Band
Holds writing credit on 59 of 60 tracks
She writes the words to almost all of them. Sade Adu is the lyricist on 59 of the 60 tracks across six albums. The music is a different matter: her name is on 58 composer credits and never alone, always shared with Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale or Paul Denman.
Across all 60 tracks: how many Sade wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Share of all 60 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Percentage of all 60 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.
| Member | Period | Lyrics | Music | Production | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sade Adu | 1982-present | 98% |
97% |
72% |
0% |
| Stuart Matthewman | 1982-present | 40% |
80% |
0% |
0% |
| Andrew Hale | 1982-present | 30% |
60% |
0% |
0% |
| Paul Denman | 1982-present | 22% |
30% |
0% |
0% |
Sade's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
Where Sade sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
None of the signature songs above fall in this category.
All six studio albums. The live records and the compilations sit outside this catalogue.
Epic
Epic
Epic
Epic
Epic
Epic
No albums from this decade.
Sade60 tracksBubble size = tracks worked on together. MP Mike Pela · RM Robin Millar · BR Ben Rogan · LO Leroy Osbourne · JP Janusz Podrazik · JJ Juan Janes
Data Insight
The division is absolute and has not moved in forty years. Sade Adu is the lyricist on 59 of the 60 tracks across six albums, and the one she did not write is a Timmy Thomas cover. The music runs the other way: her name is on 58 of the composer credits but never on its own, always with Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale or Paul Denman. Four people, one voice, and no solo writing credit anywhere in the catalogue.
Quick Facts
Creative Fingerprint
One lyricist for everything, and music no member has ever written alone.
The Story
Sade Adu writes the words to 59 of the 60 album tracks. The music is credited to the four of them, and she has never once composed a song without the band.