Now that we’re drowning in a sea of British female musical talent, it’s easy to forget that not so long ago there was precious little to get excited about from a Y chromosome perspective. So dire was the situation that for many years the Brit Award for Best British Female was jokingly referred to as ‘the Annie Lennox award’.

And the less said about Dido the better.

Joss Stone and KT Tunstall paved some of the way for the current crop of stars but it was the double whammy of Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse in 2006 which really got the ball rolling. Just three years later five of the 12 Mercury Music Prize nominees (including the eventual winner) were women.

Good stuff.

One name tends to be overlooked in this analysis though and that’s Corinne Bailey Rae. Not as in-your-face and tabloid-friendly as Lily or Amy, or as artily strange and exotic as Bat For Lashes or Florence Welch, Bailey Rae’s 2006 debut was derided in some quarters for being bland and unchallenging  – a sort of UK version of Norah Jones. Americans aren’t as consumed by snobbery as we are though, and she picked up four Grammy nominations and a personal invitation to appear on Oprah.

She looked set for an unprecedented level of transatlantic success (remember, this was before Winehouse and Leona Lewis broke big across the pond) and then… nothing. Or rather quite a lot actually. Her husband Jason died from an accidental drug overdose and Corinne promptly disappeared from view. Not that she’d ever been especially comfortable in the limelight anyway.

Last night I was lucky enough to attend her first proper gig (“in front of strangers”, as she put it) in more than two years. It was an intimate affair in a beautiful little venue called The Tabernacle in West London. After a slightly ropey opening (maybe it was just me but the drums sounded off), Corinne and her band soon found their feet and, on occasion, really flew. It was mainly new material (her second album is out early next year), which is always a tough gig for both performer and audience, but she was among friends and visibly grew in confidence as the hour progressed.

Inevitably, some of the songs were about her late husband and it felt almost intrusive to witness her perform them. The lyrics of something like I’d Do It All Again (the title says it all) are so personal that I fleetingly wondered whether she might break down mid-performance. No chance. There seemed to be a new steeliness about her, no doubt born out of her tragic experience, which was evident not just in her stage presence but in the new material itself.

Corinne Bailey Rae was already the equal of her most talented peers. Now she might just be ready to move ahead of the pack again.

I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.

25 years ago, a dance-pop group of very naughty boys called Frankie Goes To Hollywood released a single called The Power Of Love. If you’re too young to remember them, they belong to an era when genuinely hedonistic, subversive people made successful pop music. If you’re too old, imagine an S&M Gerry and The Pacemakers and you’ll be somewhere close.

Anyway, the video featured, believe it or not, a nativity scene (below):

Now I’m quite sure this piece of news isn’t exactly unrelated to their recently released Greatest Hits collection but it’s an interesting little nugget nonetheless. Apparently their record company is trying to track down the baby (well, 25 year-old adult as he would be now) who played Jesus in the video. All anyone knows is that he’s probably Israeli as that’s where the video was shot.

I’ve been asked to spread the word of their search and of course I’m happy to oblige in exchange for a reasonably pleasant lunch. So if you have any idea who and/or where ‘Jesus’ is, get in touch by emailing info@dawbell.com

by Steven Wilson-Beales, MSN Entertainment

This week we’re launched a brand new section to celebrate the release of Jamie Cullum’s album ‘The Pursuit’ on November 9th. Featuring a behind the scenes Photosynth from his latest video I’m All Over It, there’s also loads of features racked up for your viewing pleasure. We’ve also asked Jamie to guest edit the MSN Music channel for the week so you can read about his favourite bands and, as he’s a self-confessed geek, his top gadgets. There’s also an interview with the man himself which was conducted here at MSN HQ. It’s true, Jamie Cullum is a really nice guy…

Jamie Cullum Special
Jamie Cullum Guest Editor on MSN Music
MSN Music