Sade Adu

Sade Adu Biography / Profile

Helen Folasade Adu known simply as Sade Adu was born on January 16, 1959, in Ibadan, Nigeria to a Nigerian Father, Adebisi Adu who was an Economics lecturer and an English Mother, Anne Adu who was a district nurse.

Sade Adu Age

Sade Adu is 65 years old.

Sade Adu Early Life

When Sade was four years old, her parents separated. Her mother took her and her brother, Banji to live with their grandparents near Colchester, Essex.

As a teenager in London, she developed interest in singing, fashion designing and modeling eventually studying fashion design at St. Martin's School of Art in London while doing some modelling on the side and developing her voice after her education at Clacton County High School

Sade Adu Career

At 21, she started singing backup for the group called 'Pride' eventually splitting from the group with Paul S. Denman, Andrew Hale and Stuart Matthewman, the four of them forming a new group, Sade and it was as this group that they became signed to Epic Records.

In the 1980s, she got signed to Epic Records, releasing her first album, 'Diamond Life' with sultry, soul-inspired singles like 'Hang On to Your Love' and 'Smooth Operator' which was an instant hit, getting to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and earning her a Grammy Award for the album in 1986 as a Best New Artist.

She further released multi-platinum albums, 'Promise' in 1985 with singles like 'Never as Good as the First Time' and 'The Sweetest Taboo' which stayed on the U.S. Hot 100 for six months. In 1986, she released the third album 'Stronger Than Pride' and 'Love Deluxe' in 1992 with singles like 'No Ordinary Love', 'Feel No Pain' and 'Pearls', carving an irreplaceable niche in the hearts of her admirers and fans and establishing her as a top selling soul and pop artist.

In November 1994, she released her first compilation album, 'The Best of Sade' which was a hit in both the US and the UK. It included singles from previous albums, as well as a cover version of Percy Mayfield's 'Please Send Me Someone to Love'

Eight years after releasing her fourth album, she released a new album, 'Lovers Rock' which included the single,'By Your Side' which put her once again on the spot and on February 2010 after tours and concerts, she released a sixth album, 'Soldier of Love' which peaked at the top of the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 500,000 copies during its first week.

In 2012, she was listed at number 30 on VH1's "100 Greatest Women In Music" and In March 2018, she released the acoustic ballad 'Flower of the Universe' which is the sound track of the Disney movie 'A Wrinkle In Time'. She has been nominated for 28 different awards since coming to the music scene, winning eight, four of which are Grammies.

Her debut into the acting scene was in 1986 with the British film, 'Absolute Beginners ' which was based on the Colin MacInnes book, 'Absolute Beginners' about life in late-1950s London playing the role of Athene Duncannon.

Sade Adu Personal Life

She has been married twice, once to Robert Elms and the second time to Spanish filmmaker, Carlos Scola. She has a daughter, Mickallia with the Jamaican record producer, Bobby Morgan.

In 2016, her daughter came out as a transgender man

Sade Adu Awards

1985 MasterCard British Album of the year by Brit Awards
1986 Grammy Award as Best New Artist.
1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals
2002 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
2002 American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary artist
2011 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals for the album 'Soldier of Love'
2011 Porin Award for Best International album outside of Classical and Jazz music
2011 Porin Award for Best International song for Soldier of love