Born in Scotland in 1951 Jesse Rae is an unashamed champion of Scottish culture and independence. In the 1970s Rae moved to the USA securing work in the New York stock exchange to fund his stay. Through work in Cleveland and Los Angeles studios, he became acquainted with several leading soul and funk artists, including Roger Troutman, Bernie Worrell and Nairobi Sailcat from the Parliament/Funkadelic tribe. In 1981 he worked with Worrell as part of the eccentric P-Funk offshoot Space Cadets. Rae has since become a respected director, partially through the need for video and audio tapes to support his live appearances. In 1996, he became the first musician to release an entire album over the Internet. As well as vocals, he also plays the bass and keyboards.
Bit of a weird glitch at the beginning but I haven’t been able to locate a better version.
12” single release from 1984. Awesome P Funk vibe, with a crazy change up. Wait for it!
Inside Out is a great example of his often campy pop funk brand of music. Kind of cheesy, but I think its at least partially intentional. The highlight of this track for me is definitely that funky slap bass.
The Lass That Made The Bed Tae Me- Jesse Rae & The Robinson Brothers adaptation of the Robert Burns poem to funk.
This was his only hit, and a minor one at that, reaching number 65 in the UK Singles Chart in 1985. Its not normally the kind of music I would listen to, but you have to take in the whole package of the Claymore caricature to really appreciate Jesse Rae.
A live clip of Over the Sea. 2011 so he would be 60 years old in this. Pretty good energy!
He also featured on vocals on 70’s Cleveland psych rock band Granicus.