Sade but True

Hull, Yorkshire is a great musical city. 

Perhaps not as recognised in the media as the Northern Powerhouses of Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield but nevertheless a major contributor to the music scene nationally and on a global scale. 

There has always been an emphasis on celebrating home grown talent. One trio who have been prominent are of course Ronson, Bolder and Woodmansey, collectively the Spiders from Mars backing band of David Bowie. 

However another three founder members of a band who hail from Hull are by no means out of place in being added to this auspicious company. 

They may not be as well known but Matthewman, Denman and Cooke along with one Helen Adu contributed and collaborated to form, in an authoritative poll, the 50^th of the 100 greatest bands of all time. 

Paul Anthony Cooke, drummer and songwriter met Paul Denman, bass guitar in Hull in 1977 when they formed "The Posers". Although part of a lively music scene in the city it was seen as necessary to move to London in 1980 to try to break into the big time, the launch pad being the possibility of securing a record contract. 

They were not successful and "The Posers" disbanded after a year in the Capital and Denman was more than ready to return to his home city and former full time employment in the shipbuilding industry. 

In 1982 Cooke was approached by Stuart Matthewman who at that time was in a Mod band called "The Odds" about auditioning for a London based funk band called "Arriva". 

Matthewman had just finished touring with Raving Rupert, an Elvis impersonator but fancied his chances to put his multi-instrumentalist skills to better use. 

It was at "Arriva" auditions in 1982 that Paul and Stuart first came across the singer Helen Adu. 

The existing line up of "Arriva" were not very inspiring as it seems and Matthewman was signed up immediately to give some dynamism and credibility to the band. Two days later Cooke joined and it was on his recommendation that his former associate, Paul Denman brought his bass guitar to the party. 

The trio played under the name "Pride" and with Adu had some initial airplay on the BBC Oxford Roadshow in February 1983 and in the following May were booked to play at Danceteria in New York, USA. 

The band profile was developing well although there was no possibility of any of the four members getting paid and there would be no guarantee of an income until a record contract was signed. 

The band manager, Lee Barrett, who had a day job as a roofer, was new to the business but obviously saw the potential of "Pride". 

Two offshoot bands were formed, the first PSP named after the Christian names of the musician trio and the other around Helen Adu and pronounced "Sharday". 

Twice weekly rehearsals at Solidlight Studios in Camden, London saw the band developing what was an unprecedented sound in the music charts and the lead singer Adu under the name Sade, had a fantastic charisma and stage presence as well as a smooth, soulful, jazz based and sophisti-pop voice. 

The band collaborated on a number by a former associate Ray St John called Diamond Life and this, after adaptation and rewriting was to later become the iconic Sade track, Smooth Operator. 

At Ronnie Scott's Club, London in December 1982 the band made quite an impression and a number of record companies were keen to sign them. 

It was still a difficult and testing time for the band members, a case of so near but so far to fame and fortune. They had not been paid or at least with any regularity for the previous two years, Matthewman’s mother in Hull was upset that her son was not being paid and may have wanted him to come home to find steady employment. 

In the summer of 1983 the record label RCA paid £10,000 for recording sessions and master tapes were made that would contribute to the acclaimed first album, Diamond Life, in the following year. 

The long awaited thrust into the limelight brought with it the usual stresses and pressures on the band. Whether down to inexperience of management, naivity of hard working musicians or political infighting Paul Cooke played his last performance for the band in Vienna in December 1983. In a messy situation he was just told that his services were no longer required. He returned to Hull. 

Sometime in that same year Paul Hale was drafted into the band and the amended line up with Denman, Matthewman and Helen Adu emerged as the hottest proposition in pop music in the mid 1980’s. 

As well as multi award winning albums ,song writing recognition and chart topping success the artist Sade and the band performed at Live Aid from Wembley in 1985 and went on to sell 75 million records worldwide. The role played by the original trio from Hull cannot be overlooked. 

Unfortunately, Cooke received no recognition for his co-writing and drumline contributions to seven of the Diamond Life tracks after he had left the main line up and there followed many years of litigation and contractural wranglings between Cooke and the collective members of Sade and management. 

Such is the pop music business.