Sade

Sade Bio

The singer/writer/producer Sade was born Helen Folasade Adu in Ibadan, Nigeria, on January 16, 1959. She grew up in Essex, UK with her mother, and as a teenager became interested in fashion, and studied at Saint Martin's School of Art in London. After performing with various unsigned bands, she signed a contract with Epic Records and released the Sade debut album in 1984, entitled Diamond Life with bandmates Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale, and Paul Spencer Denman. Their album featured the international smash hit "Smooth Operator", and in 1986, Sade won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

The British band Sade went on to release Promise in 1985, Stronger Than Pride in 1988, and Love Deluxe in 1992, all three of which went multi-platinum and established Sade's rank amongst international performers. Focusing on her family life Sade took a pause between her next two albums. Lovers Rock was released in 2000, and followed by Soldier of Love in 2010, their success affirmed that their fans went nowhere in anticipation for more.

In 2012, VH1 ranked her as #30 on their 100 Greatest Women in Music list. In 2017 The New York Times stated "Sade is one of the most relentlessly quiet famous people on the planet. But in her extended silences, her place in the pantheon of cultural influence has only grown more enormous".

Recently Sade have worked on two tracks for two films 'Flower of the Universe' and 'The Big Unknown' both released in 2018 for directors Ava Duvernay, and Steve McQueen respectively. The band have not performed, nor taken any engagements or media since their Solider of Love world arena tour in 2011, and are quietly rumoured to be currently working on their self-produced seventh studio album for Sony Music.