This is the 27th post in our Musician of the Day series.
This African princess was born in 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria with the name of Helen Folasade Adu. When her parents divorced she moved to London with her mother where she was educated and started a career in fashion and modeling. Despite her education in fashion, her desire for music led her to become a back-up singer for the band Pride. By working with Pride she formed a partnership with the band’s guitarist and saxophonist Stewart Mattewman.
With the support of the rest of the band, especially the rhythm section, they began performing their own sets at Pride shows. In 1983, the pair split from the band taking along with them keyboardist Andrew Hale and bassist Paul Denman and formed Sade. Building upon their success playing with Pride the band earned a record deal later that same year.
The album, Diamond Life, released in the U.K in 1984 with the hit single Your Love is King. It was released in the States the following year. The album was so popular it sold over six million copies worldwide, which made it one of the best selling debut albums of the 80s and the best debut album ever by a British female vocalist.
In 1985, Sade not only performed as part of Live Aid but released the album Promise. The album made it to #1 in the U.S and spurred numerous consecutive albums from the band. The band has continued to release albums even through long breaks and absences. The most recent release was Lover’s Rock in 2000, but her label has announced that she is releasing a new album in November of 2009.
To learn more about Sade visit her official website or sadenet.
