He Will Followpress release shot

Corinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae releases stunning video for 'He Will Follow You With His Eyes'

The Plum Red Lipstick Tour 2024 with shows in UK, USA, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, Holland & Belgium

“I love this record! No, I fucking love this record!!!” - QUESTLOVE

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 a 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 Questlove Supreme podcast recently (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

Corinne quotes
He Will Followpress release shot