2003, Love released his debut solo album Abstract Theory, which earned him a further three top ten hits. After years out of the spotlight, Love returned to screens on ITV2's The Big Reunion in 2012. In 2013 he appeared on All Star Mr & Mrs and became the runner-up for Channel 5's Celebrity Big Brother 12. In 2015, Love starred in BBC Two's documentary series Country Strife: Abz on the Farm, followed by a Christmas special titled Country Strife: Abz on the Christmas Farm. In January 2016, Abz released his first solo single in over a decade, a comedy track called "Cockadoodledoo" with the hope of raising money for his farming project.
On 29 June 1979 Love was born in London to Turkish father Turan Sanveren and Irish mother Kathleen Breen. Love was raised on a council estate in Hackney, East London until he left home at 16 to join boyband five. He won a scholarship to attend the Italia Conti Stage School where he studied acting, singing and dance. One day his teacher suggested he audition for a boy band that was being put together by Simon Cowell.
After performing in front of Cowell and a panel of managers, Love was chosen from over 3,000 auditionees to be in the band Five (also known as 5ive), which went on to have massive international success winning a Brit Award for Best Pop Act 2000, an MTV award and ASCAP awards for songwriting. Love and fellow 5ive members J Brown and Sean Conlon were heavily involved in writing many of the band's greatest hits such as "Everybody Get Up", "Keep on Moving" and "If You're Getting Down".
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