Corinne Bailey Rae on Finding Her Voice and Navigating Loss

Corinne Bailey Rae, now a two-time Grammy winner, recalls her early days working the coat check at Leeds' Hi-Fi Club, a vantage point that offered sound but limited sight of the bands she admired. It was in this unlikely setting that a record label discovered her, leading to her first hit single, "Like a Star."

“

I mean, I really always wanted to see the bands. So, being here wasn't great, because you couldn't see exactly, [though] you could hear it.

Her music, exemplified by the hit "Put Your Records On," often carries themes of self-acceptance. Bailey Rae shares that growing up with a Black and a white parent in a diverse Leeds sometimes made her feel "on the margins." Initially self-conscious about her voice's "texture," she found validation after hearing artists like Billie Holiday and Kurt Cobain, whose imperfections made her feel welcome in the music world.

“

As much as Leeds is a really ethnically-diverse place, you can still feel different as a person who has, you know, a Black parent and a white parent.

Bailey Rae's career rapidly ascended after her 2006 debut album, attracting attention from music legends like Stevie Wonder and Prince. However, tragedy struck in 2008 when her husband and bandmate, Jason Rae, died from an accidental overdose. This loss profoundly impacted her, describing it as feeling like "the end of my life" due to the immense pain.

“

I really wanted to play the cello, but we didn't have a car. So, my mum was like, 'What about the one you can carry?' So, I ended up playing the violin, and I really enjoyed that.