Helen Folasade Adu

1959 - Helen Folasade Adu born on the 16th of January in Ibadan, ÌyÍ State, Nigeria. Her parents, Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English nurse, met in London and moved to west Africa. Known professionally as Sade Adu, is a Nigerian-born Grammy winning English singer, composer, songwriter, and record producer. Sade is a renowned soul, pop, urban, and adult contemporary vocalist, noted for her soulful, smoky contralto.

1977 - Arrived in London for a three-year course in fashion design at St. Martin's College. On graduating, she set up a small fashion company, making mens' clothes, in London's Chalk Farm, with a friend, Gioia Mellor. She also began to work as a photographic model.

1980 - Met Lee Barrett, the manager of a Latin-soul group Ariva. She joined Ariva and began to write her own songs.

1982 - As a member of a Latin-soul group Pride, Sade met Stuart Matthewman and Paul Spencer Denman. Together with Paul Cook, they formed splinter group named Sade and began to write their own material. Later they were joined by Andrew Hale and Paul Cook left the band.

1983 - Signed with Epic Records and sister imprint Portrait Records for the US and Canada on the 18th of October. All of the Sade albums are Sony Music releases.

1985 - Appeared in the film Absolute Beginners, directed by Julian Temple. She played singer Athene Duncannon, performing "Killer Blow", co-written by her with Simon Booth of soul/jazz band Working Week.

1986 - Moved to Madrid, Spain.

1989 - Married Carlos Scola, a Spanish film-maker on the 11th October, in the old castle Vinuelas in Madrid. They soon separated.

1990 - Moved to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where she lived with Bob Morgan, a Jamaican producer.

1996 - Gave birth to her daughter Ila on the 21st of July.

1997 - She was cited for dangerous driving and disobeying a police officer in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Later a Jamaican court issued an arrest warrant for Sade after she failed to appear in court to face charges. But medical proof of her daughter's hospitalization allowed the arrest warrant to be "stayed".

2005 - Recorded a new track, "Mum", specially for the Voices For Darfur DVD of the charity concert took place on the 8th of December at the Royal Albert Hall in London, to raise awareness and funding for the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.