Sade
Sade was born in Nigeria in 1959 as Helen Folasade Adu, the
daughter of a Nigerian father and a British mother. When her
parents divorced, Sade moved to London with her mother.
After school she worked as a fashion designer and model while
performing with the jazz-funk band, Pride.
By early 1984, she was the lead singer and songwriter for the
group which took her name.
Sade's soulful 1984 debut single, Your Love Is King,
reached the Top 10 in the UK and Europe, and propelled her first
album, Diamond Life, to the top of the charts in Britain
and America.
A collection of sophisticated jazz-pop, it was one of the most
successful debuts ever by a female artist - spending over 80 weeks
on the Billboard album charts - and made her one of the
richest women on the UK pop scene (and also won her a Grammy for
Best New Artist).
Sade toured America, Europe, and Asia and performed at the Live
Aid benefit.
She then retreated to Spain and withdrew from the media
spotlight, until returning to recording in 1988, with Stronger
Than Pride, another R&B hit, followed by another huge
world tour.
She retired again, this time to London, where she turned her
house into a recording studio. Her 1992 album (Love Deluxe)
contained the hit, No Ordinary Love, which was
featured on the Indecent Proposal soundtrack. Yet
another tour followed.
In 1997 the singer was arrested in Jamaica following a traffic
dispute with local police and fled the country, threatened with
arrest if she ever returns. She followed up with another smash
hit, Lovers Rock in 2000, and recorded Lovers
Live in 2002.
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