RAYE gave a powerful speech on sexual assault and her label troubles during her Pyramid Stage set at Glastonbury 2023 yesterday (June 24).
The singer, who went independent after a high-profile label dispute last year and recently released debut album ‘My 21st Century Blues’, hit the festival’s main stage on Saturday afternoon.
During the nine-song set, she took time to address her public issues around her former label, saying: “I can’t quite express how much it’s taken me to get to this moment right now. I’ve been a musician since I can remember. When I was eight years old, I had a dream: ‘I want to be a musician, I want to be a singer, I want to be a writer.’
“I haven’t had the simplest of journeys,” she added. I was signed to a record label for seven years,” going on to allege that she “wasn’t allowed to put an album out.”
RAYE added: “I went through creative messes and nasty things behind the scenes, heavy things…I was told that I would never have a fan base big enough for anyone to care about an album. And now Glastonbury, in front of the Pyramid Stage, I’m performing my debut album.
“There’s a lot of stories that I held in silence and I dealt with a lot of things alone, a lot of tough things…I’m gonna bring the mood down a bit”, she said, adding: “This next song is about sexual abuse and rape and sexual violence.
“I know that’s heavy, but I also know that one in four women and men will experience that in their lifetime so I know that I’m not alone when I sing this today…,” she added.
“I don’t sing this song because it’s fun to sing, because it’s not fun to sing but I sing it’s honest and it makes me feel powerful in a time where I was silent. This is a story I’ve waited a long time to tell.” She then performed the track ‘Ice Cream Man’.
Despite signing a four-album deal with Polydor in 2014, RAYE claimed in 2021 that the label prevented her from releasing an album, and three weeks later, was released from her contract.
RAYE played:
‘Oscar Winning Tears’
‘The Thrill Is Gone’
‘Ice Cream Man’
‘Mary Jane’
‘Five Star Hotels’
‘Worth It’
‘Black Mascara’
‘You Don’t Know Me’ (Jax Jones cover)
‘Escapism’
Check out all the latest from Glastonbury 2023 on the NME liveblog here, and see more news, reviews, photos, interviews and more here.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.