Sade Adu

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Sade
Background information
Birth name Helen Folasade Adu
Born 16 January 1959
Genre(s) Jazz
Funk
Soul
R&B
Occupation(s) Singer
Songwriter
Composer
Arranger
Producer
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 1980 — present
Label(s) Epic
Portrait
Website www.sade.com
See also Sade (band).

Helen Folasade Adu, known professionally as Sade Adu (IPA pronunciation: [ʃɑ'deɪ]) is an Afro-European singer, composer, songwriter, and record producer. Sade is a renowned jazz, pop, urban and adult contemporary vocalist, noted for her soulful, smoky contralto. She has achieved success in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the popular Grammy award-winning English group Sade.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Sade was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, on 16 January 1959. Her parents, Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English nurse, met in London and moved to west Africa. Later, when the marriage ran into difficulties, Anne returned to Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England, taking four year old Sade and her older brother Banji to live with her parents.

By the early 70s, living in Colchester, Essex, Sade read a good deal, developed an interest in fashion, acquired a taste for dancing and with pleasure listened to soul artists like Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye.

In 1977 Sade arrived in London for a three-year course in fashion design at St. Martin's College. On graduating, she set up a small fashion company, making mens' clothes, in London's Chalk Farm, with a friend, Gioia Mellor. She also began to work as a photo model.

In 1980 Sade met Lee Barrett, the manager of a Latin-soul group Ariva. She joined Ariva and began to write her own songs.

In 1982, as a member of a Latin-soul group Pride, Sade met Stuart Matthewman and Paul Spencer Denman. Together with Paul Cook, they formed splinter group named Sade and began to write their own material. Later they were joined by Andrew Hale and Paul Cook left the band.

On 18 October 1983 Sade signed with Epic Records. All the Sade albums to follow — Diamond Life (1984), Promise (1985), Stronger Than Pride (1988), Love Deluxe (1992), The Best Of Sade (1994), Lovers Rock (2000), Lovers Live (2002) — were released through this label.

In 1985 Sade appeared in the film Absolute Beginners, directed by Julian Temple. She played singer Athene Duncannon, performing "Killer Blow", co-wrote by her with Simon Booth of soul/jazz band Working Week.

In 1986 Sade moved to Madrid, Spain.

On 11 October 1989, in the old castle Vinuelas in Madrid, Sade married Carlos Scola, a Spanish film-maker. But the marriage has appeared unhappy and soon they began to live separately.

In 1990 Sade returned to London.

In the mid-90s Sade moved to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where she lived with Bob Morgan, a Jamaican producer. On 21 July 1996 she gave birth to her daughter Ila.

In 1997 Sade was cited for dangerous driving and disobeying a police officer in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Later a Jamaican court issued an arrest warrant for Sade after she failed to appear in court to face charges. But medical proof of her daughter's hospitalization allowed the arrest warrant to be "stayed".

In 2005, Sade recorded a new track, "Mum", specially for the Voices For Darfur DVD of the charity concert took place on 8 December 2004 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, to raise awareness and funding for the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

Sade now resides in London.

[edit] Style

Sade said in one of her few public interviews that she didn't set out to be a role model. She always was true to herself, and never once compromising either her principles, or her music.[citation needed]

Sade seldom records new albums because all of them are individual pieces of work that require both a purpose and a reason. [citation needed]

[edit] Vocal profile

  • Voice type: Lyric Contralto
  • Highest note: F#5
  • Lowest note: C3
  • Vocal range: 2.5 octaves (C3-F#5)

[edit] Discography

See discography of Sade (band).

Collaboration

[edit] Videography

See videography of Sade (band).

Collaboration

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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