Paul Denman

Paul Spencer Denman (born July 1957) is an English songwriter and bass guitarist. With Sade Adu, Andrew Hale, and Stuart Matthewman, he gained worldwide fame as the bass guitarist of the English band Sade. He is also a member of the English band Sweetback.

Denman lived on Greatfield Estate, Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, from 1959 until 1979. The same estate as Mick Ronson, which lead Denman aged 12 to attend one of the The Rats gigs whose members Mick Ronson, Mick Woody Woodmansey, Trevor Boulder, later went on to become David Bowie’s backing band The Spiders from Mars.

Interested in music from an early age Denman’s parents bought him a bass guitar as a birthday gift aged 13.   Denman left Greatfield school at 15, to start an apprenticeship as a coppersmith at Hawker/Sidley, later British Aerospace in Bough, Hull, building military aircraft until age 22.  Denman served his musical apprenticeship on the Hull circuit, performing in bands since the age of 13, and finally at the age of 24, inspired by Punk and the Sex Pistols, Denman bought a one way train ticket to London.  An act that eventually lead to Denman joining Latin/Funk band Pride which lead to the creation of the band Sade with other Pride members.