Sade Adu

“I can't see myself just endlessly singing the same songs over and over again.”

“If you're only making an album every 10 years, it better be good.”

“I don't get easily bored. I'm not that kind of person.”

“Most of my lyrics are little stories about my experiences or those of my friends.”

“My father was a very difficult man.”

“I'm not over the top; I'm not wacky. I'm fairly understated, and that reflects in the way I sing.”

“I am fairly classless because it is very difficult to class someone who comes from a mixed marriage.”

“I'm uneasy with fame so I do my best to avoid places that will bring me more attention.”

“I just aspire to pick people up. That's my ambition.”

“Once a song's out there, it's no longer mine. And that's the whole purpose of music: to belong to people.”

“I'm not shy or reclusive. I just spend my time with people rather than journalists.”

“My daughter and stepson are really broad-minded.”

“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.”

“I love writing songs.”

“I'm always late.”

“London was a really multi-racial city ... It's incredible how comfortable people are with race there.”

“The anxiety I feel when I'm late is nothing like the anxiety I feel when I'm on time.”

“When I was young, people were almost identified solely by the kind of music they liked. People fell into categories of who liked what.”

“I always see myself as much more of a musician than a celebrity.”

“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.”