Don’t call it a comeback. The mysterious Sade has been here for years – 26 years to be exact.

The now 51-year-old frontwoman of the band named after her has returned to the studio after a decade of musical silence. The resultant effort, “Soldier of Love,” will be in stores on Feb. 9, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Sade is an anomaly in the music business. She and the band have managed to sustain a career in an industry known for non-stop promotion and strictly planned release schedules by making music when and how they want to. Since 1984 when “Diamond Life” was released, Sade has released just eight studio albums (and one remix album). Yet somehow, they have earned the devoted admiration of millions of fans who are looking forward not just to the new album, but to the tour that is sure to follow.

Sade is known for her aversion to the spotlight, and even after two decades, she manages to keep most of her life private. So, here are five things you may not know about her.


1. Her first name is not Sade.

Helen Folasade Adu was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and English mother. According to Sade legend, the Nigerian children simply rejected her first name and called her by a shortened version of the second. Those children certainly had no idea that this moniker would ultimately become a woman best known by just one name and one of the most revered musicians in the world.


2. She lives a boring life in the English countryside.

Sade lives in the English countryside with her daughter, stepson and new partner. In her small English town, she’s barely recognized and generally goes about her business without paparazzi or tabloid drama. She told the London Times this year that she’s a country girl (Sade’s mother broke up with her father, and she was raised mostly in England) and a tomboy who didn’t have a female friend until she was nine years old.


3. She is the most successful British female musician of all time.

Sade has sold more than 50 million albums in her 26-year history, despite only releasing eight albums during that span. Fans looking for new music had to wait a long time. Next week's “Soldier of Love” CD will be released after a 10-year absence from the music scene, the longest break of her musical career.


4. The band line-up has remained the same for two decades.

Stuart Matthewman, Paul Denman and Andrew Hale have been with Sade the entire time the group has existed. Denman and Matthewman have been working with Sade since Pride, her first band.  Their line-up hasn’t changed since they started out in the 80’s. Matthewman has had a hand in the career of another popular, reclusive artist who releases records every several years as well. He’s Maxwell’s longtime collaborator and producer.


5. She loves touring, but not fame.

Sade says she is not interested in fame, but rather artistic integrity. She told The London Times that she doesn’t want to do anything less than her best. She says that fame is not what it’s cracked up to be, and she clearly means it, as staying out of the public eye for 10 years is a surefire way to dim anyone’s star – except, apparently, hers. Yet, despite her wariness of the press (she’s only granting a few interviews for her latest project), she says she loves touring and sharing her music with live audiences.

“Whatever anybody might say about me,” Sade told the London Times, “when I feel the warmth we get back from the audiences, particularly in America, I think it’s worth all the bulls--t.”

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She has a hard/heavy voice. I could tell in her voice she was british/nigerian.

by   
Africanhoneybush
February 1, 2010, 9:45 am
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i cannot wait to buy her album. every time sade takes a break to make a good record, her albums are excellent. see this is real music not bubble gum pop crap. sade looks good for being 50 yrs old!

by   
Quita32
February 1, 2010, 5:33 am
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