Sade

Sade’s 1984 debut, Diamond Life, topped charts in several countries, sold more than four million copies worldwide and won the Brit Award for Best British Album. Formed in London in 1982, the English band takes its name from vocalist Sade Adu and pairs her voice with Paul Denman on bass, Stuart Matthewman on saxophones and guitars, and Andrew Hale on keyboards and piano. Since 1986, the group has worked without a permanent drummer, using session players in the studio and onstage.

The band’s music moves between soul, quiet storm, smooth jazz and sophisti-pop, with arrangements built around Adu’s vocals, Matthewman’s horn and guitar work, Hale’s keyboards, and Denman’s bass. Before forming Sade, the four core members were part of the London group Pride. Adu was offered a solo deal with Epic Records, but agreed to sign only if Denman, Hale and Matthewman could join her.

Diamond Life introduced songs including “Your Love Is King,” “Hang On to Your Love” and “Smooth Operator.” Its follow-up, Promise, arrived in 1985, reached number one in both the UK and US, earned double-platinum certification in the UK and quadruple-platinum status in the US, and brought the group its first Grammy Award. The albums Stronger Than Pride in 1988 and Love Deluxe in 1992 extended that run; “No Ordinary Love,” from Love Deluxe, won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

After an eight-year gap, Sade returned with Lovers Rock in 2000. The album, which included “By Your Side” and “King of Sorrow,” won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. A decade later, Soldier of Love became the band’s first US number-one debut and its first US chart-topper since Promise; its title track won a fourth Grammy, for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The group later contributed “Flower of the Universe” to the 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time and “The Big Unknown” to Widows.

Every Sade album, including compilations and a live album, has reached the US Top Ten. By 2012, the band’s US sales stood at 23 million units, while worldwide sales had reached 75 million by 2014. VH1 ranked Sade at number 50 on its “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” list, and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026.