Sananda Francesco Maitreya was born Terence Trent Howard in Manhattan in 1962.[3] His mother is Frances Howard, a gospel singer,[4] teacher and counselor. Frances Howard married Bishop James Benjamin Darby, who became his stepfather and raised him. He took this stepfather's last name and later added the apostrophe.[3][5]
Maitreya trained as a boxer in Orlando and in 1980 won the Florida Golden Gloveslightweight championship.[6] He received an offer to attend boxing school in the United States Army, but went to college instead. After enrolling at the University of Central Florida, he quit a year later and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was posted at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then served in the 3rd Armored Division, near Frankfurt, West Germany.[4] He was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged by the army in April 1983 after going absent without leave.[7] While in West Germany, he worked as a band leader with the band the Touch, releasing an album called Love on Time (1984).[8] It was re-issued in 1989 as Early Works after his worldwide success as a solo artist. In 1986, he left West Germany for London, where he briefly played with the Bojangles, who became his backing group on his 1988 tour.[9] In London, he signed a recording contract with CBS Records.[10]
In an interview, Maitreya played with the press and expressed a high opinion of his first album, claiming that it was the most important album since the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[1] After the comments leaked to US media outlets, he stated that most of what he said was exaggerated, but that it is sometimes necessary to "hit people over the head" to get their attention.[12] The album earned him a Grammy Award in the category Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male (1989)[13] and a BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act, and he also received Grammy and Soul Train nominations for Best New Artist.[14]
Maitreya's follow-up album, Neither Fish nor Flesh (1989),[8] was very different from his debut, and though producer Martyn Ware stated in a 2021 interview that the album was way ahead of its time,[15][13] it was a critical and commercial disappointment.[16] It took four more years and a move to Los Angeles until his next album, Symphony or Damn (1993), was released. The record contained the singles "Delicate" and "She Kissed Me". It peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart.[8] The album's closing track "Let Her Down Easy" was covered by George Michael and released as the first single and video from his 2014 album Symphonica. Michael's version appeared on the UK pop chart at number 53, its peak position.[17]
In 1995, Maitreya released Vibrator, which was followed by a world tour.[8] It featured the single "Holding On To You".
Maitreya's music has been included on several movie and television soundtracks. He sang the theme song of 1991's Frankie and Johnny. "Right Thing, Wrong Way" featured in the end credits of Beverly Hills Cop III. "What Shall I Do?" was featured in an episode of the UPN television series Girlfriends. He sang the ending song, "Letting Go", in the 1996 film The Fan. Maitreya's songs were also used in Prêt-à-Porter and the 1995 miniseries The Promised Land.[citation needed]
In 1999, Maitreya collaborated with INXS to replace his friend, the late vocalist Michael Hutchence, so the band could play at the official opening of Stadium Australia.[18]
D'Arby legally changed his name to Sananda Maitreya on October 4, 2001, explaining "Terence Trent D'Arby was dead... he watched his suffering as he died a noble death. After intense pain I meditated for a new spirit, a new will, a new identity".[19] Maitreya has said that his name change resulted from a series of dreams he had in 1995. Though the name does not have any religious significance, Maitreya explained that he understood it to mean "rebirth" in Sanskrit.[20]Sānanda (आनन्द) means 'possessed of happiness',[21] and maitreya (मैत्रेय) means 'friendly, kind, loving, benevolent'.[21]
From 2001 to 2021, Maitreya released nine studio albums and four live albums.[22] He attributed his commercial decline in the 21st century to bias against him by music industry executives.[22]
2001 also marked the release of the Wildcard album. Initially downloadable for free from the artist's official website,[23] the album received great support from international critics in particular for its single, the song "O Divina". At the beginning of 2002, Maitreya moved to Milan for love, where he married Italian architect and TV presenter Francesca Francone in 2003, and began his sixth project, Angels & Vampires - Volume I. The artist initially published the project on the official website in chapters, as the recordings continued, then released it on June 29, 2005, in MP3 format.
In July 2005, Maitreya began the second volume of the project: Angels & Vampires - Volume II, continuing the division into chapters. On April 29, 2006, the second mastered volume was published. The Angels & Vampires album contains 40 songs, including a cover of "Angie", a tribute to the Rolling Stones. The genre of the album is post-millennium rock. Maitreya played all the instruments during the recordings and produced, wrote, and arranged the entire project by himself.[24]
After the 2007 European tour, new concerts followed in 2008, and television participation in the 2008 Christmas concert. In addition to the studio albums, Maitreya has released four live albums from 2007 to 2012: Influenza in Firenze, Camels at the Crossroads, Lovers & Fighters, and Confessions of a Zooathaholic, a selection of the best songs from live concerts and tours performed in the same year.
