Sade have released the long-awaited follow-up to their multi-platinum, Grammy-winning 2000 disc, Lovers Rock.
Soldier of Love, the band's first release in 10 years, is in stores now.
The first single from the album, title track ‘Soldier of Love’ is currently No. 1 in the US on Billboard's Jazz songs chart and has peaked at No. 6 on the US R&B charts.
The band - led by vocalist Sade - also includes Stuart Matthewman on guitar and saxophone, Andrew Hale on keyboards and Paul Denham on bass.
Since the release of their debut album, 1984's Diamond Life, the band has seen all five of their studio albums land in the Top 10 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart, selling a total of more than 50 million albums worldwide to date.
Soldier of Love was made at Peter Gabriel's Real World studio, near Sade's home in the countryside of south west England. It the first time the group had met up since the Lover's Rock tour wrapped in 2001.
Sade sketched out the material for a new album which, they all felt, was probably their most ambitious to date.
“I never want to repeat myself,” Sade herself says. “And that becomes a more interesting challenge for us the longer we carry on together.”
Watch the video for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album.
APTN / 3 News