SADE

Sade was born Helen Folasade Adu in Ibadan, Nigeria, on January 16, 1959 and is a British singer, songwriter, and actress, and also known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. Sade was brought up in Colchester, Essex, England, and initially started out as a fashion designer and part-time model, prior to joining the band Pride in the early 1980s. Sade built up a songwriting relationship with Pride’s Stuart Matthewman, and along with Pride’s rhythm section, they began supporting Pride as their own thing before departing in 1983 to launch Sade as a band with a debut show in New York. Sade released her debut album, the BRIT Award-winning Diamond Life, the following year, as well as a brace of hit songs such as Your Love Is King, Smooth Operator and When Am I Gonna Make A Living. Sade scored a UK Official Album Chart Number 1 in 1985 with Promise, and was appointed an OBE in 2002 for services to music, and a CBE in the 2017 Birthday Honours, also for services to music. Image: Rex