Sade Live (also known as the Once in a Lifetime Tour or the Soldier of Love Tour) was the sixth concert tour by British band Sade. Visiting Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia the tour supports the band's sixth studio album, Soldier of Love and their second greatest hits album, The Ultimate Collection. This trek marked the band's first tour in nearly a decade. The tour ranked 27th in Pollstar's "Top 50 Worldwide Tour (Mid-Year)", earning over 20 million dollars. At the conclusion of 2011, the tour placed tenth on Billboard's annual, "Top 25 Tours", earning over $50 million with 59 shows.
Background and response The tour was officially announced on 30 September 2010 via press release. Shortly, media outlets began to buzz over the tour. Concurrently, the announcement of the tour followed the band's recent studio album, Soldier of Love, certified platinum in the United States. Advertised as a world tour, the initial announcement showed ten dates in the Southeastern United States. Soon after, dates in the United Kingdom and Europe were announced as well—giving the band its first performances in nearly two decades. At the start of 2011, the album was nominated for two Grammy Awards, prompting the band to add additional dates in the U.S.. During this time, American recording artist John Legend was revealed to be the opening act for the North American leg of the tour. Additional dates in Europe and North America followed. Frontwoman, Sade, described touring as being on a thrill ride at an amusement park. She further commented, "Once you’re on the ride, you’re so involved in it that it's almost too late to say, 'What am I doing?’ In some ways, I'm already psyched up [for the tour]. You have to know that it's going to be good to bring yourself to do it."
To introduce the tour, Adu stated: "You can never translate the reality of a show, which is good. I like to think this tour will be better than ever. We’re aiming high", she said. "It's a big production. It's going to be quite theatrical and hopefully visually do a good service to the songs and represent them well and take you somewhere. Hopefully, when people leave, they’ll leave with something."
Billboard magazine devoted its August 2011 cover story to the tour, highlighting details of the tour and its financial response. Sade's longtime collaborator Sophie Muller served as creative director of the tour while Baz Halpin (known for his work on tours by P!nk and Tina Turner) handled production and lighting design (including the jumbo LED screen that flashed imagery behind Sade while she's performed). According to the Billboard cover story, from 16 June to 14 August, the tour had grossed $31.4 million and drew 345,441 concert-goers to 36 concerts, of which 16 were sell-outs. As of 1 June, the band ranked as the eighth highest-grossing tour based on reported boxscores and ranked number-seven in concerts for ticket prices for the band range from $20 to $180 in various markets. Due to the success of the tour, new dates were added in Australia which marked the band's second tour there in almost twenty years.
Broadcasts and recordings
During the American leg of Sade's 2011 tour, British director, Sophie Muller, captured the band's two-hour show for release on DVD, with accompanying Live CD. In addition to the concert, Sade also granted rare glimpses of behind-the-stage scenes with a 20-minute documentary, exclusive candid moments, a short technical documentary by Stuart Matthewman, and outtakes from the crew.
Opening acts The Jolly Boys (first European leg) John Legend (North America)
Setlist
"Soldier of Love" "Your Love Is King" "Skin" "Kiss of Life" "Love is Found" "In Another Time" "Smooth Operator" "Jezebel" "Bring Me Home" "Is It a Crime" "Love is Stronger Than Pride" (after first leg only) / Still in Love With You (first leg only) "All About Our Love" Medley: "Paradise" / "Nothing Can Come Between Us" "Morning Bird" "King of Sorrow" "The Sweetest Taboo" "The Moon and the Sky" "Pearls" "No Ordinary Love" "By Your Side" Encore "Cherish the Day"
Tour dates
