Music / Sade

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Sade (pronounce "shah-DAY") is an English band formed in 1982 and named after their lead singer, Sade Adu. The band's music features elements of soul, jazz, R&B, quiet storm, new wave, soft rock, funk, easy listening and adult contemporary music. They achieved success from the 1980s onward, ultimately selling more than 75 million units worldwide^note including 23.5 million units in the United States alone by 2012, and all of their albums (including compilations and a live album) have charted in the US Top 10.

The band was created from the ashes of the funk band Pride by four members of that band: Sade Adu, saxophonist/guitarist Stuart Mathewman, bassist Paul Denman and drummer Paul Anthony Cooke. Keyboard player Andrew Hale joined in mid-1983, and Dave Early replaced Cooke on drums after he left midway through the recording of the band's 1984 debut album Diamond Life; following Early's departure in 1985, they have since hired session drummers or used drum machines. Sade herself is the only woman in the band and the only person to appear on the band's album and single covers (the full band appear in their videos, though they are often Demoted to Extra).

Sade made such an impression during their first live shows that A&R agents lined the front row seats of their concerts in order to sign them to their label; they eventually signed with Epic, who gave Sade an unusually large percentage of royalties in their contract.

The band have won four Grammy Awards: Best New Artist in 1986, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1994 for "No Ordinary Love", Best Pop Vocal Album in 2002 for Lovers Rock, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2011 for "Soldier of Love".

Mathewman, Denman and Hale continue to work in the music industry during Sade's downtime, and even formed their own similar band titled Sweetback, which has released two albums during the breaks between Sade's last three albums.

Not to be confused with the Marquis de Sade.

Discography:

• Diamond Life (1984)
• Promise (1985)
• Stronger than Pride (1988)
• Love Deluxe (1992)
• Lovers Rock (2000)
• Soldier of Love (2010)

Notable Songs:

• "Your Love Is King"
• "Hang on to Your Love"
• "Smooth Operator" - Generally considered to be the group's 👁 This example contains a YMMV entry. It should be moved to the YMMV tab.
  Signature Song.
• "The Sweetest Taboo"
• "Is It a Crime"
• "King of Sorrow"
• "Never as Good as the First Time"
• "Paradise"
• "No Ordinary Love"
• "Nothing Can Come Between Us"
• "Cherish the Day"
• "Bullet Proof Soul"
• "Kiss of Life"
• "Feel No Pain"
• "Keep Looking"
• "I Never Thought I'd See the Day" — Some probably remember this song from the beginning part of the strip tease Jamie Lee Curtis gave in True Lies.

The Sweetest Tropes:

• Album Title Drop: Diamond Life on "Smooth Operator." (See the page quote).
• Dark Reprise: The first track on "Diamond Life" has a percussion cold-open featuring an upbeat bossa-nova beat on bongos, which segues into a relatively upbeat song. The final track on the album begins with a similar bossa-nova beat on bongos, but at a much slower tempo, and segues into a slower, more somber track.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: "Smooth Operator", the first song of their first album, features a Spoken Word introduction, something otherwise not present in their discography.
• Epic Rocking: "Cherry Pie" (6:20), "Is It a Crime?" (6:20), "War of the Hearts" (6:47), "Turn My Back On You" (6:05), and "No Ordinary Love" (7:20).
• Face on the Cover: All of their albums, including the compilation albums, have Sade herself being the only one to appear.
• Genre Roulette: Though Sade falls squarely under Quiet Storm-inspired contemporary R&B, there are elements of soft rock, jazz, dub reggae and soul blended into every other song or so.
• Gratuitous Spanish: "Siempre Hay Esperanza," which means "there's always hope" in Spanish.
• Greatest Hits Album: They've released two, one in 1994 that contains material from their first four albums plus the non-album track "Please Send Me Somebody To Love", and another in 2011, updated to include material from the sparse releases they'd had since the first one.
• Hotter and Sexier: "Love Deluxe", although it was more artistic than some exmaples.
• I Am the Band: Given the band is named after her and that she's the sole member to appear on most promotional material and album covers, it's not uncommon to meet people who think she's a solo act.
• Long-Runner Line-up: The same members (Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale, and Paul Denman) since 1984, when founding member Paul Anthony Cooke left.
• Male Band, Female Singer: The band members are all men, and the frontwoman is Sade.
• Only One Name: Sade, after the lead singer.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Sade herself, who's full name is Helen Folasade Adu.
• One-Woman Song: "Sally," "Maureen," and "Jezebel."
• Runaway Bride: The video for "No Ordinary Love," which shows Sade running through the city streets in a wedding dress.
• Sexy Packaging: The Love Deluxe cover shows Sade sensually embracing herself while topless.
• The Something Song: "Slave Song."
• Spoken Word: At the beginning of the original version of "Smooth Operator".
• "The Villain Sucks" Song: "Smooth Operator".
• Twofer Token Minority: Not really a "token," but the rest of the band members are white Englishmen while Sade herself is a black Nigerian-English woman.
• Vocal Evolution: Sade's voice is a bit lower and more masculine sounding on the earliest recordings. This evident when comparing the single version of "Smooth Operator" to the original album version.