Although Seal earliest material still showed signs of acid house, by the mid-'90s he had created a distinctive fusion of soul, folk, pop, dance, and rock that brought him success on both sides of the Atlantic.
The son of Nigerian
and Brazilian parents, Seal was raised in England and after graduating with an
architectural degree, he took various jobs around London, including electrical
engineering and designing leather clothing. After a while, he began singing in
local clubs and bars and he joined an English funk band called Push, touring
Japan with the band in the mid-'80s. When Seal was in Asia, he joined a
Thailand-based blues band and after only a short time with that group, he travelled
throughout India on his own.
Upon returning to England,
Seal met Adamski, a house and techno producer who had yet to make much of an impression
within the U.K. When they came together Seal provided the lyrics and vocals for
Adamski's "Killer," which became a number one hit in 1990. After
"Killer" became a hit, Seal signed a solo record contract.
He recorded his
eponymous debut album with Trevor Horn, who had previously worked with ABC,
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and the Buggles. The first single pulled from the
album, "Crazy," became a number 15 hit in the U.K. and reached number
seven in America upon its release in 1991. Seal the album was also a success,
reaching number 24 in America and selling over three million copies around the
world.
After the success
of his debut, Seal took three years to complete his second album. In between
the two records, he appeared on the Jimi Hendrix tribute album Stone Free,
singing on Jeff Beck's version of "Manic Depression."
In the summer of
1994, he released his second album, which was also titled Seal. Preceded by the
American Top 40 hit "Prayer for the Dying," the album did well upon
its release, peaking at number 20 and selling a million copies by the spring of
1995, but it didn't really take off until a year after its release, when
"Kiss From a Rose" was featured on the soundtrack to Batman Forever.
"Kiss From a Rose" became a number one pop single in America and
spent a total of 12 weeks at the top of the adult contemporary charts; the
single spent a total of 45 weeks on the adult contemporary charts. Its success
sent the album, Seal, into multi-platinum status; two years after its original
release, the album had sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone.
In 1998 Seal
released Human Being with Seal IV following five years later. The
career-spanning Best: 1991-2004 appeared in October of 2004 with the live
CD/DVD combo Live in Paris following a year later. Seal concert tickets always
sell fast it is recommended that you buy your Seal tickets from a ticket broker
to get premium seats.
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