DateCityCountryVenueEurope/29 April 2011NiceFrancePalais Nikaïa1 May 2011AntwerpBelgiumSportpaleis3 May 2011HamburgGermanyO2 World Hamburg4 May 2011OberhausenKönig Pilsener Arena6 May 2011MilanItalyMediolanum Forum7 May 2011StuttgartGermanyHanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle9 May 2011CopenhagenDenmarkForum Copenhagen10 May 2011StockholmSwedenEricsson Globe12 May 2011FrankfurtGermanyFesthalle Frankfurt13 May 2011BerlinO2 World14 May 2011PragueCzech RepublicO2 Arena16 May 2011ZürichSwitzerlandHallenstadion17 May 2011ParisFrancePalais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy19 May 2011MunichGermanyOlympiahalle20 May 2011MetzFranceGalaxie Amnéville21 May 2011CologneGermanyLanxess Arena23 May 2011RotterdamNetherlandsRotterdam Ahoy25 May 2011DublinIrelandThe O227 May 2011ManchesterEnglandManchester Evening News Arena29 May 2011BirminghamLG Arena31 May 2011LondonThe O2 ArenaNorth AmericaAdditional dates in North America16 June 2011BaltimoreUnited States1st Mariner Arena18 June 2011PittsburghConsol Energy Center19 June 2011PhiladelphiaWells Fargo Center21 June 2011UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum22 June 2011Washington, D.C.Verizon Center24 June 2011East RutherfordIzod Center25 June 2011NewarkPrudential Center28 June 2011TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre30 June 2011MontrealBell Centre2 July 2011Atlantic CityUnited StatesEtess Arena3 July 2011UncasvilleMohegan Sun Arena6 July 2011BostonTD Garden8 July 2011IndianapolisConseco Fieldhouse9 July 2011ClevelandQuicken Loans Arena10 July 2011ColumbusValue City Arena12 July 2011AtlantaPhilips Arena13 July 201115 July 2011SunriseBank Atlantic Center16 July 2011MiamiAmerican Airlines Arena17 July 2011OrlandoAmway Center22 July 2011New OrleansNew Orleans Arena23 July 2011HoustonToyota Center24 July 2011DallasAmerican Airlines Center26 July 2011Kansas CitySprint Center28 July 2011St. LouisScottrade Center29 July 2011MemphisFedExForum31 July 2011CharlotteTime Warner Cable Arena1 August 2011NashvilleBridgestone Arena3 August 2011Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills5 August 2011ChicagoUnited Center6 August 20117 August 20119 August 2011MinneapolisTarget Center11 August 2011DenverPepsi Center13 August 2011VancouverCanadaRogers Arena14 August 2011SeattleUnited StatesKeyArena15 August 2011PortlandModa Center17 August 2011SacramentoSleep Train Arena19 August 2011Los AngelesStaples Center20 August 201121 August 201123 August 2011Chula VistaCricket Wireless Amphitheatre25 August 2011San JoseSAP Center26 August 2011OaklandOracle Arena27 August 201130 August 2011AnaheimHonda Center31 August 20112 September 2011PhoenixUS Airways Center3 September 2011Las VegasMGM Grand Garden Arena4 September 2011OntarioCitizens Business Bank Arena7 September 2011AustinFrank Erwin Center9 September 2011LouisvilleKFC Yum! Center10 September 2011GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum12 September 2011NorfolkNorfolk ScopeSouth America12 October 2011SantiagoChileMovistar Arena13 October 201115 October 2011Buenos AiresArgentinaPredio Vicente López al Río20 October 2011São PauloBrazilGinásio do Ibirapuera22 October 2011Rio de JaneiroHSBC Arena25 October 2011BrasíliaNilson Nelson GymnasiumEurope29 October 2011SofiaBulgariaArmeets Arena30 October 2011BelgradeSerbiaBelgrade Arena2 November 2011TallinnEstoniaSaku Suurhall3 November 2011HelsinkiFinlandHartwall Areena5 November 2011St. PetersburgRussiaIce Palace Saint Petersburg7 November 2011MoscowCrocus City Hall8 November 201111 November 2011ŁódźPolandAtlas Arena13 November 2011BratislavaSlovakiaOndrej Nepela Arena15 November 2011LeipzigGermanyArena Leipzig16 November 2011MannheimSAP Arena18 November 2011ZurichSwitzerlandHallenstadion19 November 2011DortmundGermanyWestfalenhallen20 November 2011AntwerpBelgium Lotto Arena22 November 2011ZagrebCroatiaArena Zagreb23 November 2011BudapestHungaryBudapest Sports Arena25 November 2011ViennaAustriaWiener StadthalleAustraliaAdditional sources for dates in Australia:2 December 2011MelbourneAustraliaRod Laver Arena3 December 2011AdelaideAdelaide Entertainment Centre6 December 2011PerthThe Esplanade9 December 2011SydneySydney Entertainment Centre10 December 201112 December 2011BrisbaneBrisbane Entertainment CentreAsia16 December 2011Abu DhabiUnited Arab EmiratesDu Arena
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances This concert was a part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival This concert is a part of "A Day on the Green" This concert is a part of "Yas Island Weekends"
Cancellations and rescheduled shows 20 November 2011Herning, DenmarkJyske Bank BoxenCancelled3 December 2011McLaren Vale, AustraliaLeconfield Wines EstateCancelled. This concert was a part of "A Day on the Green".6 December 2011Perth, AustraliaKings ParkThis concert was moved to The Esplanade10 December 2011Pokolbin, AustraliaHope Estate Winery AmphitheatreCancelled. This concert was a part of "A Day on the Green".14 December 2011Brisbane, AustraliaBrisbane Entertainment CentreRescheduled to 12 December 201116 December 2011Yarra Valley, AustraliaRochford Wines EstateCancelled. This concert was a part of "A Day on the Green".
Box office score data