Maitreya released Nigor Mortis in 2008, which followed the same evolutionary process as Angels & Vampires. The album was first published in chapters during the recordings, and then came out in the mastered version at the end of 2008 and is available on CD and MP3 at his website. The Sphinx album was released in March 2011; in the same month the instrumental version of The Sphinx and the new live album by the artist related to the 2010 concerts of the Post Millennium Rock: Confessions of a Zooathaholic has been released.
In December 2020, a new live album, Some Sake in Osaka, was released,[27] it showcases a Japan tour with his historic American band.
On March 15, 2021, Maitreya released his 12th studio album, Pandora's PlayHouse, which included three collaborations, the song "Reflecting Light",[28] composed with the Australian duo The Avalanches; "Time Is On My Side" with Irene Grandi and the opening song of the project: "Pandora's Plight" with jazz pianist Antonio Faraò. The project has an instrumental song called "Prince",[29] which honors the memory and the friendship of Maitreya and Prince.
In 2022, he was featured on Calvin Harris' new Love Regenerator track "Lonely" (a record which Harris recorded with Italian producer Riva Starr),[30][31][32] with the vocals coming from 1989's "…And I Need to Be with Someone Tonight".
In July 2022 Sony UK released the spatial audio and remastered version of his first album, changing the title to Introducing the Hardline According to... and the artist name to Sananda Maitreya.[33] The entire discography featuring the artistic name Terence Trent D'Arby was renamed to Sananda Maitreya in 2021 by Sony. [34]
In 2023 a documentary Welcome to the MadHouse: The Costa Rica Sessions was released. The film won two awards at international festivals, such as the Kiez Berlin Festival, the International Gold Awards and received two special mentions at the Los Angeles Core Independent Film Festival and International Documentary Film Festival.[35]
A live album containing the film soundtrack, Welcome to the MadHouse, was released in January 2023.
On May 11, 2024, Maitreya released his 13th studio album, The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan.
Personal life
Maitreya has a daughter from a previous relationship, London-based musician Seraphina Simone, born in December 1988.[36][37]
In the late 1980s, Maitreya had a relationship[clarification needed] with television presenter and writer Paula Yates; he was a regular musical guest on her UK TV show The Tube.[38]
Maitreya married Italian television host and architect Francesca Francone in 2003.[39] They have two sons.[20]
Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby is the debut studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby. It was first released in the United Kingdom on July 13, 1987 on Columbia Records, and debuted at number one there, spending a total of nine weeks (non-consecutively) at the top of the UK Albums Chart. It also hit number one in Switzerland and number two in New Zealand and The Netherlands. It was eventually certified 5× Platinum. Worldwide, the album sold a million copies within the first three days of going on sale.
Neither Fish nor Flesh is the second album by American singer Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1989 on Columbia Records. A follow-up to his debut Introducing the Hardline, the album was a commercial disappointment, spending only four weeks on the UK Albums Chart, and was largely dismissed by critics as self-indulgent and overreaching.
Terence Trent D'Arby's Symphony or Damn* is the third studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1993 through Columbia Records. This album marked something of a comeback after the disappointing performance of his previous album Neither Fish nor Flesh, and was generally well received by many critics, with Q magazine rating it five stars upon its release. The album's title comes from a line in the song "Do You Love Me Like You Say?".
Terence Trent D'Arby's Vibrator* is the fourth album by Terence Trent D'Arby, released in 1995 on Columbia Records. It was self-written, produced, and arranged, and features the single "Holding On to You", which peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart.
Wildcard is Terence Trent D'Arby's fifth album, and his final under that name. It was released in Europe on October 11, 2001, following a six-year absence from the music industry on his own independent record label, Treehouse Publishing and distributed by RockUp Records. The album spawned two singles and featured both his previous and new stage name on the cover.
Angels & Vampires – Volume I is Sananda Maitreya's sixth album, released in 2005 on his own official website. It was his first album to be released under his new legal name; previous albums were credited under the stage name of Terence Trent D'Arby.
