Helen Folasade Adu was born January 16, 1959, in Ibadan, Nigeria. The daughter of an economics professor and a nurse, Sade (pronounced shar-day) relocated with her English mother to Colchester, Essex, at the age of 4, after the separation of her parents.
Although Sade studied fashion design at St. Martin's Art College in London (her work was featured in Spandau Ballet's first American appearance), Sade's prime passion was music. Even in between part-time jobs as a teenager -- as a waitress, a bike messenger, and later as a model -- Sade always made time for music. Inspired by jazz and soul greats Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, and Al Green, Sade traded in her potential fashion career to join a jazz/funk band, Pride.
As a vocalist for the British band, Sade quickly began attracting the attention of audiences thanks to her smooth style. By 1983, Sade split from Pride, along with the group's guitarist and saxophonist Stuart Matthewman, keyboardist Andrew Hale, and bassist Paul Denman, and together formed the group Sade.
The namesake of the group's talented lead vocalist and songwriter landed a record deal that year and burst onto the British pop scene with their 1984 single, "Your Love Is King". Spawned from the album Diamond Life, the album was only released in the US in 1985, although it was already a Top Ten hit in the UK.
The album, which is still the all-time best-selling debut album by a British female artist, yielded such hits as "Smooth Operator" (penned by Sade while she was with Pride), "Hang On To Your Love," as well as the album's title track. That year, her Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium, and her Best New Artist Grammy cemented Sade's success.
Before the release of Sade's second album, Promise, the exotic vocalist made her acting debut in Julien Temple's Absolute Beginners, which featured a song she co-wrote, "Killer Blow". After Promise's huge success (it quickly rose to the top spot on the charts with hits such as "The Sweetest Taboo" and "Never As Good As The First Time") and extensive touring, Sade escaped the intrusive life of a high-profile figure, and sought refuge in Madrid.
After the 1988 release of Stronger Than Pride -- marking the end of her temporary exile -- Sade relocated to London, where she bought and renovated the house which would serve as the creative arena for the vocalist and her band. The fruit of their creative efforts was the 1992 album, Love Deluxe, which saw the same success as its predecessors. Spawning such hits as "No Ordinary Love" (featured on the soundtrack of the Demi Moore film Indecent Proposal), "Kiss of Life" and "Cherish the Day", the group's fourth album is known as the most ambitious one to date
Six years after the release of 1994's multi-platinum Best of Sade, a collection of her best songs, the vocalist returns with her band to release Lovers Rock. The first album to be produced solely by the band itself, it showcases Sade's sultry songwriting skills and soulful, jazz-inflected voice.
As one of the few singers to grace the cover of Time, Sade's talent and unique style have made her one of music history's pop icons -- while her elegant beauty and low-key life have contributed to her mystique.
