Sade is the English band formed in London in 1982 around the voice of Sade Adu, whose cool, jazz-inflected soul defined sophisticated pop for decades. Diamond Life (1984) sold over 6 million copies and is the classic starting point; Love Deluxe (1992) runs just as deep. Shop Sade vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Sade formed in London, England in 1982 around Helen Folasade 'Sade' Adu (born January 16, 1959, Ibadan, Nigeria, to a Nigerian father and English mother; raised in Colchester, England), Stuart Matthewman, Paul Spencer Denman, and Andrew Hale. The band's name is taken from Sade Adu's middle name. They signed with Epic Records and released their 1984 debut Diamond Life, which established their distinctive smooth, jazz-inflected sophisticated soul aesthetic. Diamond Life sold over 6 million copies worldwide and won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 1985. The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1986. Their 1992 album Love Deluxe - featuring the international single No Ordinary Love - is widely cited as one of the most important contemporary R&B albums of the 1990s. They went on extended hiatuses across their career (8-year hiatus between Love Deluxe 1992 and Lovers Rock 2000, and 10-year hiatus between Lovers Rock 2000 and Soldier of Love 2010). They have continued intermittent activity, with Sade Adu preferring creative independence over conventional commercial release schedules. Their foundational influence on smooth jazz, quiet storm, sophisti-pop, and broader contemporary R&B is widely cited.
Sade's sound combines smooth jazz, quiet storm, sophisti-pop, R&B, soul, jazz-pop, and Afro-jazz influences with Sade Adu's distinctive vocal delivery (use of intimate phrasing and restrained emotion), Stuart Matthewman saxophone work, and atmospheric production approaches drawing on classic 1960s and 1970s jazz alongside contemporary R&B and soul influences.
Original Epic Records pressings of the Sade catalog are foundational items in contemporary R&B and broader pop collecting.
Listeners new to Sade typically start with Diamond Life (1984) or Love Deluxe (1992).
