Sade was formed in 1982, when members of Latin soul band Pride — Sade Adu, (real name Helen Folasade Adu - born 16 January 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria) Stuart Matthewman and Paul Spencer Denman — together with Paul Cook formed a splinter group and began to write their own material. Sade made their debut in December 1982 at Ronnie Scott's Club in London, England, in support of Pride. Later, in 1983, Andrew Hale joined Sade. In 1984 Paul Cook left the band.
Sade Adu, the band's singer, is the daughter of a Nigerian father and an English mother. After her mother returned to England, Sade grew up on the North End of London. Developing a good singing voice in her teens, Sade worked part-time jobs in and outside of the music business. She listened to Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and Billie Holliday. Sade studied fashion design at St. Martin’s School of Art in London while also doing some modeling on the side.
Around 1980, Adu started singing harmony with a Latin funk group called Arriva. One of the more popular numbers that the group would perform was a Sade original co-written with bandmember Ray St. John, “Smooth Operator,” that would later become Sade’s first stateside hit. The following year Adu joined the eight-piece funk band Pride as a background singer. The band included future Sade band members guitarist/saxophonist Stuart Matthewman (a key player in ’90s urban soul singer Maxwell’s success) and bassist Paul Denman. The concept of the group was that there could shoot-offs. In essence, a few members within the main group Pride formed mini-groups that would be the opening act. Pride did a lot of shows around London, stirring up record company interest. Initially, the labels wanted to only sign Adu, while the group members wanted a deal for the whole band. After a year, the other band members told Adu, Matthewman, and Denman to go ahead and sign a deal. Adding keyboardist Andrew Hale, the group signed to the U.K. division of Epic Records.
In May 1983, Sade performed at Danceteria Club in New York, NY, United States. It was the first US Sade show. They received more attention from the media and record companies and separated finally. On 18 October 1983 Sade Adu signed with Epic Records. The rest of the band signed in 1984. All Sade albums were released through this label.
Their debut album, Diamond Life (with overall production by Robin Millar), went Top Ten in the U.K. in late 1984. January 1985 saw the album released on CBS’ Portrait label and by spring it went platinum off the strength of the Top Ten singles “Smooth Operator” and “Hang on to Your Love.” The second album, Promise (November 1985), featured “Never As Good As the First Time” and arguably her signature song, “The Sweetest Taboo,” which stayed on the U.S. pop charts for six months. Sade was so popular that some radio stations reinstated the ’70s practice of playing album tracks, adding “Is It a Crime” and “Tar Baby” to their play lists. In 1986, Sade won a Grammy for Best New Artist.
Sade’s third album was 1988’s Stronger Than Pride and featured their first number one soul single “Paradise,” “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” and “Keep Looking.” A new Sade album didn’t appear for four years. 1992’s Love Deluxe continued the unbroken streak of multi-platinum Sade albums, spinning off the hits “No Ordinary Love,” “Feel No Pain,” and “Pearls.” While the album’s producer Mike Pela, Matthewman, Denman, and Hale have gone on to other projects, the new millennium did spark a new scene for Sade. She issued Lovers Rock in fall 2000 and incoporated more mainstream elements than ever before. Debut single “By Your Side” was also a hit among radio and adult-contemporary listerners. The following summer, Sade embarked on their first tour in more than a decade, selling out countless dates across America. In early 2002, Sade celebrated their success of the tour by releasing their first ever live album and DVD, Lovers Live.
Sade made a great contribution to development of modern music. They dismantled many of the old music business ways and quite promptly became a fully functioning autonomous unit with a firm grip on every aspect of the recording process.
Sade is first and foremost a live act. Sade Adu said in one of her interviews: "When we play I know that the people love the music. I can feel it." Throughout their history, Sade have always attracted a diverse, multi-racial audience who are drawn by the band's open-minded approach to music. "And that's the best thing we've achieved."
Soldier of Love, Sade's first official studio album since the multi-platinum release of Lovers Rock in 2000, was released on 8th February, 2010.
Discography:
Studioalbums:
1984 - Diamond Life
1985 - Promise
1988 - Stronger Than Pride
1992 - Love Deluxe
2000 - Lovers Rock
2010 - Soldier of Love
Livealbums:
2002 - Lovers Live
2012 - Bring Me Home - Live 2011
Compilations:
1994 - The Best Of Sade
2011 - The Ultimate Collection
Is It a Crime
Sade Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This may come as some surprise
But I miss you
I could see through
All of your lies
And still I miss you
He takes her love
He tastes her kiss
Her kisses are not mine, they're not mine
He takes, but surely she can't give what I'm feeling now
She takes, but surely she doesn't know how
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime
That I still want you
And I want you to want me too?
My love is wider
Wider than Victoria Lake
My love is taller
Taller than the Empire State
It dives and it jumps
And it ripples like the deepest ocean
I can't give you more than that
Surely you want me back
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime?
I still want you
And I want you to want me too
My love is wider than Victoria Lake
Taller than the Empire State
It dives and it jumps
I can't give you more than that
Surely you want me back
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime
That I still want you
And I want you to want me too?
It dives and jumps
And it ripples like the
Deepest ocean
I can't give you more than that
Surely you want it back
Tell me
Is it
A crime
Sade’s song ‘Is It a Crime’ is a remarkable depiction of the depths of love, longing, and heartbreak. The lyrics delve deep into the emotions tangled in a love triangle, where the singer is missing someone who had lied to her, but she still wants him back. The emotional and painful experience is depicted beautifully in the lyrics, where Sade's voice portrays emotional vulnerability.
