Sade

Sade (born January 16, 1959, Ibadan, Nigeria) is a Nigerian-born British singer known for her sophisticated blend of soul, funk, jazz, and Afro-Cuban rhythms. She enjoyed wide critical acclaim and popularity in the 1980s and early ’90s with such hits as “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo.”

Adu, who was born to a Nigerian economics professor and an English nurse, was never addressed by people in her community by her English first name, Helen. Her parents began calling her Sade (pronounced “Shah-DAY”), a shortened form of her Yoruba middle name, Folasade. When she was four years old, her parents separated, and she moved with her mother and younger brother to Essex, England. At age 17 Sade began a three-year program in fashion and design at Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design in London. After graduating, she modeled and worked as a menswear designer. Her foray into music began when she agreed to fill in temporarily as lead singer for Arriva, a funk band that had been put together by her friends. Sade later sang with another funk band, Pride, before breaking away with fellow Pride members Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale, and Paul Spencer Denman to form the band that would eventually bear her own name.

Sade’s smooth sound, which defied easy categorization, was exemplified by the songs “Your Love Is King” and “Smooth Operator,” both tracks from the group’s debut album Diamond Life (1984), which earned Sade and her bandmates a Grammy Award for best new artist. A second album, Promise (1985), enjoyed similar popularity and was followed by a world tour. The album featured the hit song “The Sweetest Taboo,” which stayed on the American pop charts for six months. In 1988 Sade embarked on a second world tour to coincide with the release of a third album, Stronger than Pride.

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In 1992 Sade released Love Deluxe, which featured the Grammy-winning single “No Ordinary Love.” After a subsequent world tour, Sade enjoyed life away from the limelight. She became a mother, while other members of her band recorded separately as Sweetback. The band reunited to produce the critically acclaimed Lovers Rock (2000), which earned a Grammy for best pop vocal album.

In 2001 Sade embarked on a highly successful world tour, excerpts of which were featured on Lovers Live (2002). Sade’s first album of original material in a decade found the band wrapping new instrumentation and rhythms around the smooth vocals that had defined it since the 1980s. The Grammy-winning title track of Soldier of Love (2010) incorporated martial beats and harsh guitars, and critics praised the trip-hop and reggae influences that colored Sade’s trademark soulful melodies. Following another hiatus, Sade contributed the song “Flower of the Universe” to the film soundtrack for A Wrinkle in Time (2018).

Sade was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 and promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2018. She was selected as an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026.