Sea Level (band)

Sade is a British R&B band that formed in London in 1983, although three of its members were born in Kingston Upon Hull. The band was named after their lead singer Sade Adu. Its music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock.

Sade's debut album, Diamond Life, was released in 1984, reaching No. 2 in the UK Album Chart, selling over 1.2 million copies in the UK, and won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 1985. The album was also a hit internationally, reaching No. 1 in several countries and the top ten in the US where it has sold in excess of 4 million copies. In late 1985, Sade released its second album, Promise, which peaked at No. 1 in both the UK and the US. It was certified double platinum in the UK, and quadruple platinum in the US. In 1986 the band won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Sade's sixth studio album, Soldier of Love, was released worldwide on 8 February 2010, and peaked at No. 4 in the UK, and No. 1 in the US. In 2011, the band won its fourth Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Sade's US certified sales so far stand at 23.5 million units according to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold more than 50 million units worldwide to date. The band was ranked at No. 50 on VH1's list of the "100 greatest artists of all time."

1980s
The musical group Sade was formed in London in 1982, by members of a Latin soul band, Pride. Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, and Paul Spencer Denman, together with Paul Anthony Cook, formed the break-away group and began to write their own material. They named the band after lead singer, Sade Adu, and made their debut performance in December 1982 at Ronnie Scott's Club in London in support of Pride. In May 1983 the band performed its first US show at Danceteria Club in New York City. Andrew Hale joined the band in 1983, but Cook left in 1984. Sade received more attention from the media and record companies than Pride had, and eventually separated from that group altogether. On 18 October 1983, the band signed with Portrait Records (which was absorbed by its parent label, Epic Records, in 1986).

In February 1984, Sade released its first single, "Your Love Is King", which became a Top Ten hit. A second single, "When Am I Going to Make a Living" barely made the Top 40, but the band's debut album, Diamond Life, was released in July 1984 and peaked at No. 2. It spent over six months in the UK Top Ten and was later certified 4x Platinum by the BPI. Diamond Life won the 1985 Brit Award for Best British Album. The band embarked on their first major UK tour, augmented by Dave Early (drums), Martin Ditcham (percussion), Terry Bailey (trumpet) and Gordon Matthewman (trombone). A third single, "Smooth Operator", was released from the album with a video directed by Julian Temple. The single became their first US hit in Spring 1985, propelling the album in the US Top Ten. Also in 1985, the band were nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards—"Best Female Video" and "Best New Artist". On 13 July 1985, Sade performed at the Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in London. Sade Adu became the only African-born artist to appear in front of the live audience of 75,000, and an estimated worldwide television audience of 1.4 billion in 170 countries.

In late 1985, Sade released their second album, Promise, which peaked at No. 1 in both the UK and the US. It was certified double platinum by the BPI in the UK, and quadruple platinum in the US. In 1986, Adu was nominated for an American Music Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Video Artist, and the band won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. On 28 June 1986, after touring for the album, the band performed at the Artists Against Apartheid Concert in the Freedom Festival on Clapham Common in London. In 1987 the band was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for Promise.

Sade's third album, Stronger Than Pride, was released in May 1988. The album peaked at No. 3 in the UK and has been certified platinum by the BPI. It was preceded by the single, "Paradise", which made the UK Top 30 and US Top 20. The band toured across the world again, augmented by Blair Cunningham (drums), Martin Ditcham (percussion), Leroy Osbourne (vocals), Gordon Hunte (guitar), James McMillan (trumpet) and Jake Jacas (trombone & vocals). In 1989, Sade Adu was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist.

1990s
Sade's fourth album, Love Deluxe, was released in November 1992. The album peaked at No. 3 on the US Album charts and was certified quadruple-Platinum, and peaked at No. 10 in the UK and was certified Gold by the BPI.

In 1993 the band recorded a cover of the Percy Mayfield song, "Please Send Me Someone to Love", for the Academy Award-winning film, Philadelphia, before launching the Love Deluxe world tour. Joining the band were Leroy Osbourne (vocals), Gordon Hunte (guitar), Trevor Murrell (drums), Karl Vanden Bossche (percussion), and Rick Braun (trumpet).

The 1994 Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded to Sade for "No Ordinary Love", featured in the 1993 film, Indecent Proposal. In November the group released their first compilation album, The Best of Sade. The album was another Top Ten hit in both the UK and US and was certified Platinum and Quadruple-Platinum respectively. In 1996 Hale, Denman, and Matthewman formed their own band as a side project, Sweetback, and released a self-titled album.

