Sade Biography

The Early Years

Early in 1984, Sade reemerged as lead singer and principal songwriter of the group bearing her name, accompanied by her former Pride cohorts Stuart Matthewman (sax and guitar), Andrew Hale (keyboards) and Paul Spencer Denman (bass). Their instrumental and compositional talents brought additional form and color to Sade's words and melodies, providing a solid base for her natural vocal charisma. The team would continue to play and write together for the next decade. The public got its first taste of Sade's singular style with the soulful 1984 debut single "Your Love Is King," which quickly went Top 10 in the U.K. and Europe, and propelled her first album, Diamond Life, released the following year, to the top of the charts in Britain and America. Sade won a Grammy for Best New Artist, her debut spending over 80 weeks on the Billboard album charts.