Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae performing live at the V Festival at Weston Park in Stafford, Staffordshire, on 18 August 2007
Corinne Bailey Rae performing live at the V Festival at Weston Park in Stafford, Staffordshire, on 18 August 2007
Background information
Birth name Corinne Jacqueline Bailey
Born 26 February 1979 (1979-02-26) (age 30)
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Genre(s) Soul, R&B, jazz, blues, acoustic
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, guitarist
Instrument(s) Singing, guitar
Years active 2003–present
Label(s) EMI, Capitol
Website www.corinnebaileyrae.net
Notable instrument(s)
Gibson Hummingbird[1]

Corinne Bailey Rae (born Corinne Jacqueline Bailey on 26 February 1979) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist who released her eponymous debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006. Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2006.[2] She became only the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. Rae was nominated for Grammy Awards and BRIT Awards, and has won two MOBO Awards.

Contents

Biography

Childhood

Rae was born in Leeds to a Kittitian father and an English mother as the eldest of three daughters. Her sister is actress Rhea Bailey. She endured racist taunts on a regular basis as a child; "My sisters and I were different and people used to say, 'Ah, aren't they cute, the little chocolate children', and 'look at their hair'". "I know they were only being cute but it was over the top. Then people from other schools would shout, Iraqi and more often 'Paki' (a commonly used racist term used in the UK) to me because it was the most common racist insult of the time. 'At least if you're going to do it, get it right,' I used to shout back, 'But my dad isn't from Pakistan, he's from St Kitts—so there!'"[3]

Rae began her musical career at school where she studied classical violin before she turned her attention to singing: "I started off singing in church, I suppose, but people think it must have been a gospel church because of the whole, you know, black assumption", she says in reference to her multiracial background. "But it wasn't gospel at all, it was just your regular Brethren church, very middle-class, where we would sing these harmonies every Sunday. It was always my favourite part of the service, the singing".[4]

Rae later transferred to a Baptist church, where the choir would sing traditional hymns, and Primal Scream tunes. "We changed the words though", Rae states on her website. "We didn't want to offend the regular churchgoers, now did we?"[4]

Performing in church broadened Rae's musical horizons, and her love affair with making music was solidified after a local youth leader offered to buy her an electric guitar. In her mid-teens, she became obsessed with rock legends Led Zeppelin, "I loved that band during my teens; I wanted, somehow, to follow in their footsteps, and to create music of my own".[4]

Rae formed an all-female indie group called Helen, which was inspired by similar acts such as Veruca Salt and L7. "It was the first time I'd seen women with guitars. They were kinda sexy—but feminist. I wanted to be like that, at the front of something".[5]

The group raised eyebrows on several fronts; in the white male-dominated world of indie music, they were an all-female group fronted by a mixed-race singer from Leeds. The moniker "Helen" also drew attention, albeit for not all the right reasons: "What can I say? We were 15 years old, and thought that Helen was a cheeky, indie kind of thing to do. It seemed clever at the time. Admittedly, it seems less so now".[4]

The group played many gigs around Leeds and eventually became the first indie act to be signed to heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records, home to acts such as Slipknot, in 1995. The venture proved to be short-lived however after the bassist became pregnant and the group disbanded. "[Was I] Disappointed? I was gutted! I had no idea what to do next".

Rae has often stated that she is a proud Leeds United A.F.C. fan.

University life

After the disappointment of Helen, Rae went on to attend the University of Leeds where she studied English Literature, graduating in 2000. While at University, she began work as a hat check girl on an evening in her local jazz club. Permitted to sing on stage with the jazz band when business was slow, it was there that she discovered a different type of music that sent her on a different musical path: "I kept hearing this jazz and soul stuff and I realized I loved music too".

Jason Rae

It was at university that she met Jason Rae, whom she eventually married in 2001 at age twenty-two. "I was Corinne Bailey. I added on Rae, my husband's name, when I got married. There's no hyphen; stops it being posh!".[6] Born in 1976, Jason Rae was a Scottish musician, originally hailing from Aberdeen, who played saxophone for the eight-piece group Haggis Horns. The group has performed with Amy Winehouse,[7] Lily Allen, Mark Ronson,[8] Nightmares On Wax and Corinne Bailey Rae herself.[9] Rae had recorded with Bailey Rae, The New Mastersounds and Martina Topley-Bird (Quixotic).[10]

