When Sophie Muller, a renowned music video director and Sade’s frequent collaborator, hinted that the band would have made their much-anticipated return to music this year had the pandemic not happened, our feelings were crushed.
“Well, I think it would have been this year,” Muller exclusively told Rated R&B in July. “Of course, there’s been a lot of series of events occurring where things have slowed the world up. Maybe next year.”
Now, in typical surprise fashion, the iconic group is gearing up for a massive boxed set containing remastered versions of their studio albums to date. The collection, This Far, is slated to arrive on October 9, 2020, almost 20 years after the release of their Grammy-winning album Lovers Rock.
In addition to a remastered edition of Lovers Rock, the complete set, which will be available on pure 180-Gram heavyweight black vinyl, will include their eminent debut album Diamond Life, along with the other timeless LPs: Promise, Stronger Than Pride, Love Deluxe, and Soldier of Love.
The latter album, which was released in 2010 after the band’s decade-long hiatus, was received with open arms by their devoted fans and critics. The title track won a Grammy in the category for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The album helped Sade launch a successful world tour, which Muller captured as director for Bring Me Home: Live 2011.
“Putting a concert together is really fun. It’s really creative. It’s amazing and it’s probably one of my favorite things,” Muller said to Rated R&B when asked about her experience directing Sade’s live shows. “The last one we did, Bring Me Home is by far the greatest thing I’ve ever been part of. So fantastic, the whole experience. I thought, “We did all that together.” I think it was successful and I don’t mean on a monetary level. I me”n it succeeded in enthralling people when they were there. I think to me, that was a very creative endeavor that we all did that show. It was a special show.”
In 2018, Sade’s longtime collaborator and famed British musician Stuart Matthewman — who is an original member of the band — teased at the group’s return. “When we’re happy, then we’ll let everyone else hear it,” he exclusively told Rated R&B.
Also that year, the band released two songs: “The Big Unknown” and “Flower of the Universe.”
