Music

Helen Folasade Adu, aka Sade, was born in 1959 in Ibadan (Nigeria). At the age of three, following her parents' divorce, she left her native country with her mother and moved to England, near London.

Passionate about drawing, fashion and music, the young woman later moved to the well-known London district of Camden Town, where she studied fashion, whilst already working as a stylist and model. At the same time, she agreed to become the lead singer of a funk-latino group formed by musician friends, and from then on, nothing could dampen her passion for singing. 

In 1983, she formed the group Sade with three musician friends she had met through Funk Pride: Paul Anthony Cook, Paul Denman and Stuart Matthewman. The quartet quickly signed their first contract with CBS, and their debut album, “Diamond Life”, and flirted with the top of the UK charts from the outset. In 1985, they released a new album, “Promise”, which was followed by “Stronger Than Pride” and “Love Deluxe”, both of which featured the voice of the “Pearl of Soul”. The singer then took a break to look after her family (she had just had a son, Izaak Theo). This was a ten-year long break, solely interspersed by the release of a best-of, which sold over four million copies. 

In 2000, Sade returned to the limelight, much to the delight of her fans. But the singer is more concerned with her privacy than anything else, and once again shuns the spotlight. “I don't like interviews - it's like telling your life story to a stranger on a bus”, she declares, preferring to devote her time to her loved ones. She did this once again for the next nine years, before returning with a previously unreleased track, “Flower Of The Universe”, the soundtrack to the film “A Wrinkle In Time”.

Since 2022, Sade and her band have been back in the studio, more specifically at the Château Miraval studios in Correns, Var (France). Purchased in 2011 by Brad Pitt (still in a relationship with Angelina Jolie), this mythical site of several hundred hectares is now managed by French producer Damien Quintard. In the past, Pink Floyd (for a large part of “The Wall”), AC/DC, The Cure or Rammstein and, of course, Sade (twice already) boughr their suitcases here. Nothing else has been revealed about this new album, which has been eagerly awaited for by fans. In 2024, Sade delivered a more personal song, “Young Lion”, for an album raising awareness of transgender issues. A song dedicated to her son: “Young man, it's been so heavy for you. You must have felt so alone,” she sings...

(MH with CMa - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Portrait of Sade in Nieuwpoort (Belgium) on June 21, 1984