"Delicate" is a song by American singer-songwriter Terence Trent D'Arby featuring English singer Des'ree, released on June 7, 1993 by Columbia Records as the third single from his third studio album, Symphony or Damn (1993). It was written, arranged and produced by D'Arby, and peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, the song reached numbers 74 and 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100. Its music video was directed by Andy Morahan.
"Sign Your Name" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Terence Trent D'Arby, released as the fourth single from his debut album, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (1987). The song was an international success, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in early 1988 and number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was remixed by Lee "Scratch" Perry for some European releases. The music video was directed by Vaughan Arnell and was premiered in January 1988. The music video features model Kelly Brennan.
"If You Let Me Stay" is the debut single by American singer Terence Trent D'Arby first released in the UK in February 1987. It was taken from his debut album, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby.
Bruce Neal Smith is an American musician best known as the drummer for post-punk band The Pop Group. He has also been a member of The Slits and the New Age Steppers and is currently performing with Public Image Ltd. He was raised and educated in Bristol, England and was once married to Neneh Cherry.
Nigor Mortis is the seventh studio album by Sananda Maitreya. It is available as MP3 files and on CD format, exclusively from his on-line web store. The CD version is housed in a DVD keep case with an enclosed eight page photo booklet.
Howard Gray is an English musician, sound engineer, programmer, composer, re-mixer and producer who has worked with Public Image Ltd, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Kirsty MacColl, the Armoury Show, the Pale Fountains, Japan, the Stranglers, Simple Minds, the Pretenders, XTC, UB40, Scritti Politti, Cherubs, Terence Trent D'Arby, Jean Michel Jarre, the Cure, Manic Street Preachers, U2, Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page, Tom Jones and Van Morrison.
"This Side of Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Terence Trent D'Arby taken from his second album, Neither Fish Nor Flesh (1989). The song was composed and produced by D'Arby, and he played several of the instruments on the recording. Critics have likened it to the work of musicians such as Sly and the Family Stone and Prince, and have noted its unpolished and compelling sound.
The Rise Of The Zugebrian Time Lords is a double studio album by Sananda Maitreya. It is available as MP3 files and on CD format, from his on-line web store. According to the artist, the time lords are people able to go back in time and destroy your past, leaving you unable to leave your mark on the world. This is his 10th studio album; it was recorded at his studios in Milan, Italy.
Return To Zooathlon is the ninth studio album by Sananda Maitreya. It was released on March 1, 2013 via Treehouse Publishing label. It is available as MP3 files and on CD format, from his on-line web store.
The Sphinx is an album by Sananda Maitreya. It is available as MP3 files and on CD format, from his on-line web store. The record is the artist’s ninth studio album and the 16th project overall, including live albums releases.
American singer Terence Trent D'Arby has released 12 studio albums, four greatest hits compilation albums, four live albums, one extended play, and 31 singles. D'Arby has earned one platinum album. His début album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (1987) peaked at number 4 in the US, and while receiving positive reviews, it became a huge success in Europe. The album featured the number 1 single "Wishing Well", which sold over 500,000 copies and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Follow up albums were less successful. After Columbia Records parted ways with the artist in the mid-1990s, D'Arby later changed his stage name to Sananda Maitreya. He went on to release 8 studio albums, and 4 live albums, under his own independent record label Treehouse Publishing.
"Dance Little Sister" is a song by Terence Trent D'Arby, the third single from the 1987 album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby.
Prometheus & Pandora is the eleventh studio album by Sananda Maitreya, formerly known as Terence Trent D'Arby, released on October 13, 2017. It was recorded at Maitreya's home studios, Treehouse Lab, in Lodi, Italy, and was made available in CD format and to download from his official website. It has 53 tracks in three volumes. Guest vocalist Luisa Corna performs as Pandora on several tracks. Maitreya gave an interview to The Guardian ahead of its release, but said "I didn’t make this album to be back in the fray... Maybe it’s not meant for mass consumption."
Pandora’s PlayHouse is the twelfth studio album by Sananda Maitreya, released on March 15, 2021. A double album with 28 tracks, it was released on CD and as a digital download from his website. A single, "The Madhouse", was released as a download and streaming, ahead of the album. It also contains a tribute to his idol Prince. Speaking to The Times, he said, "we definitely saw a lot of ourselves in each other." Maitreya wrote all the songs and played every instrument on every track, with the exception of three collaborations, the cover "Time Is on My Side" with Irene Grandi, "Reflecting Light" with The Avalanches and Vashti Bunyan, and "Pandora's Plight" with Antonio Faraò.
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