Corinne Bailey Rae has released the stunning video to accompany her brand new single ‘He Will Follow You With His Eyes’. Directed by Gregory Berg and filmed in the beautiful and historic St George Theater in Staten Island, NY it sees Corinne exploring 1950’s beauty ideals as espoused by Valmor and wider dominant American culture, (‘lighter, brighter, longer, straighter’) as she performs in the spotlight of an imagined television performance. And then, in keeping with the dramatic juxtaposition at the heart of the song, a fierce, powerful modernity bursts forth.
“It all started with a little tin of Lucky Brown, by Valmor, at the Stoney Island Arts Bank, Chicago,” explains Corinne. “I was drawn to the dazzling design and intrigued by artist Charles Dawson. Valmor sold a wide range of beauty products. I wondered, ‘what are the beauty norms in 1950’s America? How do those expectations interplay with Black men and women, and how do we feel about them today?’. ‘He Will Follow You With His Eyes’ begins under the spell of Valmor, then… something different happens.”
One of the many highlights of the remarkable Black Rainbows album, ‘He Will Follow You With His Eyes’ is the third single to be taken from that collection, following the riot grrl glam-punk of ‘New York Transit Queen’ and the achingly moving ‘Peach Velvet Sky’.
Black Rainbows has been hailed around the world as Bailey Rae’s career-best work and critics have embraced the eclectic, genre-bending album as indisputably one of the finest albums of the past twelve months. It was inspired by Corinne’s visits to the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago, where US artist Theaster Gates has curated a wide-ranging collection of complex and enlightening artefacts from Black history.
The album, and its associated live performances and book Refraction/Reflection of the Arts Bank photographed by Koto Bolofo, have shone a light on much of this history and seen Corinne Bailey Rae step into a new cultural space. She discusses much of this in an interview with iconic US producer, songwriter and musician Questlove on his recent Questlove Supreme podcast (watch here).
Corinne also recently spoke at Columbia University where she was In Conversation with Dr Kellie Jones, Professor of Modern Art, Art-History & Archaeology. And Black Rainbows is now on the curriculum at Yale University as part of ‘Black Sound And The Archive’.
Corinne Bailey Rae has announced The Plum Red Lipstick Tour for 2024 which includes headline shows and festivals such as Glastonbury, Live At Leeds and Latitude. Tickets are available here: https://corinnebaileyrae.com/tour
The Plum Red Lipstick Tour
May 25: Leeds, UK – Live At Leeds in the Park
May 26: Dublin, Ireland – Olympia Theatre
May 31: Cheltenham, UK – Wychwood Festival
June 12: Detroit, MI – Soundboard Theater
June 13: Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall
June 16: New York, NY – Venue TBA
June 18: Annapolis, MD – Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
June 20: Red Bank, NJ – The Vogel
June 21: Bensalem, PA – Casa de Musica
June 22: Washington DC – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
June 23: Boston, MA – The Wilbur Theater
June 29: Pilton, UK – Glastonbury Festival
July 3: Warwick, UK – Warwick Castle (w/ Chaka Khan)
July 6: Lamego, Portugal – Douro Porto Wine Festival
July 13: Rotterdam, Holland – North Sea Jazz Festval
July 14: London, UK – Somerset House
July 24: Gateshead, UK – The Glasshouse International Centre
July 26: Southwold, UK – Latitude Festival
Aug 9: Arvada, CO – Arvada Center Amphitheater
Aug 15-18: Wimborne Saint Giles, UK – We Out Here Festival
Aug 19: Amstelveen, Holland – Amsterdamse Bostheater
Aug 20: Antwerp, Belgium – OLT Rivierenhof
Aug 23: Kettering, UK – Greenbelt Festival
Nov 25: Porto Alegre, Brazil – Teatro São Pedro
Nov 27: São Paulo, Brazil – Teatro Bradesco
Photo credit – Gregory Berg.