2000s
In October 2000 Sade Adu came out of retirement to perform at the prestigious MOBO Awards, her first live performance in several years. The following month, Sade released their fifth studio album, Lovers Rock, their first album in eight years. The album peaked at number 18 in the UK (their only studio album not to make the top 10) though was certified Gold by the BPI. It fared better in the US, peaking at number 3. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2002. The band toured the US throughout 2001. The tour resulted in a live album, Lovers Live, which was released in the UK and US in February 2002. In 2005 the band contributed the track, "Mum", to the Voices for Darfur DVD.

2010s
Sade's sixth studio album Soldier of Love was released worldwide on 8 February 2010, the band's first album of new material in ten years. Following the release of the "Soldier of Love" single on 8 December 2009, the track debuted at number 11 on the Urban Hot AC chart, making it the highest debut of the decade and the third highest all-time on the Urban Hot AC chart. "Soldier of Love" debuted at number 5 on the Smooth Jazz airplay chart and became the first ever vocal to hit number 1 on the Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown.

The album peaked at No. 4 in the UK. In the US the album sold 502,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard 200 chart. The album stayed at at No. 1 in the US for three weeks. The group released the second single from the album, "Babyfather", in April 2010, followed by a video in May. On 13 April 2010, the band performed "Babyfather" and "The Sweetest Taboo" on the US TV show Dancing With The Stars. In September 2010 the group announced the first dates of their global tour, Sade Live, to begin in April 2011.

In 2011 Sade received their fourth Grammy Award (Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals) for Soldier of Love, and released a second greatest hits album, The Ultimate Collection which made the UK Top Ten. A new video for the track "Love Is Found" premiered in July 2011.

Band members

 * Sade Adu – vocals, lyricist, songwriter
 * Stuart Matthewman – guitar, sax, songwriter
 * Paul Spencer Denman – bass, songwriter
 * Andrew Hale – keyboards, songwriter

Discography

 * Diamond Life (1984)
 * Promise (1985)
 * Stronger Than Pride (1988)
 * Love Deluxe (1992)
 * Lovers Rock (2000)
 * Soldier of Love (2010)

Tours

 * 1984 Tour (1984)
 * Promise Tour (1986)
 * Stronger Than Pride Tour (1988)
 * Love Deluxe World Tour (1993)
 * Lovers Rock Tour (2001)
 * Sade Live (2011)

Videography

 * Munich Concert (1984)
 * Life Promise Pride Love (1993)
 * Live Concert Home Video (1994)
 * Lovers Live (2002)
 * The Ultimate Collection DVD Videos (2011)
 * Bring Me Home Live 2011 (2012)

Music videos

 * Diamond Life (1984)
 * "Your Love is King" – 3:37 (Directed by Jack Semmens)
 * "Smooth Operator" – 4:17 (Directed by Julien Temple)
 * "Hang on to Your Love" – 3:58 (Directed by Brian Ward)
 * "When am I Going to Make a Living" – 3:34 (Directed by Stuart Orme)


 * Promise (1985)
 * "Never as Good as the First Time" – 3:54 (Directed by Brian Ward)
 * "The Sweetest Taboo" – 5:02 (Directed by Brian Ward)
 * "Is it a Crime" – 7:02 (Directed by Brian Ward)


 * Stronger Than Pride (1988)
 * "Paradise" – 3:37 (Directed by Alex McDowell)
 * "Nothing Can Come Between Us" – 3:51 (Directed by Sophie Muller)
 * "Turn My Back on You" – 4:08 (Directed by Sophie Muller)
 * "Love is Stronger Than Pride" (Directed by Sophie Muller)


 * Love Deluxe (1992)
 * "No Ordinary Love" – 4:01 (Directed by Sophie Muller)
 * "Cherish the Day" – 4:23 (Directed by Albert Watson)
 * "Kiss of Life" – 4:11 (Directed by Albert Watson)
 * "Feel No Pain" – 3:47 (Directed by Albert Watson)


 * Lovers Rock (2000)
 * "By Your Side" – 4:25 (Directed by Sophie Muller)
 * "King of Sorrow" – 4:40 (Directed by Sophie Muller)


 * Voices for Darfur (2005)
 * "Mum" – 2:42 (director/editor unknown, uses footage from Darfur)


 * Soldier of Love (2010)
 * "Soldier of Love" – 4:59 (Directed by Sophie Muller)
 * "Babyfather" – 4:10 (Directed by Sophie Muller)


 * The Ultimate Collection (2011)
 * "Love is Found" – 4:08 (Directed by Sophie Muller)