1.
I always said that if I could just find a guy who could chop wood and had a nice smile, it wouldn't bother me if he was a thug or an aristocrat, as long as he was a good guy. And I've ended up with an educated thug.
Sade Adu
2.
Once a song's out there, it's no longer mine. And that's the whole purpose of music: to belong to people.
Sade Adu
3.
Move in space with minimum waste and maximum joy.
Sade Adu
4.
Whatever I'm doing, I'm in that moment and I'm doing it. The rest of the world's lost. If I'm cooking some food or making soup, I want it to be lovely. If not, what's the point of doing it?
Sade Adu
5.
I just aspire to pick people up. That's my ambition.
Sade Adu
6.
When I go into the studio, I completely detach. I let my emotions come out.
Sade Adu
7.
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.
Sade Adu
8.
To be a mother you must be strong. Even if you don't feel it, you have to pretend.
Sade Adu
9.
The anxiety I feel when I'm late is nothing like the anxiety I feel when I'm on time.
Sade Adu
10.
I've made sacrifices. I'm not anti-fashion but I've always had a bit of a punk attitude. That's important, I think. I do my own thing.
Sade Adu
11.
People generally let me be me. People are aware that I'm not someone particularly begging for attention. They hold back a bit with me.
Sade Adu
12.
What could equal the bliss? / The thrill of the first kiss / It'll blow right to you / It's never as good as the first time.
Sade Adu
13.
I don't like looking outrageous.
Sade Adu
14.
I am fairly classless because it is very difficult to class someone who comes from a mixed marriage.
Sade Adu
15.
When you play arenas you can create whatever you want. At a theater the height of the stage and the limitations of the theater can make you feel more separate from the audience.
Sade Adu
16.
All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!
Sade Adu
17.
I have no technical training and am completely uneducated in music.
Sade Adu
18.
I am a reluctant celebrity, in some ways.
Sade Adu
19.
I'm not shy or reclusive. I just spend my time with people rather than journalists.
Sade Adu
20.
I always see myself as much more of a musician than a celebrity.
Sade Adu
21.
I don't get easily bored. I'm not that kind of person.
Sade Adu
22.
From being at art college, I've always hated people that have the gall to think that they're being incredibly different when they're doing something in a very acceptable way, something safe that they've seen someone else doing.
Sade Adu
23.
My father was a very difficult man.
Sade Adu
24.
When I was young, people were almost identified solely by the kind of music they liked. People fell into categories of who liked what.
Sade Adu
25.
I can't see myself just endlessly singing the same songs over and over again.
Sade Adu
26.
I love writing songs.
Sade Adu
27.
I think you only really feel like an outsider if you've been an insider.
Sade Adu
28.
If you're only making an album every 10 years, it better be good.
Sade Adu
29.
When you tour, you regain the music and the connection with the audience.
Sade Adu
30.
I've got absolutely no real perception, properly, of time.
Sade Adu
31.
Most of my lyrics are little stories about my experiences or those of my friends.
Sade Adu
32.
People are so used to having their lives filmed, they're not even conscious of having cameras around. I still have that sort of suspicion when a camera comes out. I view it as a thing to fear.
Sade Adu
33.
There isn't a class structure in Nigeria, there's a tribal structure and prestige as far as money is concerned.
Sade Adu
34.
Radio interviews are really snappy and I'm just bad at that. I just close down.
Sade Adu
35.
My daughter and stepson are really broad-minded.
Sade Adu
36.
London was a really multi-racial city ... It's incredible how comfortable people are with race there.
Sade Adu
37.
I look a lot like my father and his mother.
Sade Adu
38.
I'm not over the top; I'm not wacky. I'm fairly understated, and that reflects in the way I sing.
Sade Adu
39.
My musical career was an accident.
Sade Adu
40.
I'm uneasy with fame so I do my best to avoid places that will bring me more attention.
Sade Adu
41.
I've never associated myself with other singers, certainly not female singers.
Sade Adu