Jason Rae was found dead on 22 March, 2008 in a flat in the Hyde Park area of Leeds. A pathologist report noted the possible cause of death as a "suspected drug overdose". A post-mortem examination on the musician's body was found to be inconclusive.[11] It was reported that Bailey Rae was not in the flat at the time of his death.[12] A 32 year-old man was arrested under suspicion of dealing recreational drugs to the musician but has since been released on bail.[13][14] In December 2008, Leeds Coroner's Court gave a verdict of death by misadventure, and stated that Rae died of an accidental overdose of methadone and alcohol. The West Yorkshire Police also cleared Rae's friend James Sheasby, in whose flat Rae died, of providing Rae with the methadone. [15]

Career

Over the space of the next three years, Rae began working on solo material—this time steering away from her indie past and embarking on a more "soulful" path. She collaborated with Leeds-based funk group The New Mastersounds on the track "Your Love Is Mine", featured on their 2003 album Be Yourself, released via One Note Records. The following year she again worked with another Leeds-based group, Homecut Directive, on the song "Come the Revolution", which was the first single from the group's debut album.

In 2004, Rae got a breakthrough when she was signed by Global Talent Publishing and then approached by Craig David's mentor Mark Hill, from the duo The Artful Dodger, to appear on his new album better luck next time under his new alias, The stiX. The resulting collaboration, "Young and Foolish", was released in April 2005 and brought Rae to the attention of the major record label bosses. Rae released her debut single, "Like a Star", in November 2005 and her first album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006. In September 2006, Rae scooped two awards at the UK's MOBO Awards: "Best UK Newcomer" and "Best UK Female". Rae recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios in July 2006 for Live from Abbey Road.

Rae also received three nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year (both for "Put Your Records On"), and Best New Artist. During the ceremony, she performed "Like a Star" and joined John Legend and John Mayer in a collaborative performance, providing accompanying vocals to Legend's "Coming Home" and Mayer's "Gravity".[16]

Other activities and appearances

Discography

Main article: Corinne Bailey Rae discography
Studio albums
  • 2006: Corinne Bailey Rae
Live albums
  • 2007: Live in London & New York
DVDs
  • 2007: Live in London & New York
Concert tours
  • 2006/2007: Corinne Bailey Rae Tour

Awards history

References

  1. ↑ Gibson Black History Month Salutes: Corrine Bailey Rae Retrieved on 6 March 2007.
  2. ↑ "Sound of 2006: The Top 10". BBC News (6 January 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
  3. ↑ "Corinne's Bully Rage". Top of the Pops (23 October 2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "The official Corinne Bailey Rae site". Retrieved on 2006-03-09.
  5. ↑ "'I was speechless, just squeaking!'". The Guardian (11 November 2005). Retrieved on 2006-03-09.
  6. ↑ ""I was speechless, just squeaking!"". Guardian (11 November 2005). Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
  7. ↑ Williams, Owen (March 27, 2008). "Amy Winehouse vows to quit drugs after the death of Corinne Bailey Rae’s husband", Showbiz spy. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  8. ↑ Pareles, Jon (July 13, 2007). "A D.J. Segues to His Other Job, His Band Close at Hand", The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  9. ↑ Tributes for Bailey Rae's husband, BBC News, 24 March 2008.
  10. ↑ Jason Rae on MSN Music, MSN.
  11. ↑ "BBC Bailey Rae's husband found dead", BBC News (March 25, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  12. ↑ "Singer's husband dies of suspected overdose". Yorkshire Post (23 March 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  13. ↑ "Husband of singer Corinne Bailey Rae dead", Miami Herald (March 23, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  14. ↑ "Corinne Bailey Rae's husband 'found dead'", Telegraph.co.uk (March 23, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-28. 
  15. ↑ Overdose Killed Singer's Husband BBC, December 22, 2008
  16. ↑ "Stevie: Please Keep Listening, Boomers". KCNC-TV (11 February 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-12.

External links

Corinne Bailey Rae
Studio albums
Corinne Bailey Rae (2006)
Live albums
Live in London & New York (2007)
DVDs
Live in London & New York (2007)
Singles
"Like a Star" · "Put Your Records On" · "Trouble Sleeping" · "I'd Like To" ·
Related
Discography
Concert tours
Corinne Bailey Rae Tour (2006/2007)
Corinne Bailey Rae images
Persondata
NAME Rae, Corinne Bailey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bailey, Corinne Jacqueline
SHORT DESCRIPTION English singer-songwriter and guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH 26 February 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH