Helen Folasade Adu, known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade, is a British singer, songwriter, and actress, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. She has been credited as one of the most successful British female artists in history, and is often recognised as an influence on contemporary music. Born in Ibadan, Nigeria and brought up partly in Essex, England since age 4, Sade studied at St. Martin’s School of Art in London and gained modest recognition as a fashion designer and part-time model, prior to joining the band Pride in the early 1980s. After gaining attention as a performer, she formed the band Sade, and secured a recording contract with Epic Records in 1983. A year later the band released the album Diamond Life, which became one of the best-selling albums of the era, and the best-selling debut by a British female vocalist.
“Your is King” was released as the album’s lead single on 25 February 1984 and was a success in European territories, charting at number seven in Ireland and number six on the UKSingles Chart. The song was less successful in the US, where it peaked at number 54 on the US Billboard. The third single, “Smooth Operator”, was released in September 1984 and became the most successful song in the US from the album Diamond Life. The track peaked at number five on the Billboard, as well as peaking at number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. In Europe the song fared well, peaking at number 19 in the UK, and reaching the top 20 in Austria, Switzerland, France, and Germany.
In late 1985, the band released their second album, Promise, which peaked at number one in both the UK and the US. The album topped the chart in 1986 and spent two weeks at the peak position. Eventually, the album went on to sell four million copies in the region and was certified four times platinum. The album spawned two singles “Never As Good As The First Time” and “The Sweetest Taboo,” the latter of which was released as the album’s lead single and stayed on the US Hot 100 for six months. “The Sweetest Taboo” peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, number one on the US adult Contemporary chart, and number three on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. Sade was so popular that some radio stations reinstated the ’70s practice of playing album tracks, adding “Is It a Crime” and “Tar Baby” to their playlists. The following year, 1986, the band won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
In 1986, Sade made her acting debut in Absolute Beginners, a film about life in late-1950s London. Sade played the role of Athene Duncannon and lent her vocals to the film’s accompanying soundtrack. The film was screened out of competition at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival and grossed £1.8 million in the UK. Sade’s third album, Stronger Than Pride, was released in May 1988, and like Sade’s previous album became a commercial success and certified three times platinum in the US. The album was popularized by four singles, most notably the album’s second single “Paradise”, which peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard.
Love Deluxe was released as the band’s fourth studio album on 26 October 1992. The album peaked at number three on the US Billboard and has sold 3.4 million copies in the United States. The album was later certified four times platinum by the RIAA for shipments of four million copies. The album was also commercially successful elsewhere, reaching number-one in France and reaching the top ten in New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. The album went on to be certified gold in the United Kingdom.
In November 1994, the group released their first compilation album, The Best of Sade. The album was another top ten hit in both the United Kingdom and the United States, certified platinum and four times platinum, respectively. The compilation album included material from Sade’s previous albums, as well as a cover version of “Please Send Me Someone to Love” (1950), originally by Percy Mayfield.
