John Abbey

John Ernest Abbey (born 8 July 1945) is a British-born record label owner, record producer, music agent and writer, who has been based in the United States since the 1970s.

Biography He was born in London.

Abbey founded music label Action Records in London in 1968, and specialist soul music label Contempo Records in 1973. 57 singles and 12 LP's were issued as Action Records. Contempo Records also operated as a small speciality record store from its headquarters at 42 Hanway Street in central London, which became known as an early source of American soul music for British customers. Both labels licensed R&B recordings from independent US labels for release in the UK. Contempo had hits with Tami Lynn's "I'm Gonna Run Away From You", and Dorothy Moore's "Misty Blue" and "Funny How Time Slips Away".

Abbey also worked as European A&R and promotions manager for Atlantic and Stax Records, promoting such artists as Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers to British and European audiences. and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1978. He set up international tours for musicians including Curtis Mayfield and Clarence Carter. Ichiban closed in the late 1990s.

After closing Ichiban Records, Abbey focused on arranging tours and promoting music to international audiences. He worked with a Japanese company to bring American artists such as Ben E. King to Japan. He also studied accounting and law. Abbey later managed The Three Degrees. In 2015, he was appointed CEO of Connor Ray Music, based in Houston, Texas, responsible for artists including Trudy Lynn.