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The following biography
is from
Wikipedia.org
The
Free Encyclopedia.
Corinne Bailey Rae (born
26 February 1979) is an acclaimed English singer and songwriter who released her
eponymous debut album in February 2006. Rae was named the number one predicted
breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC poll of music critics.[1] The poll's
predictions subsequently came true, as she became only the fourth female British
act in history to have her first album debut at number one.
****
Background information
Birth name Corinne Bailey
Born February 26, 1979
(age 27)
Origin Leeds, West
Yorkshire, England
Genre(s) Soul, R&B, neo
soul, blues
Occupation(s) Singer,
songwriter, guitarist
Instrument(s) Singing,
guitar
Years active 2005present
Label(s) EMI
Website
CorinneBaileyRae.net
****
Biography
Childhood
Rae was born in Leeds,
West Yorkshire, to a Kittitian father and an English mother, and she was the
eldest of three daughters. She used to be racially abused on a regular basis
while growing up, even though her verbal attackers mistakenly thought she was of
Pakistani origin. She says about the situation, "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, 'Paki' 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!"[2]
She 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 mixed-race 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".[3]
Rae later transferred to
a Baptist church, where the choir would sing traditional hymns. "We changed the
words though", Rae states on her website. "We didn't want to offend the regular
churchgoers, now did we?"[3]
Helen
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, (and) I wanted, somehow, to follow in their footsteps, and
to create music of my own".[3]
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".[4]
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".[3]
The group played many
gigs around Leeds, including a memorable performance at Joseph's Well with
Leeds-based band Swift, fronted by wildman rocker Royce Dunston. Despite this,
the group 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".[3]
University life
After the disappointment
of Helen, Rae went on to attend the University of Leeds where she studied an
English Literature degree. Whilst at University, she began work as a hatcheck
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 realised I loved that music too". It was there also
that she met saxophone player Jason Rae, whom she eventually married in 2001 at
the age of 22. "I was Corinne Bailey. I added on Rae, my husband's name, when I
got married. There's no hyphen; stops it being posh!"
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 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".
She also received three
nominations for this year's Grammy Awards: "Record of the Year", "Song of the
Year" (both for "Put Your Records On"), and "Best New Artist".
Present
After the successful UK
launch of her self-titled debut album, Corinne begun a gruelling press tour of
Europe.
She has recently
announced a string of tour dates for October with tickets for these gigs selling
out quickly, however, these dates have since been cancelled and re-arranged for
early March. Preliminary plans suggest she will record new material at the end
of 2006.
In the June 2006 edition
of Q magazine, Corinne can be found singing a cover of Bj๖rk's 1993 song "Venus
as a Boy".
She was the musical guest
on the 7 October 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live with the host being Jaime
Pressly. Corinne performed "Put Your Records On" and "Like a Star".
She also appeared on
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip on the episode "B-12", aired on 27 November 2006,
with Howie Mandel. She performed "Like a Star" and "Trouble Sleeping".
Discography
Albums
Unless noted otherwise,
information about release dates and certifications are regarding to the UK ones.
Released Album Charts
Positions Certifications
27 February
2006 Corinne Bailey Rae
#1 UK
#1 UK R&B
#17 U.S.
#15 U.S. R&B
#57 AUS
#25 CAN
#18 GER
#26 FRA
#13 ITA
2x Platinum
Singles
Year Single Chart
positions Album
UK U.S. AUS NZ IRE GER
ITA NL AUT SWI EUR BRA
2005 "Like a Star" 34
99 Corinne Bailey Rae
2006 "Put Your Records
On" 2 64 30 6 27 75 19 17 26 23 8 18
"Trouble Sleeping" 40
46 27
"Like a Star"
(re-release) 32 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
2007 "I'd Like
To"
Additional UK chart
information
Year Single Chart
positions
Download Airplay TV
airplay R&B singles
2005 "Like a Star"
2006 "Put Your Records
On" 1 1 14 1
"Trouble Sleeping" 29
"Like a Star"
(re-release)
indicates the song
didn't chart
Blank space indicates the
information is unknown or has not yet been released
B-sides
Year Song Appeared on
2005 "Enchantment" "Like
a Star" CD single/7" vinyl single
"Choux Pastry Heart"
"Like a Star" CD single
2006 "Another Rainy Day"
"Put Your Records On" UK/Australian CD single
"Since I've Been Loving
You" "Put Your Records On" Australian CD single/DVD single/7" vinyl single
Album appearances
Year Song Album
2003 "Your Love Is Mine"
(with The New Mastersounds) Be Yourself
2004 "Come the
Revolution" (Homecut Directive featuring Corinne Bailey Rae)
2005 "Young and Foolish"
(The Stix featuring Corinne Bailey Rae) better luck next time
Grammy
Nominations and Wins
Award Category About
Result
2007
Grammy Awards Record Of
The Year "Put Your Records On" Nominated
Grammy Awards Song Of The
Year "Put Your Records On" Nominated
Grammy Awards Best New
Artist Herself Nominated
Notes
and references
1. BBC. Annual poll of
music critics who predict new artist set to breakthrough into the mainstream in
the next year. The British Broadcasting Corporation. January 6, 2006.
2. [1]
3. a b c d e Official
website. Extract taken from biography on official website. Corinne Bailey Rae.
Retrieved March 09, 2006.
4. Interview. The
Guardian. Retrieved March 09, 2006.
****
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinne_Bailey_Rae
Date Article Copied:
December 2006
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