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Tuesday 31 May marked the long awaited return to the London stage of the legendary Helen Folasade Adu and band, better known as Sade. Ms Adu is a veritable prodigal daughter in touring terms anyway, having last played these shores in 1993. Although she claims to enjoy performing, her nearly-20 year absence from the UK live scene indicates otherwise.
Arriving at the O2 this late spring evening, I am pleasantly surprised to see such a cross section of ages and backgrounds making up the
Sade faithful; not unlike the sort of crowd that attended her musical male equivalent,
Maxwell’s comeback gig in 2009. The band has been well noted for their ability to draw a diverse audience, one that mirrors the multicultural line-up of Sade itself. Yet I’m not entirely sure what to expect on the night.
Sade’s relationship with the UK- both media and listening audience-has been a complicated one. Following their initial breakthrough in the early-mid ‘80s Britain’s reaction to Sade appeared to gradually cool. With the exception of ‘By Your Side’ (peak chart position number 17) none of the singles from the bands last two albums have troubled the UK Top 40. And they were generally always underrated by a clueless rock-focused British music press.
The image of the Bohemian musician is alive and well in London-born, internationally raised singer-songwriter U’mau Otuokon. This is no gimmick, mind you. The easy-going mannerisms, positive energy and Bo-ho raiment are all the artist’s own.
The daughter of a diplomat, U’mau’s slightly transatlantic inflections betray an intercontinental upbringing, one which saw her living in far flung destinations such as Russia, Cameroon, Spain and Canada. Along the way she picked up some Spanish and French as well as smatterings of her parents’ indigenous Ibibio and Efik tongues of South-Eastern Nigeria.
On U’mau’s debut album Sound Journeys of the Lost and Found you can hear influences from West Africa, Central and South America, the Middle-East, as well as more conventional western R&B rhythms. I imagine her nomadic childhood must have had a knock-on effect on her art; an insatiable restlessness maybe, to try new things...
Some people may know 
There are very few acts that can disappear for a whole decade before releasing a new album and still have legions of adherents keep the fire burning. Sade, with the inscrutable quality that allows them to take these artistic liberties, is one such band.