Sade Returns After 20 Years

It’s been a long time since Sade last toured Australia, but she’s coming back for a series of shows this summer.

Sade is actually not a “she” but a “they”. It’s an actual band made up of Stuart Matthewman on guitar/saxophone, Andrew Hale on keyboards and Paul Denman on bass, but they draw their name from the lead singer Sade Adu.

The band have released a new album last year and it picks up where they left off.

Soldier of Love is only the sixth studio album the band Sade have released during their 25 year career, and the first since Lover’s Rock in 2000.

For Sade herself, as the lynchpin of the group’s songwriting effort, it’s a simple matter of integrity and authenticity. “I only make records when I feel I have something to say. I’m not interested in releasing music just for the sake of selling something. Sade is not a brand.”

The call went out in 2008 for the group to re-convene at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio, near Sade’s home in the countryside of south west England. It was the first time the four principals had met up since the Lover’s Rock tour wrapped in 2001. Bassist Paul Denman de-camped from Los Angeles, where he had been managing his teenage son’s punk band, Orange. Guitarist and sax player Stuart Matthewman interrupted his film soundtrack work in New York, and keyboardist Andrew Hale gave up his A&R consultancy.

In a series of fortnightly sessions at Real World, Sade sketched out the material for a new album which, they all felt, was probably their most ambitious to date. In particular, the sonic layering and martial beats of the title track, ‘Soldier Of Love’, sounded quite different from anything they had previously recorded. According to Andrew Hale: “The big question for all of us at the beginning was, did we still want to do this and could we still get along as friends?” The answer soon came back as a passionate affirmative.

The album was completed in the summer of 2009, mainly at Real World. The feel of the music this time had moved away from the old country soul styling of Lover’s Rock and assumed a more eclectic identity. At times the band sounded like the original Sade, with Matthewman back blowing soft sax on ‘In Another Time’ and the vocal on ‘Long Hard Road’ hymning. But with songs such as the joyously quirky reggae chant ‘Babyfather’, and the dramatically arranged album opener ‘The Moon and the Sky’, Sade were exploring new territory. “I never want to repeat myself,” Sade herself says. “And that becomes a more interesting challenge for us the longer we carry on together.”

Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday 16 September through Ticketek and Ticketmaster.

Friday December 2 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Friday December 9 – Entertainment Centre, Sydney

Saturday December 10 – Hunter Valley, Hope Estate

Wednesday December 14- Entertainment Centre, Brisbane


Day On The Green shows

Saturday Dec 3 – Leconfield Wines, McLaren Vale, SA

 

Tuesday Dec 6 – Kings Park & Botanic Gardens, Perth, WA

 

Saturday Dec 17 – Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley, VIC