Sade

Collection of Sade

When singer Sade and her band of the same name were establishing themselves, their record company, Epic, made a point of printing "Pronounced Shar-day" on the record labels of their releases. Soon enough, the music had no problem with the correct pronunciation. With the breakthrough Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten single "Smooth Operator" propelling the debut Sade album, Diamond Life, to the same spot on the Billboard 200 chart in 1985, the band fast came to epitomize soulful, adult-oriented, sophisti-pop. Though only five more studio albums would follow during the next 25 years, the band's following abated only slightly, and each release was treated like a long-awaited public return of a mysterious yet beloved diva.

Born Helen Folasade Adu in Ibadan, Nigeria, about 50 miles from Lagos, Sade was the daughter of an African father and an English mother. After her mother returned to England, Adu grew up on the North End of London. Developing a good singing voice in her teens, Adu worked part-time jobs in and outside of the music business. She listened to Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and Billie Holiday, and studied fashion design at St. Martin's School of Art in London while also doing some modeling on the side.

Around 1980, she started singing harmony with a Latin funk group called Arriva. One of the more popular numbers that the group performed was an Adu original co-written with bandmember Ray St. John, "Smooth Operator." The following year, she joined the eight-piece funk band Pride as a background singer. Pride's opening acts often featured members of the band in different combinations. Pride and their off-shoots performed often around London and stirred up record company interest. Initially, the labels wanted to sign only Sade -- technically a trio featuring Adu, Stuart Matthewman, and Paul Denman -- while the whole of Pride wanted a deal. The members of Pride not involved in the Sade trio eventually told Adu, Matthewman, and Denman to go ahead and sign a deal. Adding keyboardist Andrew Hale, Sade signed to the U.K. division of Epic Records.

The band's 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 had gone platinum on the strength of the Top Ten singles "Smooth Operator" and "Hang on to Your Love." The second album, Promise (1985), featured "Never as Good as the First Time" and "The Sweetest Taboo," the latter of which stayed on the U.S. Hot 100 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 playlists. 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 single on the U.S. R&B chart, "Paradise," as well as "Nothing Can Come Between Us" and "Keep Looking." The fourth 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."

Matthewman, Denman, and Hale went on to other projects, including the low-key Sweetback, which released a self-titled album in 1996. Matthewman also played a major role in the development of Maxwell's career, providing instrumentation and production work for the R&B singer's first two albums. Sade eventually reconvened to issue Lovers Rock in 2000. The lead single "By Your Side" was a moderate hit, peaking at number 18 on the adult contemporary chart; the following summer, Sade embarked on their first tour in more than a decade and sold out many dates across America. In early 2002, they celebrated the tour's success by releasing a live album and DVD, Lovers Live. The mostly somber Soldier of Love was released in 2010. Allmusic by Ed Hogan

Album: Diamond Life

01. Smooth Operator
02. Your Love Is King
03. Hang on to Your Love
04. "Frankie's First Affair
05. When Am I Going to Make a Living
06. Cherry Pie
07. Sally
08. I Will Be Your Friend
09. Why Can't We Live Together

http://www4.zippyshare.com/v/62029366/file.html

Album: Promise

01. Is It a Crime
02. The Sweetest Taboo
03. War of the Hearts
04. You're Not the Man
05. Jezebel
06. Mr. Wrong
07. Punch Drunk
08. Never As Good As the First Time
09. Fear
10. Tar Baby
11. Maureen

http://www22.zippyshare.com/v/93553745/file.html

Album: Stronger Than Pride

01. Love Is Stronger Than Pride
02. Paradise
03. Nothing Can Come Between Us
04. Haunt Me
05. Turn My Back on You
06. Keep Looking
07. Clean Heart
08. Give It Up
09. I Never Thought I'd See the Day
10. Siempre Hay Esperanza

http://www35.zippyshare.com/v/13249948/file.html

Album: Love Deluxe

01. No Ordinary Love
02. Feel No Pain
03. I Couldn't Love You More
04. Like a Tattoo
05. Kiss of Life
06. Cherish the Day
07. Pearls
08. Bullet Proof Soul
09. Mermaid

http://www6.zippyshare.com/v/28739093/file.html

Album: The Best of Sade

01. Your Love Is King
02. Hang on to Your Love
03. Smooth Operator
04. Jezebel
05. The Sweetest Taboo
06. Is It a Crime
07. Never As Good As the First Time
08. Love Is Stronger Than Pride
09. Paradise
10. Nothing Can Come Between Us
11. No Ordinary Love
12. Like a Tattoo
13. Kiss of Life
14. Please Send Me Someone to Love
15. Cherish the Day
16. Pearls

http://www33.zippyshare.com/v/93582752/file.html

Album: Lovers Rock

01. By Your Side
02. Flow
03. King of Sorrow
04. Somebody Already Broke My Heart
05. All About Our Love
06. Slave Song
07. The Sweetest Gift
08. Every Word
09. Immigrant
10. Lovers Rock
11. It's Only Love That Gets You Through

http://www15.zippyshare.com/v/96370694/file.html

Album: Lovers Live

01. Cherish the Day
02. Somebody Already Broke My Heart
03. Smooth Operator
04. Jezebel
05. Kiss of Life
06. Slave Song
07. Sweetest Gift
08. The Sweetest Taboo
09. Paradise
10. No Ordinary Love
11. By Your Side
12. Flow
13. Is It A Crime

http://www16.zippyshare.com/v/67324500/file.html

Album: Soldier of Love (2010)

01. The Moon and The Sky
02. Solider of Love
03. Morning Bird
04. Babyfather
05. Long Hard Road
06. Be That Easy
07. Bring Me Home
08. In Another Time
09. Skin
10. The Safest Place

http://www25.zippyshare.com/v/99157712/file.html

Album: The Ultimate Collection (2011)

CD1

01. Your Love Is King
02. Smooth Operator
03. Hang On To Your Love
04. The Sweetest Taboo
05. Is It A Crime
06. Never As Good As The First Time
07. Jezebel
08. Love Is Stronger Than Pride
09. Paradise
10. Nothing Can Come Between Us
11. No Ordinary Love
12. Kiss Of Life
13. Feel No Pain
14. Bullet Proof Soul

CD2

01. Cherish The Day
02. Pearls
03. By Your Side
04. Immigrant
05. Flow
06. King Of Sorrow
07. The Sweetest Gift
08. Solider Of Love
09. The Moon And The Sky
10. Babyfather
11. Still In Love With You
12. Love Is Found
13. I Would Never Have Guessed
14. The Moon And The Sky
15. By Your Side

http://www63.zippyshare.com/v/17945284/file.html

Album: Bring Me Home Live (2012)

01. Soldier of Love
02. Skin
03. Kiss of Life
04. Love Is Found
05. In Another Time
06. Jezebel
07. All About Our Love
08. Paradise Nothing Can Come Between Us
09. Morning Bird
10. The Moon and the Sky
11. No Ordinary Love
12. By Your Side
13. Cherish the Day

http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/19416207/file.html

Enjoy!!!!