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
Skin
Sade Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was like a gun
Sure as it was over
Felt like nothing good could come
Sure as it's gonna play and play
Like Michael back in the day
Now as I begin
To wash you off my skin
I'm gonna peel you away
'Cause you're not right within
I love you so
Sometimes love has to let go
So this time don't think it's a lie
I say goodbye
Now as I begin
To wash you off my skin
I'm gonna peel you away
'Cause you're not right within
Now it's time
To wash you off my skin
Now as I begin
It couldn't be right
'Cause you're not right within, mmh
I say goodbye
In "Skin," Sade sings about the end of a love affair and the pain of trying to move on after the relationship has ended. The song is a slow, meditative ballad that emphasizes the regret and sadness that come with the end of a relationship.
The opening lines describe the moment when Sade realizes that the love affair is over. She compares herself to a gun, which is a powerful image that suggests she feels hurt and abandoned. Sade then expresses her feelings of hopelessness, wondering how anything good could come from this situation.
The next verse of "Skin" suggests that Sade is trying to move on from the relationship. She talks about washing the person off her skin and peeling him away, indicating that she wants to forget about him and move on with her life. The repeated phrase "you're not right within" underscores her sense of disappointment and hurt.
Through this song, Sade gives voice to the pain of heartbreak, highlighting the difficulty of letting go of a relationship that has come to its natural end. The melancholic sound of the music emphasizes the sense of loss and regret that Sade is conveying through her lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
When I found out this love's undone
Upon discovering that our relationship is over,
I was like a gun
I was ready to explode with emotion,
Sure as it was over
It was inevitable that our love would end,
Felt like nothing good could come
I felt like there was no hope for our love to continue,
Sure as it's gonna play and play
Our breakup is going to be a recurring theme in my life,
Like Michael back in the day
Similar to Michael Jackson's music being played repeatedly,
I'm gonna peel you away
I am going to remove you from my life,
Now as I begin
As I start this new chapter of my life,
To wash you off my skin
To rid my life of your lingering presence,
I'm gonna peel you away
I am going to remove you from my life,
'Cause you're not right within
Because I know deep down, you are not good for me,
I love you so
I care for you deeply,
Sometimes love has to let go
But sometimes, love means saying goodbye,
So this time don't think it's a lie
I truly mean it when I say goodbye this time,
Now as I begin
As I start this new chapter of my life,
To wash you off my skin
To rid my life of your lingering presence,
I'm gonna peel you away
I am going to remove you from my life,
'Cause you're not right within
Because I know deep down, you are not good for me,
Now it's time
The time has come,
To wash you off my skin
To remove every trace of you from my life,
Now as I begin
As I start this new chapter of my life,
It couldn't be right
Our love was not meant to last,
'Cause you're not right within, mmh
Because I know deep down, you are not good for me,
I say goodbye
I am saying farewell to you, forever.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Andrew Hale, Helen Adu, Paul Denman, Stuart Matthewman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Brownie
When I found out this love's undone
I was like a gun
Sure as it was over
Felt like nothing good could come
Sure as it's gonna play and play
Like michael back in the day
I'm gonna peel you away
Now as I begin
To wash you off my skin
I'm gonna peel you away
Cos you're not right within
I love you so
Sometimes love has to let go
So this time don't think it's a lie
I say goodbye
Now as I begin
To wash you off my skin
I'm gonna peel you away
Cos you're not right within
Now it's time
To wash you off my skin
Now as I begin
It couldn't be right cos you're not right within
I say goodbye
adrian catalin burca
SADE music should be prescribed over-the-counter by psychologists and sold in pharmacy as an antidepressant because it is so relaxing that it has a better effect than the pills that give you, even you don't understand the lyrics.
Channel Broomfield
I agree!
Superu Chic
The best comment
Diana Mary
Agreed brother!
Trea Smith
@Diana Mary &
AnotherSchmoe
You're right about that man, Sade always brings me back to center.
Mara H
I love how cohesive Sade’s albums are. One song leads into another and tells a story. Today, we just get one hit wonders and random songs thrown in. Sade always has a theme.
Fe Gi
My favorite person ever and yes she tells a story for sure. Art
Laura Perez Valdez
I have listend to her music since 1990 , 30 years now & there is no one that can EVEN come near her gifted beautiful voice
craig Howard
Me since the very beginning, what a blessing