Sade Adu

My father was a very difficult man.

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

When you play arenas you can create whatever you want. At a theater the height of the stage and the limitations of the theater can make you feel more separate from the audience.

I look a lot like my father and his mother.

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

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.

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

There isn't a class structure in Nigeria; there's a tribal structure and prestige as far as money is concerned.

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

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

I love writing songs.

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

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

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.

Radio interviews are really snappy and I'm just bad at that. I just close down.

My musical career was an accident.

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

All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!

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

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

To be a mother you must be strong. Even if you don't feel it, you have to pretend.

When I go into the studio, I completely detach. I let my emotions come out.

I think you only really feel like an outsider if you've been an insider.

My daughter and stepson are really broad-minded.

I don't like looking outrageous.