Corinne Bailey Rae stunned the crowd at a Billboard U.K. Live event at Aviva Studios in Manchester last week (Dec. 2).
The intimate showcase at the venue, home of Factory International, saw an exclusive fan-led Q&A before a career-spanning live performance by Bailey Rae and her band.
The event was the latest in-person experience held by Billboard U.K. following the takeover at The Great Escape in Brighton this past May, and the Global Power Players celebration at SXSW London in June.
Tickets for the event at Aviva Studios were free for attendees and allocated via a ballot. Fans were able to enjoy the multi-purpose venue – a crucial part of the city’s vibrant music, arts and culture scene – before entering the main auditorium.
Corinne Bailey Rae with Billboard U.K.’s Thomas Smith
Sophia Carey for Billboard UK
Bailey Rae took part in an exclusive Q&A with Thomas Smith, Billboard U.K.’s editor, prior to her performance. Fans provided the questions which saw Bailey Rae reflect on her 20 years in the music industry following the release of her self-titled debut album Corinne Bailey Rae, which hit No. 1 on the U.K. Official Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
“It felt really outside of time, it felt like it was a distillation that I’d grown up with,” she told the crowd reflecting on the period she spent writing her debut LP. “I’d grown up in a household where my dad was from Saint Kitts and I had all these different musical influences. Then I was in an indie band called Helen then all the way through my university, I was meeting all these great jazz performers. Making that record felt like a retreat away from people and into my own world, but with those inspirations.”
Corinne Bailey Rae with Elizabeth Crisante, Tom Whiteside and Thomas Smith.
Sophia Carey for Billboard UK
Fans also used the opportunity to discuss her collaborations with Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder, how motherhood has inspired her creativity in recent years, how she finds light in the dark, and her dream Christmas Eve dinner party guestlist. Bailey Rae was then surprised with a commemorative print of her recent Billboard U.K. cover, presented by Elizabeth Crisante, Billboard U.K.’s chief commercial officer, and Tom Whiteside, head of sponsorship at Aviva.
Taking to the stage with her four-piece backing band, Bailey Rae promised “some old, some new and your favorite songs” in the course of her hour-long performance. She opened with “Bring Me To The Moon” and “Closer” before playing hits from that debut LP such as “Breathless” and “Till It Happens to You.”
Corinne Bailey Rae
Sophia Carey for Billboard UK
Prior to performing “New York Transit Queen,” she spoke about model and journalist Audrey Smaltz, the inspiration behind the Black Rainbows track, and why a photo of Smaltz pushed her to write the raucous punk-rock track. “I saw this photo of this young Black woman. She was holding onto a fire engine looking over her shoulder with a particular look in her eye, I thought, ‘Who is this hell raiser?’”
Following a number of cuts from Black Rainbows, including the funk-inspired “Earthlings,” she rounded up the hour-long performance with two of her biggest songs, “Put Your Records On” and “Like A Star,” the song that instigated her breakout period. Closing the show, she said that she wanted to “bring more love, peace and hope” to the world and those are “the things that are inspiring me right now” as she works on new music.
Corinne Bailey Rae
Sophia Carey for Billboard UK
Billboard U.K. Live is a regular live showcase featuring intimate shows and exclusive experiences with fans. Stay tuned to uk.billboard.com for news of upcoming editions.
Corinne Bailey Rae performed:
“Been To The Moon”
“Closer”
“Breathless”
“Till It Happens To You”
“Paris Nights / New York Mornings”
“New York Transit Queen”
“He Will Follow You With Your Eyes”
“Earthlings”
“Put Your Records On”
“Like A Star”