Born Helen Folasade Adu on January 16th, 1959 in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State in Nigeria.
Her father, Adebisi Adu, was a university lecturer in economics and her mother Anne
Hayes was a nurse. He parents met in London, got married and had their first child, Banji, in London and then moved to Ibadan, Oyo state in Nigeria where Sade was born.
Her neighbours in Ibadan called her Sade (a shortened version of Folasade) instead of Helen.
When Sade was four her parents separated and she and her older brother moved with their mother to Essex in London's north end. Where they stayed with Sade's grandparents for a while, then moved to Holland-on-Sea where her mother, Anne, remarried.
Sade initially studied fashion at St Martin's School Of Art and only began singing after two old school friends who had formed a group approached her to help them out with the vocals. Two years later she was singing regularly as a back up singer with a North London Latin funk band called Pride. She initially failed an audition to join the group, but later accepted an invitation to join when the group found that they had no other candidate who was more qualified.
While singing with Pride, Sade fronted a quartet that played quieter, jazzier numbers. And a song which Sade had co-written, titled Smooth Operator, attracted the attention of record company talent scouts
who wanted to sign her, but not the rest of Pride.
Sade refused to sign without the rest of her bandmates, but later relented and signed to Epic records in 1983 - on the condition that her three band mates, saxophonist Stuart Matthewman, keyboard player Andrew Hale, and bassist Paul Denman were signed as well. Sade convinced EPIC that "Sade" was more than her name, but is also the name of the group.
Their first single, Your Love Is King, became a top 10 British hit in February 1984. The group produced a string of hit albums, starting with their debut album Diamond Life, in 1984, and have subsequently sold over 50 million albums. Sade is the highest selling British female artist of all time.
Although it was slated never to be released in the United States, when the album was released in the U.S., it was already on it's second single, "Smooth Operator", and the response in the US
was extremely positive.
Sade exhibited a rare blend of actual talent and beauty.
Diamond Life spent eighty-one (81) weeks on the charts.
Sade, 1985's best new artist at the Grammy Awards, was dubbed by the media "The First Lady of Cool". She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002
After the release of Diamond Life, Sade continued to astound her critics and draw millions of fans worldwide.
All five of Sade's albums (Diamond Life - 1984, Promise - 1985, Stronger Than Pride - 1988, Love Deluxe - 1992, Lovers Rock - 2000, Soldier of Love - 2010) have landed in the Top 10 of the official UK Top 40 and US Billboard’s Top 200 Album charts, selling over 57 million albums worldwide to date. The latest album 'Soldier of Love’ has proven to be a smash hit, selling over three million copies.
Sade blends disparate styles of music with grace, poise and beauty.
Possessing a cool elegance and shrouded in mystery, she has managed to remain in the public's consciousness while only producing an album every several years.
Sade's songs have become modern classics, and are a testimony to the timeless quality and passion of their work.
Sade has announced their highly anticipated return to the world’s stage. The UK leg begins on 27 May, 2011 and tickets go on sale Monday 18th October, 2010
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He parents met in London, got married and had their first child, Banji, in London and then moved to Ibadan, Oyo state in Nigeria where Sade was born.
who wanted to sign her, but not the rest of Pride.