The lyrics portray the singer's contradictory emotions- On one hand, she misses the person, but on the other, she knows that he had lied to her. She expresses how she still wants him after everything that has happened, and it resonates with people who have been in similar situations. The line, "He takes her love, but it doesn't feel like mine," captures the feeling of someone else receiving the love that should be rightfully yours.
Moreover, the metaphor used to express the dimensions of her love, "My love is wider than Victoria Lake; Taller than the Empire State," highlights the vastness and depth of her love. Still, the person seems unable to comprehend it, and she questions whether her love is viewed as a crime.
Line by Line Meaning
This may come
Starting the song by saying that what the listeners are going to hear might not be what they expect.
This may come as some surprise
Acknowledging that the statement made in the previous line might contradict popular belief.
But I miss you
Admitting to missing someone.
I could see through
Implying that the person being missed is deceptive.
All of your lies
Saying that the deception was about lying.
And still I miss you
Repeating the admission of missing the person despite recognizing their deceitful behavior.
He takes her love
Referring to someone else taking the love of the person being missed.
But it doesn't feel like mine
Expressing how it doesn't feel like the love being given is reciprocated.
He tastes her kiss
Describing how someone else is kissing the person being missed.
Her kisses are not mine, they're not mine
Reiterating how the love given by the person being missed is being given to someone else.
He takes, but surely she can't give what I'm feeling now
Speculating that the love being taken by someone else can't compare to the love being felt by the person singing.
She takes, but surely she doesn't know how
Suggesting that the person receiving the love from the person being missed doesn't understand or appreciate the love they're receiving.
Is it a crime?
Pondering whether it's wrong to feel the way the person does.
Is it a crime that I still want you
Asking whether it's wrong to still desire the person being missed.
And I want you to want me too?
Wanting the person being missed to reciprocate the feelings.
My love is wider
Claiming that the love felt is expansive.
Wider than Victoria Lake
Using Victoria Lake as an analogy for how wide the love is.
My love is taller
Claiming that the love felt is high-reaching.
Taller than the Empire State
Using the Empire State building as an analogy for how tall the love is.
It dives and it jumps
Describing how the love felt moves in various directions.
And it ripples like the deepest ocean
Comparing the expansiveness and movement of the love felt to that of the ocean.
I can't give you more than that
Acknowledging that the love felt can't be given any more than it already is.
Surely you want me back
Expressing hope that the person being missed would also want to be together.
Is it a crime?
Repeating the question of whether it's wrong to desire the person being missed.
Is it a crime that I still want you
Repeating the question of whether it's wrong to still have feelings for the person being missed.
And I want you to want me too?
Repeating the desire for the person being missed to reciprocate the feelings.
It dives and jumps
Repeating the description of how the love felt moves in various directions.
And it ripples like the
Reiterating the comparison of the expansiveness and movement of the love felt to that of the ocean.
Deepest ocean
Further emphasizing how intense and expansive the love felt is.
I can't give you more than that
Reiterating how the love felt can't be given any more than it already is.
Surely you want it back
Expressing hope that the person being missed also desires the intensity and expansiveness of the love felt.
Tell me
Asking a direct question.
Is it a crime
Repeating the question of whether it's wrong to feel the way the person does.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Stuart Matthewman, Helen Adu, Andrew Hale
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stevejackson3847
@@evaharris6450 Black Mixed race Black woman she is, i been a fan a long time, since 11 lol i like her style, a "Real" woman.
I only date older, so there is alot like your bro, real talk eva, so know i am one of em. never "settling down"wit' my age(born late 80s)no need . i do not prefer younger my age or 20s. nah.
i know what i like, prefer desire, inward,outward, she is so elegant, serious focus woman a focused- incredible woman, good mom(her son said it) a real woman, beauty timeless to me. Already told my parents i am marrying older lady.
Yea, always dated,(more older)rarely younger, not the same "feelin." Not 1 bit. no 1 compare to her. to older women, the "right older woman that is, with substance,class,outer beauty nice but INSIDE beauty to me is what make Sade,
also older women, inside beauty,wisdom, a ) mature woman_ ,is the most beautiful "the ones that exist. peace.
@corvusmartucci2523
This may come, this may come as some surprise
But I miss you
I could see through all of your lies
But still I miss you
He takes her love, but it doesn't feel like mine
He tastes her kiss, her kisses are not wine, they're not mine
He takes, but surely she can't give what I'm feeling now
She takes, but surely she doesn't know how
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime
That I still want you?
And I want you to want me too
My love is wider, wider than Victoria Lake
My love is taller, taller than the Empire State
It dives, it jumps, and it ripples like the deepest ocean
I can't give you more than that, surely, you want me back
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime
That I still want you?
And I want you to want me too, mmm-mmm
My love is wider than Victoria Lake
Taller than the Empire State
It dives, it jumps
I can't give you more than that, surely, you want me back
Is it a crime?
Is it a crime
That I still want you?
And I want you to want me too, mmm-mmm
It dives, it jumps, and it ripples like the deepest ocean
I can't give you more than that, surely, you want it back
Tell me, is it a crime?
@LEXLUTHOR2121
Who's here 2024?🎸🎹🎷
@emanjam45
This guy!!
@anaraamanbayeva3117
🙋🏻♀️
@oonaghmcgrath2935
Yes me love this still ❤
@mickaelawilliams1076
Me
@titizoc9617
Moi
@kellyf5004
It’s a crime that music today doesn’t sound like this
@hjs959
yes it is
@erichinton5774
It can't. Not unless she's the one doing it 😉
@robynlea6950
Right man